dinocarsfast Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 I did this about 2 years ago and it has been working well. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-21ydY_MM6A" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> not sure if I was able to embed this video correctly but here is a direct link to the video also https://youtu.be/-21ydY_MM6A davidparker, jrm223, KevinRollin and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidparker Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 That's friggin' COOL!. Awesome job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 It looks great. It helps to confirm a few things. You had to cut and weld. The seat can't be turned without the door open. Any chance you could give step by step instructions? I'll try to help post the video. KevinRollin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanDweller Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 I'm dying to know exactly how to do this (2015 XL, LWB)! Was here to post about this very question when I found this thread. A place in my town that does conversions and has all the tools to grind, weld, fabricate etc is willing to give it a try, but has no experience with converting something as small as a TC. They think the center console would need to be removed. It would be awesome, when I take the van to them next week, to show up with some kind of step by step! Please oh please ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinRollin Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Awesome! Thanks for posting the video. Any chance you took some stills while you were fabricating / installing? looking at my seat, it seems like the easiest was for a commercial product to work in there were for it to be made to somehow fit in between the existing rails. As in, slide the seat off, slide (or bolt) in a swivel module with a rail on the bottom of the bottom, and on the top of the top, and then slide the seat into that. One complaint I’ve read with with the commercial swivels for full-size vans, especially the Promaster, is that it raises the seat up too high. I have the vinyl seats with no vertical adjustment, so an inch or two of added height would be a bonus for me. As for having to open the door to swivel, meh, not a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinocarsfast Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 I did it two years ago and probably dont still have the pictures but the biggest mistake that I made was the swivel that I bought was from a generic boat application and did not have a hole through the middle of the bolt so that I could run wires through it because this is the only reasonable way to avoid getting the airbag system wires cut when turning(wires for the seat occupancy sensor and buckle). I had to then make a new center pin on a lathe and weld the two pieces together. After that it was pretty easy the steps were; 1, Take the seat out 2, Temporarily weld the legs together so that the distances didnt change in the next step and so that it would all fit back to the van 3, Cut the legs off where I wanted the spinner to be 4, decide where to put the fulcrum of the spinner so that everything wold work then weld it back together with the swivel in place. It took a good weekend of work and $600 would probably be a pretty good price for someone to do that much custom work. The seat sliding rail has a sensor for when the seat is in the full forward position to deactivate the airbag, I thought about using this to deactivate the airbag if the seat is not facing forward but I never implemented this because I never really had time, but its an option. If you dont have a good way to reset the airbag light dont forget to disconnect the battery before you remove the seat. rpk3mp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanDweller Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 49 minutes ago, dinocarsfast said: I did it two years ago and probably dont still have the pictures but the biggest mistake that I made was the swivel that I bought was from a generic boat application and did not have a hole through the middle of the bolt so that I could run wires through it because this is the only reasonable way to avoid getting the airbag system wires cut when turning(wires for the seat occupancy sensor and buckle). I had to then make a new center pin on a lathe and weld the two pieces together. After that it was pretty easy the steps were; 1, Take the seat out 2, Temporarily weld the legs together so that the distances didnt change in the next step and so that it would all fit back to the van 3, Cut the legs off where I wanted the spinner to be 4, decide where to put the fulcrum of the spinner so that everything wold work then weld it back together with the swivel in place. It took a good weekend of work and $600 would probably be a pretty good price for someone to do that much custom work. The seat sliding rail has a sensor for when the seat is in the full forward position to deactivate the airbag, I thought about using this to deactivate the airbag if the seat is not facing forward but I never implemented this because I never really had time, but its an option. If you dont have a good way to reset the airbag light dont forget to disconnect the battery before you remove the seat. Thanks for the reply. What year is your TC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinocarsfast Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 4 minutes ago, DanDweller said: Thanks for the reply. What year is your TC? 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanDweller Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 6 minutes ago, dinocarsfast said: 2015 Cool, that's the one I have. I just started browsing for swivel plates and can see that just finding the right one is going to be a challenge. From a phone conversation I just had with a manufacturer of swivel plates, I was told that I'll need to remove the seat and get an exact measurement, center to center, of the bolt holes. They make them for Transits, he said, but not sure if it would be adaptable to a TC without an exact measurement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinocarsfast Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 5 hours ago, DanDweller said: Cool, that's the one I have. I just started browsing for swivel plates and can see that just finding the right one is going to be a challenge. From a phone conversation I just had with a manufacturer of swivel plates, I was told that I'll need to remove the seat and get an exact measurement, center to center, of the bolt holes. They make them for Transits, he said, but not sure if it would be adaptable to a TC without an exact measurement. Any of the plates for a full size transit or promaster will work because you will have to cut it up and weld it in anyway. On a full size van the seat unbolts from a frame that lifts it off the floor and you bolt the swivel between these two things. On the transit connect the seat frame bolts to the floor so if you want want to put a spinner in you will need to cut it up and put it where you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanDweller Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 I see, okay thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpk3mp Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 (edited) On 10/27/2019 at 8:07 PM, dinocarsfast said: I did this about 2 years ago and it has been working well. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-21ydY_MM6A" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> not sure if I was able to embed this video correctly but here is a direct link to the video also https://youtu.be/-21ydY_MM6A Three years later, are you still happy with the results? Edited August 24, 2020 by rpk3mp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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