Bolt-on upgrades are always cool. Most of the time, they're quick and fairly easy and leave you with a better vehicle and a sense of satisfaction.
In this case, Mastercraft seats will indeed bolt in to the 2004 Toyota 4Runner they're destined for, but the seat mounts have to be custom fabricated before we can bolt them in.
We'll use the stock seats' mounting locations because they already exist and because those mounting locations were engineered to support the load of the OEM seats, so we'll be putting a load on something already designed to take it.
Since the 4Runner is a daily driver, it's easiest to start with the rear seats because down time for the rear seats means this 'Runner can still provide transportation during the fabrication process.
The stock rear seats were removed, revealing the mounting locations that the Mastercraft seats will be tied into. Mastercraft offers bench seats, but we went with a pair of buckets instead because one of our goals was better body containment in the backcountry. It's tougher to hold yourself in place on a bench seat than it is when sitting in a cozy bucket.
There are six tie-in points left over from the stock seats: four across the foot area and two across the back.
We'll start with the four in the foot area.
The fabrication begins with making "flags." A "flag" is nothing more than a piece of tubing welded to a thick washer. This sounds easy enough, but a proper flag needs a washer that's at least 1/8-inch thick. Most hardware-store washers aren't thick enough, so washers need to be created by starting with steel plate and cutting the washers out of the plate.
Washers can be built using hole saws, laser cutters, or an ironworker. Most garages have hole saws and a drill press. We were fortunate to benefit from the ironworker machine at Suspension Innovation Motorsports. Brandon made the washers using 3/16-inch cold-rolled steel plate.
We used 1-1/4-inch .120-wall chromoly tubing cut at a 45-degree angle for the rest of the flag.
Welding was made easier by creating a bevel in the washer. This gave the weld a clear trough to flow into.