In the process of gutting my Tracker I noticed the rear bench seat was hinged by a simple pin and clip. Since I'm planning on making this truck as versatile and weather resistant as possible I got to thinking it would be awesome to be able to quickly remove the rear seat for extra cargo room or top off/bikini driving. With this thought still nagging me as I was at the hardware store getting some sheet metal I decided to take a look at the hardware and the answer was there staring me in the face. I bought a couple 1/4x3in cotterless hitch pins after eyeballing them for a moment and they work really well! Installation was really simple as well. If you can find 1/4x1-3/4 you'll have the perfect length.
How To:
Remove plastic hinge covers.
Fold rear seat up.
Push the clips off both hinge pins using needle nose pliers or a couple screwdrivers.
Push old pins out.
Remove seat.
Drill existing hinge pin holes (8) with 1/4 in bit.
Realign seat and insert cotterless hitch pins from the inside facing outward to avoid clearance issues with the wheel well.
Trim the tops of both plastic hinge covers and reinstall.
That's it! You now have a quick release rear bench seat. The best part about these cotterless pins is the ball bearing that keeps them from falling out without the need for a separate retaining clip. I wish I'd found some shorter pins but these work fine. This is a $5 mod.
