Thread: Series III SWB Soft Top Rear Seats - Advice Needed

Wouldnt the original seating capacity be stamped on a plate somewhere? A design rules plate of some sort. My s3 109 has one.

Cheers Rod

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Originally Posted by 67hardtop

Wouldnt the original seating capacity be stamped on a plate somewhere? A design rules plate of some sort. My s3 109 has one.

Cheers Rod

Sent from my GT-I9507 using AULRO mobile app

That's an Australian requirement - would not be on a UK delivered vehicle.

Not a Landrover, but if my memory is correct, the Suzuki Sierra was sold as a soft top with (forward facing) rear seats after that date. This may help.
John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

That's an Australian requirement - would not be on a UK delivered vehicle.

Not a Landrover, but if my memory is correct, the Suzuki Sierra was sold as a soft top with (forward facing) rear seats after that date. This may help.
John

Yep. Both true. The UK VIN number makes no reference to seating capacity. The Australian registration plate does - as it is a brand new plate - but that only reflects the fact that it is currently a two seater.

The Suzuki Sierrra did indeed have forward facing rear seats in a soft top. The WA DoT inspector who I am working with did acknowledge that, however 'that is fine because it was built like that''.

My problem is that I have to prove that Series III SWB land rovers were supplied to the Australian market as soft tops with rear seats. Even a single one would do! I am specifically after that. At the moment WA DoT is convinced that the car is a UTE and therefore cannot possibly ever have had seats in the back in some factory configurations. In the UK that is simply untrue. The question is whether they were supplied like that in Australia.

I have now found a load of photos of Series III LWB soft tops with rear seats on an ADF site, but I am struggling with SWB examples...

not one of mine - but thought it may be of interest,
cheers,
D

You might find something here Alistair.
There are plenty of 2A 88 soft tops with rear seats, so maybe there is a Series 3 in amongst them.

The Registry of Ex Military Land Rovers. Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.

Good luck.
Cheers, Mick.

Unfortunately, by the time Series 3 came along, swb soft tops were quite rare in Australia, and it is just possible that there were in fact none sold with rear seats.

The army certainly had lwbs with rear seats, and a few 2a swbs with rear seats, but I am not sure the army had any swbs Series 3s at all - I am pretty sure all the army S3s were sixes, except perhaps for a few trial ones.

John

I'm in QLD and I know that that can change things, an my 1975, swb S3 was factory with hard top and no rear seats. However the PO has converted it to softtop and added rear bench seats. I took it for a roadworthy here and the guy said my seat belt was too worn - needed replacement, but did not say anything about the configuration of seats. (I've got a QLD mod plate to say it's now a 5 seater)

Hope this helps you. I know it's not really what you were asking for... but maybe an example of someone who has gotten it registered can help?

here's a pic for you.


a better photo, but the seat belts are not reinstalled here.

Hi Alistair.
An interesting issue that you have as it effects my S111 109 project. I had considered fitting some forward facing seats in the rear, but I may have the same "ute" issue as you so will stick with the 3 front bench seats for the moment.

Do DoT consider your SWB a utility because it has a bulkhead behind the front seats? Maybe an option would be to remove this bulkhead (with suitable strengthening) so the body is more of a conventional "wagon" style floor plan??