Some cush for your tush. Modifying a MV seat for comfort

[Kaiserjeeps]

I have been staring at a spring ride seat for my duece for a while now. It did not come with cushions. Since I had gutted my interior on the 2.5 ton I decided it was time to try my hand at making a car seat from scratch and get that more comfortable seat installed instead of the old box seat. Anything would be an improvement over that. Everyone knows more than an hour in an MV seat can leave a mark.

I had a pretty good idea on what to do. I was limited by the steering wheel for height. Only one direction to go from there. Down... I knew I wanted a webbing base. Not plywood. That spreads out the load under your butt. Time to dust off the sewing machine.

Come to find out Hammer is about to make a long trip up here in the 5 ton. So the push to get the first cushion done was on. He leaves friday and could really benefit from a better cushion due to some old back injuries. What a great R+D test also. Real time use. Ed also added a ton of great input in the construction process. We are going to have the most comfortable seats in the USA!

I started with this. Mapping out a typical butt print. Don't worry, I made it bigger later.





A little sewing time. The next straps will have a box stitch for more strength.
All metal hardware is SS. No rust ever.



The base with NO cushion is more comfortable than the old box seat WITH a cushion! I threw a cheap cushion on the new base and could not believe the difference! Like a sports car seat! Ed sat down and his eyes got big. I want some of these. Now we are starting to get excited about the thought of having such a comfortable seat in a MV truck. More time and thought and discussion go into the seat. I wanted a sculpted paneled seat with camo pack cloth covers. That can come later. Ed offered up a used tarp for fabric for a original look. So for now it was try and make a seat that looks original, but is very different in comfort. Besides, it will install right away in his 5 ton for the trip.

I went and sourced high quality auto upholstery cushions. Hai Karumba they are expensive! I made a high density bottom and surround. The gray is medium density for less support. I skinned it over with a waterproof 1/4 cover to make it mostly water proof and add some surface tension.
The best way to sculpt a custom cushion is with a electric carving knife of all things.



Establish the reveal or oversize..



Start carving...



The cushions are glued together with 3M quality glue. The skin is cut to shape and glued on. Low tack tape holds it's shape till it is dry. About 30 minutes.



Continued....

[Roy]

Nice work.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Now it was time to pattern the cushion fabric. Using Ed's old tarp it had built in character already.




I had the cushion nearly done and my machine jammed. 3 hours later I was able to re-time the bobbin spinner with the rest of the machine and was back in business. That took a while to figure out.



So after learning a few lessons, I was able to get the cover on the seat. By now I am starting to get eager to try it out. I got it stapled down and WOW!



The difference is more than amazing.



There are 4 inches to the steering wheel before seat and cushion compression. Perfect!
Here are the three lined up.



So a comfortable seat that is near marine quality. Now I want to get my truck back together.
I have yet to make the cushion supports. It will be adjustable for height.

Some improvements for next time.

Paint or stain the wood.
Box stitching on the webbing.
Possible even less dense foam.
SS staples under the cushion.
Ed has a killer idea on a waterproof super thin membrane instead of the 1/4 inch stuff. The 1/4 inch stuff is better suited to a seat with a lot of contour.

Some good fun here.

1 down, 5 more to make...

[Doug]

Great work Al!

I knocked out the metal pans in the 715s stock seats and webbed them several years ago, huge difference! Used foam pipe insulation on the sqaure tube frame and the webbed it with 1" od surplus web. Super comfy.

[randyscycle]

Wow! That is nice!

Excellent work as always......

[Mikel]

VERY cool! Where did the seat come from?

[porkchop]

Nice! I still think my M-seats are pretty comfortable. I can seat in them for hours and not have a problem. Even with the back surgery.

[Hammer]

Now I can't wait to try this seat out on my trip to bring my 5 ton north, AGAIN.
Even as a first try, this seat is MILES ahead of the stock seats. And as you sit in the seat, it gets MORE comfortable over time, instead of less.
But the 10 hour drive north will be the true test of this seat...
On that note, I will report back next week with my results.

[Kaiserjeeps]

VERY cool! Where did the seat come from?

Mikel, The spring ride seat came from a surplus dealer through 503m715 (Mike).
It did not come with any cushions so they needed to be made. What an opportunity to make something that actually rides nice.
I am looking for one more spring ride seat now. For the passenger side.
I plan on a tip down bench seat with tuck away seat belts for the third passenger when it happens. For between the seats that is. For now just having two nicer seats is a bonus.

[gimpyrobb]

Wow, nice job AL. I took a short cut and welded the bottom frame from a springer seat to a charter bus seat. Now I just unbolt the stock springer seat from the slides and install my charter bus seat. I have driven to Nc, Ga, Il, and alot of offraoding. I love it! One of the best features is the arm rest for my right arm. Might want to try to install one in your rig. I plan on covering it with a shelter half when I get a second. Oh wait, who am I kidding, I never have down time.