I have previously made a set of seat mounts for a pair of Suzuki Swift seats
https://mearcat.blogspot.com/2011/11/seat-mounts-part-1.html
Because I'm tall the seats had to be moved rearward and to clear the rear bins, also had to be moved inward towards the centre of the cabin.
The main problem with both of those pairs of seats was they ended up too close together due to the position of the rear storage bins. With two people sitting in the car, our shoulders would near enough touch which didn't seem overly comfortable but I figured it was just a trade-off for having larger modern seats in a Mini. The position of the storage bins were the problem and they just needed to be modified - to move them out of the way but I had to make sure the seatbelt reels would still fit.
The first step was to remove the front part of the bin away with a combination of a spot weld drill bit to remove the spot welds, and a grinder cutting disc to make a vertical cut, and the remove the base (spot welded to the floor).
There were a few small welds against the B-Pillar which I had to use a die grinder to remove.
Once removed, the area was cleaned up with a flap disk.
The position and size of the inertia reel was marked and to clear the reel, I had to remove more of the steel that was in front of the rear seat.
I wanted to retain the finishing trim strip that clips on top of the storage bin sides so had to replicate the bend at the top of the panel pieces. This was done by taping a few pieces of 2.5mm steel to my vice and clamping the new steel sheet between them in the vice. By repeating this along the length of the steel sheet, I ended up with a pretty close approximation of the original lip on the storage bin edges.
Once complete, the curve of the bin was moved rearward from the original position by approx 140mm, providing room for the seats to be mounted closer to the doors. With the trimmed curve piece and some new steel to fill in the side area, everything was ready to be welded back in.
Instead of using magnets to keep the panels together like I had always done previously, I used some new butt welding clamps. These are fantastic for maintaining a gap between the panels while keeping the panels flush for welding. I wish I had found out about these a long time ago!
The final task was to make a cover for the seat belt reels. This was a box made from 0.8mm steel sheet that was a snug fit over the seatbelt reel. With the seats clearing the reels, I achieved an extra 35mm room per side. Note : I hadn't yet drilled the holes for the mounting screws in these photos.
https://mearcat.blogspot.com/2011/11/seat-mounts-part-1.html
Because I'm tall the seats had to be moved rearward and to clear the rear bins, also had to be moved inward towards the centre of the cabin.
The main problem with both of those pairs of seats was they ended up too close together due to the position of the rear storage bins. With two people sitting in the car, our shoulders would near enough touch which didn't seem overly comfortable but I figured it was just a trade-off for having larger modern seats in a Mini. The position of the storage bins were the problem and they just needed to be modified - to move them out of the way but I had to make sure the seatbelt reels would still fit.
The first step was to remove the front part of the bin away with a combination of a spot weld drill bit to remove the spot welds, and a grinder cutting disc to make a vertical cut, and the remove the base (spot welded to the floor).
There were a few small welds against the B-Pillar which I had to use a die grinder to remove.
Once removed, the area was cleaned up with a flap disk.
The position and size of the inertia reel was marked and to clear the reel, I had to remove more of the steel that was in front of the rear seat.
I wanted to retain the finishing trim strip that clips on top of the storage bin sides so had to replicate the bend at the top of the panel pieces. This was done by taping a few pieces of 2.5mm steel to my vice and clamping the new steel sheet between them in the vice. By repeating this along the length of the steel sheet, I ended up with a pretty close approximation of the original lip on the storage bin edges.
Once complete, the curve of the bin was moved rearward from the original position by approx 140mm, providing room for the seats to be mounted closer to the doors. With the trimmed curve piece and some new steel to fill in the side area, everything was ready to be welded back in.
Instead of using magnets to keep the panels together like I had always done previously, I used some new butt welding clamps. These are fantastic for maintaining a gap between the panels while keeping the panels flush for welding. I wish I had found out about these a long time ago!
The final task was to make a cover for the seat belt reels. This was a box made from 0.8mm steel sheet that was a snug fit over the seatbelt reel. With the seats clearing the reels, I achieved an extra 35mm room per side. Note : I hadn't yet drilled the holes for the mounting screws in these photos.
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