Whale Seats

[packman]

I have been giving some serious thought on swapping out the bench seat for buckets. Thinking of finding Whale seats as there are far more of them in the junkyard than aeros and less-so boxes. I would imagine that the wiring harnesses are different than that of my '86. I know my '05 MGM has more adjustment than the '86 CV; just don't know how much of a difference there will be. If anybody here has done this; or a similar swap, can you please let me know what challenges there are for doing this? Thank you

[VicCrownVic]

The difference in wiring should just be between the adjuster switches and the motors. All of it should be fed power and have a ground through a 2 wire connector. I'm not sure if or why the power and ground part would have been complicated, unless there is a separate power and ground for lumbar adjustment (do the whale seats have that?). If the only difference is lumbar support adjustment, there is a chance that the wiring between the switches and track motors uses the same color wires. Ford seemed to be pretty good about using the same wire colors throughout the years for the same function, based on a few electrical retrofits I've done over the past few years.

That leaves you with the mounting issues. '90+ floor pan is different, so seat tracks don't mount right when swapping across the '89/'90 break point.

I don't remember if the seats to track mounting is the same. That would make things easier.

[packman]

My '05 MGM has the lumbar support. Not too concerned unless all of the Whales in the junkyard have them too. If it's a mounting problem, I think I can work passed that. I've done it before with the aftermarket bucket seats in the Malibu; and the F-350 bench in the '82 C20 (Putter Project). I just need the seats to move forward and backward.

[tjc78]

Biggest hurdle for seat adjustments is that whales have the switches in the door panel, while box Vics had them the side of the seat.

[packman]

Hmmm...….yes; forgot about that. Though, now that you mention it, my Mom's '05 Explorer has the seat controls on the seat; like the box Panthers do. I will get a good look at them over the weekend to see if they can be made to work; or if they will fit.

[knucklehead0202]

The difference in wiring should just be between the adjuster switches and the motors. All of it should be fed power and have a ground through a 2 wire connector. I'm not sure if or why the power and ground part would have been complicated, unless there is a separate power and ground for lumbar adjustment (do the whale seats have that?). If the only difference is lumbar support adjustment, there is a chance that the wiring between the switches and track motors uses the same color wires. Ford seemed to be pretty good about using the same wire colors throughout the years for the same function, based on a few electrical retrofits I've done over the past few years.

That leaves you with the mounting issues. '90+ floor pan is different, so seat tracks don't mount right when swapping across the '89/'90 break point.

I don't remember if the seats to track mounting is the same. That would make things easier.

^^^All of this. I fucked up and bought a pre-90 seat bracket from the JY when the one in my first '90 crapped out. This is the opposite of what you'd face but either way a hassle. I was able to cram enough washers under certain parts to get the bracket mounted in the car, but also had to drill some new holes to mount the seat. The connector plugged directly in but some features worked backwards, lol. Again this is the other way around for going later-model into earlier-than-mine but you get the picture.

[sly]

98/99 and 2000 CVPI/base models should have the power seats with the controls on the seats IIRC. After that, I think they all went to door controls. I do know for a fact that my wife's 2000 CV has the controls on the seat. Any seats with the controls on the seats are 2-wire connection to the car for power. All the rest is in the seat itself.