split rear seat

[yumastepside]

Is there a split rear seat that will fit an '85 four door ??

Roger

[pop058]

I would imagine any Classic split seat would fit .

[Davo]

No and yes. No, the split seats won't fit in directly because they're different, but I have an article in a book of magazine reprints showing a conversion. It involves drilling holes and assorted mucking about, and these days would need engineering. I considered it myself, but it just wouldn't be worth the bother. Why do you want split seats?

[Mercguy]

I removed the split seats from my RRC a few weeks ago. Huge amount of space in there now.

Nothing to them really. The front has a small strip of pressed steel which holds the front tabs down (the bit that enables the base to fold forward)

Very straightforward. I would however imagine that if you had fixed rear seats, then the latches that hold the folding seats at the "c" pillar may not be present.
still, nothing ridiculous or tricky. If you need pics while I have the seats out let me know.

[yumastepside]

......mine is actually an '81 two door, removed the rear seat and made wheelwell height drawers, still plenty of room......anyway this question was for a mates vehicle, he has a small child and wants to drop the seat half down on the opposite side when he needs more room.....the mate not the child [bigwhistle]....copies of the conversion pics would be handy......I'll probably have to do the work for him anyway [bighmmm]


Roger

[Rick1970]

Changed my (now gone) '86 to split rear seats from a '88. Seats bolted straight in a such, but pillar latches needed to be swapped, not straight bolt in, but not hard either.

[Classic88]

I have a set of you need them.

[Davo]

Since I've been taking a set of these seats out in the last couple of days from a '92 model, I had a look for you at how they're attached. The seats themselves just bolt onto the floor. The front of the brackets, (which are also the hinges), bolt onto the sloping panel, and the back of the brackets bolt onto the very front of the level part at the top. I looked underneath and was surprised to see there were no spreader plates, just nuts permanently attached beneath.

The locks that go onto the pillars at either end of the seats are covered in a plastic box which is, oddly, glued on, so you have to break it to get it off. Underneath is a metal box with the latches. (I checked my older four-door and it looks like the body in that area hasn't changed, so these parts should fit.) This box has two bolts at the front of the box going into the pillar, and two bolts at the back going into the body panel. These bolts go into nuts that were welded in behind these panels, so it wouldn't be hard to replicate for the rear bolts, (once you'd taken the body panel off), but impossible for the bolts inside the pillars. My only concern is how you'd put the bolts in. In that article I mentioned they used rivnuts, but I'd want something better than that for my kids.