Bucket -> Bench seat conversion

Hello,

I've made a post already briefly talking about how I'd love to move my shifter from the console to my column to make room for a bench seat. However, after some research, thought, suggestions from other kind folks, and tearing apart my car. I don think it's the move to make this work.

I do still want to make my tacoma a bench seat and so I was wondering if I'd need to move my shifter further forward to make that happen for leg room reasons and for the darn thing even having a chance to fit. For context, I have a 2007 Toyota Tacoma, 4 speed automatic with an extended cab.

Looking at underneath the shifter, all that controls the shifting of gears is what I assume is some piston driven by oil or some fluid (it may be a cable but I'm not certain as on the underside of the vehicle, where the line attaches, I'm not seeing any kind of spring that would help initiate a shift. And while I may not be the most intelligent on vehicles, it doesn't make sense how a cable would push). So all I may need to do is find some way to draw the line further forward, and hook it up to my shifter.

Does anyone know how this may work? I assume that if I go salvaging for a wild Tacoma Gen 2 with a bench seat, I could tear out the whole seat along with the shifter and just slap it on to my Tacoma. Maybe I'd have to drill and tap holes but from what I can see and from my understanding, this seems very straight forward.

Has anyone swapped a bench for a bucket and if so can you confirm that the process is similar just in reverse? Or better yet, has anyone swapped a bucket for a bench and knows exactly what situation I'm in?

Thanks,
opolistika

 

I did a bench to bucket conversion using aftermarket scheel-mann seats The factory OEM buckets or factory OEM bench use the same holes in the floor...well the bench doesn't use the inner bolt holes. Easy part.

You will need to do a lot of wiring modification unless you don't care about airbag seat belt lights or that your passenger has an airbag that isn't functioning. Our Tacomas have occupant detection systems on the passenger side either by load sensing sensors (bucket seat 4 sensors, one per foot on the floor) or bladder mat (installed inside the bench seat).

 

Call me stupid but are there airbags in seats? Where on the bench and buckets are they located as I thought the only airbags you have are the ones in front of you and the ones by the A-frame.

Also would you happen to have experience on wiring as you did a similar process to mine but in reverse?

Just clarifying, a bladder mat is used on the underside of the bench, correct?

 

I didn't realize your Tacoma is a 2007 so maybe it doesn't have airbags in the seats in your case. You will have to check, usually there is a small tag on the outer upper part of the seat saying if it has SRS airbags. If you don't see a tag, then you don't have the airbags. Another way is to check for the connections under the seats As far as the dash and A-frame goes, you will have airbags there for sure.

I am not too bad with wiring. I understand enough to do my own projects but I am not a professional by any means.

Yeah, it is under the passenger side of the bench:

Here is a photo of what one looks like outside of the seat.

 

Cool, thank you! This project might need to take the bench for a while (pun intended) so I will be sure to reach out when I need help. Thank you kind sir!