If you tuned in last month to Part I of this M-715 buildup, you'll know that only three weeks prior to departing for the '08 Easter Jeep Safari, the truck was to receive a PSC Motorsports power steering system, a full rollcage, and seating for eight occupants. Well, it almost played out that way.
While the power steering swap did happen, with workloads and deadlines being what they are, I was only able to get half of the cage and seating for three finished before departing for Moab. But that's something, right? The rest of the cage and seating were finished shortly after returning from Moab.
But before I get too far ahead of myself, allow me to 'splain. I've always admired our publisher Jeff Nasi's M-715. He dropped it off at Off Road Unlimited in Burbank, California, and spent beaucoup dollars to have, among other things, a full rollcage and seating for six passengers installed. So I got to thinking and decided that my M-715 would make a great family fun machine. I already had a couple mini, kids' off-road seats I bought from a buddy, but when I started searching for adult suspension seats, the sticker shock of six spendy aftermarket seats set in. Until I checked Corbeau's pricing.
For less than half the price of some suspension seats on the market, you can get two Corbeau Baja Ultra suspension seats. They're comfortable and safe, and the company offers a whole slew of accessories and safety equipment. I chose to go with four of the Baja Ultra seats because they're pretty compact and would allow me to squeeze the kids' seats in between. However, since Corbeau recommends the Baja Ultra for folks with a 36- to 38-inch waist, and several of my friends surpass that goal by about a foot, I also ordered up two Baja Ultra Wide seats. The Baja Ultra Wide is 4 inches taller and 1 inch wider and will accommodate up to a 42-inch waist. Perfect! And even the slightly more expensive Baja Ultra Wides don't break the bank, leaving enough left over for eight of Corbeau's super-simple-to-use four-point harness belts. So read on for some cage-building tips and to see how The Evil Truck can now double as a go-anywhere, off-road sight-seeing bus, carrying its occupants in lavish comfort.
Here's the starting point. Even with a little extra padding and the vinyl coverings added some time in the past, the stock low-back buckets were torturous. With the bucking 5/4-ton suspension, it felt like you were getting severely beaten with a baseball bat. And the huge battery box between the seats was a real elbow whacker | 
The first step after gutting the interior was to build the floor plates for the cage. Because of the fullsize Jeep's flexible frame, I decided to use large floor plates that wouldn't punch through the sheetmetal rather than tie the cage to the frame. Make the top and bottom plates different sizes to prevent the sheetmetal from work-hardening and cracking. Where body reinforcement prevented it, I used two smaller plates on the bottom as shown. | 
With the plates built, it was time to turn about 150 feet of 13/4-inch, 0.120-wall tubing into a cage. I used HREW (hot rolled electric welded) because of the sheer volume required by the big beast's cage and because this rig won't really see gnarly wheeling. HREW is almost half the price of DOM (drawn over mandrel), but it's also half as strong. After almost a half-dozen cage builds, I'm getting pretty comfortable with my bender, but to make the complicated, multi-angle bends for the front hoop, I needed to bolt the bender to my trailer deck to gain enough height. |
I bent the front hoop to follow the lines of the windshield frame and kicked the down bars forward for more clearance when getting in and out. Since a bend is a weak point in a cage, I would've sent the tubes straight to the floor or gusseted them on a crazy trail rig, but for what this truck is intended for, this cage design is adequate. | 
Since this big pig doesn't fit in my garage and the afternoon breezes kicked up a bit during the outdoor cage build, I laid a heavy wool moving blanket over the work area for welding. It's best to wait for calm skies so the wind doesn't blow the shielding gas away and cause porosity in the welds, but my homemade welding tent worked like a charm. | 
The front plates meet the floor on two planes for an added measure of strength. Don't forget to take a minute and consider clearance for accessories. In this case, I opted to omit the windshield latches in favor of a Beachwood Canvas strap attached to the front hoop to hold the windshield upright. I did, however, leave plenty of room for the glovebox door, all the switches, and even the steering column bolts in case anything needs to be removed down the road. |
The Corbeau Baja Ultra and Baja Ultra Wide seats are a suspension design, so even though the M-715's springs do nothing to soften the ride, the passengers won't need to go to the Emergency Room with compressed spinal columns. Shown is Corbeau's adapter bracket, which is used to mount the seats to its optional universal seat brackets or direct fit brackets. | 
Thanks to the M-715's rather tall transmission tunnel, which is shared by all FSJ pickups and wagons, it would've been harder to retain the Corbeau adapter brackets than it was to use vertical tabs. Even though the front seat mounts tie to the floor, the truck's spring-loaded body mounts allow enough movement independent of the frame to prevent the seat mounts contorting or twisting. | 
After the seat mounts were built, the proper position of the rear crossbar could be determined. The Corbeau four-point harnesses attach to the crossbar and their standard, single-point belt release makes it easy for anybody to get in and out of the harnesses with no fumbling of complicated cams and multiple latches. |
The rear cage proved far simpler than the front. I bent up three hoops to the same dimensions. Don't forget when bending HREW to keep the welded seam on the inside of the bend to prevent splitting. Using a straight edge and measuring from the top of the hoop to the cutoff saw blade ensured that all three hoops were the same height above the bed floor. | 
With the rear cage built, I built the frame for the rear Corbeau Baja Ultra and Baja Ultra Wide seats. The frame attaches to the bed with eight bolts and wide plates underneath prevent punch through. The sheetmetal of the M-715 bed is about 1/8 inch thick, so the floor plates and seat mount frame have plenty to grab on to. | 
Trying to comfortably fit eight passengers in an FSJ doesn't leave much room for standard refreshment storage, but a pair of JP Coolers nicely fits the bill. Both the 28-quart and 56-quart coolers feature nylon inner bags that can be used to hold tools or other gear without damaging the inner liner, and the coolers' slim, unique size allows for easy fitment in the tight confines of a vehicle. The red one gets filled with snacks and is kept up front, while the black one swallows two cases of soda and ice and nicely slips between the tailgate and rear seat row. |
Here's a shot of the finished rear install. Notice the Corbeau padded harness pads and the generous room of the Baja Ultra Wide seats for my more well-endowed passengers. I've already had this vehicle at full occupant capacity several times for ice cream runs, off-road excursions, and cruise night fun, and can honestly say the hardest part is convincing the passengers to get out of the comfy seats at the end of the ride. | 
The front seats are still doing fine after several outings, including the trip to Moab. What used to be torturous punishment is now a pleasant experience thanks to the comfort of the Baja Ultra seats. The smaller Baja Ultras hold you a little more snugly than their wider brothers and really cut down on fatigue. Yet despite their lateral support, they're easy to get in and out of. Along with the power steering conversion, the Corbeau seats are easily the best modification made to this vehicle. | |