There's a variety of methods that have been used, from brute force and bending the supports wider with a crow bar to using a torch to bring the bars up to red heat and then bending them into shape.
Some people suggest that bending the bars cold, particularly if you have to move them a lot, can potentially crack the welds, though if the welds were done by the factory it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure you don't kink the support bars though!.
Other people suggest that bending the bars hot affects the heat tempering of the chassis in that area. Since the chrome moly steel usually used is quite difficult to temper I believe, you should be safe if you don't heat the bars above red / orange heat. But it is likely to ruin the paint job in the area.
However, whichever method you use, it is likely that you will create stresses in the chassis. It would be wise to re-measure / reset all the adjustments you can after doing the job. After all, even attaching the old style (metal) bumper can induce changes which can affect the handling, so after installing the seat, it is time to check other things, like axle alignment and resetting your torsion bars.
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