My family is outgrowing our faithful 2 door 4wd 89 S10 Blazer... the crappy thing is that we're too effin broke to go buy something bigger.
So I'm looking for a cheap & easy fix.
It's myself and my wife with our 3 kids (5, 3, and 2 mo). Currently if we go somewhere, either myself or the wife are riding in the hatch, which is not safe nor legal, or we're taking 2 cars, which sucks.

Here's the 2 ideas I have;
1) Take the buckets and console out of the front and swap them with a standard bench seat from an 88 S10 truck I have. Is this possible, legal, and has anyone done it (I'm sure someone somewhere has)?

2) Jerry rig one of the car seats into the back hatch area using the spare tire mount and the floor mount... but if it's not secure, it's not gonna happen, the idea is to NOT endanger my family any further than I might already do.

I've also thought about mounting a side facing bucket seat in the hatch area, but if anyone's riding in the back, it'd probably be best that it's a kid who can climb over the seat to get out the front, rather than having an adult have to come through the hatch in a Savemart parking lot.

Ideas?

 

You're not serious, right? Do you not have law enforcement where you live?

 

there is a number of posts on the bench seat in the front swap (also bucket seats in the rear oddly enough...)

you could Fab up a mount and add a 60 split seat (the larger of the two) from the rear to the cargo area. it will sit about 8-10 inches higher than the current back seats, so chop the head rest...
you could bolt it down to the cargo tie down points using those bolts (hence the fabbing of the bracket) it would be a cool (unique mod) BUT i don't know how 100% safe it is...
you would have to hodge podge a lap belt style seat belt to the outside (driver's side) of the new seat since mounting a full seat belt would be a rather large undertaking. just yank and extra center lap belt and bolt it down...

I'm brainstorming here.... this is in no way coming from my knowledge of auto safety standards for extra seats....

OR GO THE SAFE WAY AND BUY AN

awd Astro. AWD + van = win. AND it has a 4.3L vortec.... for interchangeability! seriously. a 96 Astro would probably set you back like $600 and you can use another $200 to pimp it out with JY parts. MUCH SAFER imho..

 

Check out this guys cardomain. Has a ford ranger bench up front.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/675001

 

Yeah, we have law enforcement, but they are getting laid off in droves. I just assumed that I'd fight it with Trial by Declaration and win, as I usually do (3 for 3!), and that's after it takes them 5 years to finally pull me over... So long as it's safe, the law can (cough cough).
I have considered the Astro, but it just wouldn't do what the Blazer can do. Perhaps a 4wd Diesel Toyota Hiace, but like I said, I'm just about broke.
Do the S10 truck bench seats mount in the S10 blazers without mods, and would it move forward enough to get in and out?

 

Fab up some brackets and put in an old school bench seat up front that folds.

 

My '93 Blazer had a front bench seat stock, so the parts are readily out there, it shouldnt be a difficult swap either. Depending on the junkyard they may even refund you a core for bringing them the old buckets/console

 

if you go that route, save the console LID and craigslist/BF classifieds that beast. for some reason, people break the crap out of em

 

LOL, the lid on mine is broken.

 

weak...