Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Hi Guys,

I've had a few people ask me about how I adapted the 2008+ GM SUV 2nd row and 3rd rows seats to my Blazer, so I thought I'd start a thread to try to somewhat document the process of what I did. I'm sure there many other ways to do it, but this is how I went about it.

I originally got the idea of using these seats by seeing what a member on here did, epsorenson. Here is the thread that details how he put the rear seats in.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=260518

I really like the way he did it, but I didn't want to cut the bed floor of my Blazer (and I didn't want to do that much work). So I tried to adapt all the brackets I made to pick up the existing mounting locations and reinforce the underlying floor structure to account for the newer seats.

I'll start with the rear seats first.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

So here's what I started with. They're out of a 2008 Escalade ESV. These are popular SUVs for conversion to limo's so you can come by the seats for a "reasonable" price if you can find a conversion place. Anyway, seats from a 2008 and on Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon can all have the 2nd row captains and 3rd row removable seats as options.

The reason I like the 2nd row seats is because they fold up really well to be able to get into the back seat of a Blazer with the top on.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I initially borrowed a 3rd row seat from my mom's Suburban to have something to use to build a frame from. I wanted to use the existing mounting holes in the bed of my Blazer, so I built an external frame out of 1-1/2" square tubing and made tabs on the inside to attach the frame.

I lot of people have used this same idea to attach their removable rear seats as well. The threads on the built in mounting nuts of the bed were not very good, so I tapped them out to 1/2" UNC and used grade 8, 1/2" bolts to attach the frame to the floor. Here's a few pics of the frame as I was mocking it up.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

The rough dimensions on the rear frame are 49-1/2" wide by 24-1/2" deep.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

The front seats were a bit more difficult to adapt than the rears. If you sit the front seats in with the stock mounting frame that's attached to them, they are really tall. So I had to figure out a way to shorten them down to a height that felt and looked right.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I'll start with the passenger side.

I took the seat mounting bracket off of the seat. Here are a few pics of the mounting bracket once it's removed from the seat.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

The next step was to cut the bracket down a few inches to shorten the mounted seat height. You can see from the before and after pics about how much I cut off by looking at the holes on the side profile.

I then needed a new mounting base that I could weld the cut down frame to, and that was wide enough to pick up the front stock bucket mounting holes in the floor. I decided to use a 1/4" thick plate (maybe overkill) and bend it at an angle to lower it down to the floor height just aft of the rise in the floor for the mounting holes.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I then cut down the remaining part of the stock seat bracket and welded it to the plate that I had made. Here are a few of the installed pics of the hybrid bracket.

For the rear of the seat bracket attachment, I drilled 3 new holes and added some reinforcement brackets under the floor to help spread the load out from the bolts.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I'll add what I did to the driver's side later.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Very helpful, THANKS! My captain chairs brackets are a little different, they have a bend in the rear that raise the rear brackets about 3"...in addition to the mods you made to the front bracket.
This got me on the right track, thanks again!

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I had to cut the back outside edge of the flanges down on the stock bracket to get it as close as I could to the floor on the passenger side. On the driver's side I didn't use any of the stock bracket because the floor geometry didn't lend itself to the bracket like the passenger side. I'll take some pics of it later and add them.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I like!!!

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

What a coincidence. I did this very same thing and made the bracket structure just as you did so the seats either tip up or can be completely removed as intended.

I find them at the big swap meets around here for about $200 for leather. Brand spanking new take outs for vans that are converted for the handicap.

I did the buckets with the small secondary seat in the middle that does double duty as a console storage compartment.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Here are some finished pics of the rear. Sorry about the dust, but that's after a summer of dirt roads and fields with the top off.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

And here are some pics of how I finished the driver's side front bracket. Basically the same concept in the front as I used on the passenger side.

Then I used some 1"x1/4" strap for the front to back sides and used some 3/8" thick strap on the back to spread the load out a bit for the rear attachment. The only thing I used from the stock bracket were the two U-shaped seat attachments.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Got any pics of how they look with the top off?

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Yep.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Cool, not quite as tall as I thought they would be, I would probably see how it looked without the headrests, but I do like the mod. great work.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Thanks.

I've thought about removing the headrests also and making a removable cover for them, but that's on a long list of things to do yet.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Boy, I know how that is! Lot's of things that I want are real low on the priority list

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

On mine, the headrests pop right out and the seats still have a somewhat finished look to them (other than 2 small holes) so I don't plan to run the headrests at all.

I never take my top off, but I still don't like the looks of the headrests, and they actually hamper my vision anyway.

My only goal with these seats was to remove and save the originals that I spent hundreds on recovering. Bag and tag them and set them on the rack so I can daily drive my rig without fear of tearing them up. Don't care about the new leather seats, they were cheap to buy, wear em' out and buy some more ;)

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

Do any of you guys have any idea who I can contact at one of these conversion companies to get a set of 2nd row buckets?
I have the back seat already.
FIREBIRDJONES, if you find a set around there at another swap meet in black I would buy them from you if you would be willing to make a little money;)

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

There's a limo conversion company in Ft Worth/Dallas area, but that's still a long way from you. I would guess Houston or San Antonio has one? If you can, try to find someone close to you because shipping will be $200 and up for those seats because they're big and heavy.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

I would think as big as Texas is there should be a worthwhile swap meet to go to.

Where I'm finding my seats are at the Goodguys events down in Phoenix. I'm sure there is a Goodguys event in Texas somewhere, they have them all over the country. Or any other big swap meet that you are aware of in your area. These guys setup down here in Phoenix twice a year and sell these seats. I actually visited his shop (also in Phoenix) and he had (I kid you not) no less than 5 53 foot semi trailers full of seats packed to the ceiling. It took us 4 hours to dig through 2 trialers and find the year and color and material that I wanted. $200 for a complete bucket set with the center console that doubles as a 3rd seat. I bought 2 rows of them for $400 in brand new tan leather. I'll put up a pic shortly.

Funny you ask, I'll be seeing the guy again this coming weekend as the Spring Goodguys is coming to Phoenix March 10-11-12. But I'm sure shipping would be outragious.

Re: Adapting 2008+ GM SUV Seats to Blazer
 

As 29od did a fantastic job, I'm surprised I don't see more of this out there. These seats are nice, cheap, they all tip forward, and all are easily removed with the flip of a switch if need be.

He built the same bracket system for the back seat as I did for mine. Very easy to do. I even used the same square tubing with round bar stock. I currently have my back seat setup on the floor but you can see some of the frame work in one of the pictures.
I have issues with photobucket so not sure how long these pics will stay up....

Here you can see the middle seat has a hidden console underneath. These seats come in various combinations.

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/P3050007.jpg
http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/P3050006.jpg

Here you can see it also flips down with cup holders, and can also flip out and be completely removed like the rest of the seats if you don't want it there. I plan to run this setup in the front too so I can remove the original console for safe keeping.

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/P3050009.jpg

Here is the bigger seat tipped up so you can see some of the bracketry I made for the rear seats.

http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...1/P3050008.jpg

29od made some nice brackets for the front seats that look to stay low profile and work well. Great for back seat passengers that have to tip the seats up and walk through there.