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XJ front bench

justinburnett

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Oregon
Found a reference to a front-bench mod for an XJ on this forum. Unfortunately the supplied link was not valid. I searched, with no success, so I thought I would ask directly.

My situation is this: I have a wife and four kids. Unfortunately I don't have any love for mini-vans or driving a suburban around in the woods so I would like to try to put a bench seat in the front of my XJ. I know anything is possible, so I'm not asking if it CAN be done, but my question is more specifically HOW? Has anyone here done it? If so, a link to the build thread (if it's available) or any information on this subject would be helpful. I know I'm going to need to ditch most of the console and relocate the e-brake, I'll figure this out as I go, but mostly if anyone knows what seat I should use or what I would have to do to modify one, or modify the floor to accept one, that's what I need to know. Thanks for any and all info on this subject.
 
You would need a column shifter, foot parking brake, and bench seat out of an MJ or police package XJ.

Then bolt it all in.
 
Yeah, I just found a wrecked XJ police version but as you said, no bench. I was pretty excited for a second till I looked at interior pics. I'll read the article.
 
Find an MJ, get the bench seat.

You'll need some two inch spacers.
 
Is the distance from floor to seat-top the same for XJ/MJ? Someone I know did a conversion in an MJ to XJ bucket seats, and said that it just flat wouldn't work. Something about if I could raise it enough to clear the tunnel, it would sit 4" higher than the factory seats do because the tunnel in an MJ is shorter. Looks the same to me from what I can see, but I don't know about what it looks like underneath the seat.

Any MJ guys around that could answer that?
 
Simple solution......Build an XJ for the wife! :D
 
Ever considered another seat in the cargo area? I think you could do it in a safe / comfortable way for a kid, and I know it's been done before.
 
I had thought about putting a jump-seat out of a ford pickup or somesuch in the cargo area, but I was thinking a bench would be better. We don't have enough room back there for gear as it is when we all go camping. Also, I miss the days when I had my old pickup and the wife could snuggle up next to me while we drove.

I also thought about building an XJ for her instead, but even a budget built XJ that could handle a moderate trail run would still run me in the neighborhood of $1500, which seems a bit more than it would cost to add a seat, plus you end up spending double the money on gas, and quite frankly I love my kids but I might go crazy without anyone to talk to for hours that's over 8 years old.

As of right now, it's still all a theoretical project but I was just wondering if it could be done.
 
Ive seen where people have modded a Dakota front split bench to fit in MJ's. It is slightly wider, but still fits and the Dak bench is much more comfortable than an original MJ bench, though I really dont have any problems with my MJ bench... much better to carry the wife and daughter in together when we need to. Heres a link to a thread on www.comancheclub.com for dakota bench seats in an MJ, I would think an XJ would be very similar.

http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30621&p=306707&hilit=dakota+bench#p306707
 
I had thought about putting a jump-seat out of a ford pickup or somesuch in the cargo area, but I was thinking a bench would be better. We don't have enough room back there for gear as it is when we all go camping. Also, I miss the days when I had my old pickup and the wife could snuggle up next to me while we drove.

Roof rack / trail trailer? I just don't think 3 people up front in an XJ would be the most comfortable thing in the world. With me and another 6'1 big guy in the front of my XJ we'll bump shoulders occasionally offroad - not a whole lot of shoulder room up there. You could also build a rack in the back around the jumper seat for more cargo room?
 
I agree, take my wife, two daughters and two dogs. Use the roof rack and rear hitch mount bumper rack to carry gear. Not bad to wheel once everything is unloaded. Kids buckled in, dogs in the back.
 
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