Mercedes Seats in a TR7/8
Posted: 13 Sep 2012 00:55
Last fall I had the opportunity to buy some all electric leather seats from a wrecked Merc 230C for a ridiculously low Cdn$50 for the pair. How could I say no? They were filthy and the forward reverse motor on one seat was missing. So last weekend I finally got busy to see if my purchase might be adaptable to the TR. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make them fit.
Here are the stock Merc seat on the left, my recovered (ugly!!) stock TR7 seat, and the Merc seat on the TR7 frame.
The stock Merc seat and mount is way to high for the car, and I didn't want to cut out the floor rails to lower it. So I took the seat apart and mounted it to a TR7 frame. The seat height is now almost the same as the original TR7 one, and infinitely more comfortable. [:o)]
So, the electric fore/aft seat adjuster is gone and I have to use the stock TR7 one (ah shame....). In doing so, I also lost the seat up/down & tilt movement, but that doesn't really matter to me and the rear of the seat is still spring loaded for a nice cushy ride. Here is a pic of the original Merc vs TR7 mounting:
And one from the side:
I still have all of the other electric functionality available, adjustable backrest, lumbar, headrest, leg side support (whatever that is called) and even the electric seat warmer!!
To mount the Merc seat was surprisingly easy, once I figured out how to get the stock brackets apart. Some minor cutting and drilling. Two bolts at the front and two small simple angle brackets at the back are all that was required. I cut the original Merc seat pivot cross arm (for the tilt function), drilled and tapped the ends and bolted them to the TR7 frame:
Then I made up two angle brackets for the rear, to mount the back rest and be a platform for the seat springs in the rear.
New and old compared:
Now to do the other seat, mount them in the car and figure out how to manage all the electric controls! [:D]
M.
Here are the stock Merc seat on the left, my recovered (ugly!!) stock TR7 seat, and the Merc seat on the TR7 frame.
The stock Merc seat and mount is way to high for the car, and I didn't want to cut out the floor rails to lower it. So I took the seat apart and mounted it to a TR7 frame. The seat height is now almost the same as the original TR7 one, and infinitely more comfortable. [:o)]
So, the electric fore/aft seat adjuster is gone and I have to use the stock TR7 one (ah shame....). In doing so, I also lost the seat up/down & tilt movement, but that doesn't really matter to me and the rear of the seat is still spring loaded for a nice cushy ride. Here is a pic of the original Merc vs TR7 mounting:
And one from the side:
I still have all of the other electric functionality available, adjustable backrest, lumbar, headrest, leg side support (whatever that is called) and even the electric seat warmer!!
To mount the Merc seat was surprisingly easy, once I figured out how to get the stock brackets apart. Some minor cutting and drilling. Two bolts at the front and two small simple angle brackets at the back are all that was required. I cut the original Merc seat pivot cross arm (for the tilt function), drilled and tapped the ends and bolted them to the TR7 frame:
Then I made up two angle brackets for the rear, to mount the back rest and be a platform for the seat springs in the rear.
New and old compared:
Now to do the other seat, mount them in the car and figure out how to manage all the electric controls! [:D]
M.
