1953 M38A1 repro driver's seat frame question

Mike_B · Post by **Mike_B** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:22 pm

Is it normal for the driver's seat to sit taller than the passenger seat? The back of the stock passenger seat is 23" from floor to top of the seat back and the repro is 24". I can't see where they picked up the difference. The legs look right as the back seat bottom angle iron is only about 1/2" off the tank, so it can't go lower.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Mike B

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 11:25 pm

What is the measurement from the top rail of the seat frames to the dash? The seat with the shorter distance should be the taller seat. It's all about angles.

Mike_B · Post by **Mike_B** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:37 am

Wes,

The top of the drivers seat to top of the dash is 36.75"and to the floor is 24".

The top of the passenger seat to top of the dash is 34.75" and to the floor is 23".

So, the repo drivers seat frame is reclined back more than the passenger seat and it's taller...is that the way they were built originally?

Mike B

Post by **wesk** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:17 am

None of us can confirm how the seat was originally built.

You will need the factory blueprint to ascertain that.

In my example above I assumed the height of the seat back measured from seat frame bottom rail to the seatback top rail was the same. The only way your driver's seat could be tilted back further and still be taller is the seat back itself is taller.

Is it possible your passenger seat is really a civvy CJ2A seat? The 2A seats were not angled back as far as the CJ3A & M38 seats were because the wheelhouse on the 2A is more vertical at the front.

Mike_B · Post by **Mike_B** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 12:07 pm

Wes,

I'm not building a show piece, I just want to know if both seats were about the same height and at the same tilt back angle. An internet search shows them both ways, about level and drivers taller by 1" or more.

Anyone out there care to measure the distance from the top of the seat back to the floor for me? Also answer if both seats are the same...mine are 23" passenger and 24" drivers with the drivers tilted back a little more (maybe 1" more measured at the top).

I'd post a picture, but never mastered how to size them

Thanks,

Mike B

Post by **wesk** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:14 pm

1" difference in vertical seat back height observed from the left or right side of the jeep or the tailgate would be tough to discern.

Since the driver's seat is occupied more often it is common for it to be aged further aft at the top. Tank clearance and stop bracket heights on the wheel houses will also vary height.

As I just said above, you should first confirm the dimensions of the two seat backs which may be at the root of the differences.

I never inferred you were building a show piece?

Pictures are very valuable to support questions and answers to these posts. Resizing is quite simple and I am a mechanic not a computer guru. So if I can learn it I am sure you can as well. Have a friend in your neighborhood demonstrate it for you and you will pick it up quickly.

Kendall · Post by **Kendall** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:07 pm

Until you mentioned it I hadn't noticed, but the back of my driver's seat is higher than the passenger seat. Nearest the center of the jeep, the height of the back of the drivers seat to the floor is 24 3/4" and the passenger seat is 22 3/4".
Kendall

Mike_B · Post by **Mike_B** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:37 pm

I broke down and bought a NOS Drivers Seat frame and it showed up today. It bolted right in and just like the reproduction frame it sits about 1" taller, so I guess that's the way they were/are.

If anyone is interested here are the issues I see with the reproduction M38A1 Drive Seat Frame;

1. The left front leg bolt tab that sits on the door opening is angled forward because that leg channel was welded to far back on the seat frame tubing.

2. That same tab is also to big and overhangs the outer edge of the tub and would need to be trimmed to not have that raw edge sticking out into the door opening.

3. The left rear leg that attaches to the wheel house is welded in at the wrong angle. The fix is to cut and re-weld the top part of the flat steel leg extension and shorten it up which will pull the captured nut up and into the correct angle/position.

4. The Seat Back is reclined to far back (about 1") and would need to be pulled/bent forward to match the passenger side. It's like they used a worn out over flexed seat as their pattern.

Hope this helps someone down the road.

Mike B