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So, I have a 110 in the backyard that is a "someday" project. I recently sat in the front seat and it was more comfy than the Series 3 deluxe ones. No big surprise there. The 110 seats appear to be "modern", while the Series ones look age appropriate.
I did a few measurements and found that, yes, I can swap seats. The bolt patterns are good to go, at least for what I'm doing.
I've got the driver's seat swapped into the S3, using the original Series fasteners. The Series seats use 2 bolts (flathead screws, actually) on each corner, compared to 1 bolt on each corner in the 110. The Defender seats use a different hole for its fasteners, which lives in between the two Series holes that are also in the Defender seat frame. To put the Series seats in the 110 (which I'm not planning on), I'd have to drill the 110 seat box to accept the two-per-corner fasteners. Photo below shows this pretty clearly.
After a week of driving around with a "new" seat under me, I have some observations:
They are nicer seats, even though this one is probably from the 80's (older than my S3 seats are), and has had critters living in it (past tense, I hope).
It's a bit better at insulating my backside from higher frequency vibrations, probably because of better padding. So, a bit less fatiguing over a longer trip.
The seat is a bit bigger. It overhangs the seat box on the front (at least with my current adjustment). The front adjustment bar is father over the seat box. It's taller, because it has a head rest. The bolsters ("squibs" in UK speak?) have more shape.
Adjustment is limited because of the Series truck's tub bulkhead being right behind the seat. With the original Series seat, there's a bit more room for taller drivers. You can adjust the seat back angle on the 110 seats, but that's negated by the relative lack of seat travel in the rearward direction.
For me, at 5'8" and relatively thin, it works. I'm trading legroom on the order of maybe one or two clicks of adjustment (about one inch/2.5cm) for greater comfort. So far, the trade offs look good.
If I was much taller, I might not like this new set up.
The headrest is pretty far back. I think that's because of how it has to be adjusted for me. I need to move my head uncomfortably backward to hit it, but even so, it should protect me better than S3 seats if I get rear ended. My boys like to climb into their back seat through the front doors and over the front seats. The head rest may get in the way a bit.
I can imagine this being a great set up for a 109 5 door, without the seat back bulkhead (assuming that long wheel base 5 doors don't have that bulkhead - corrections welcome). I know a lot of Series owners upgrade to Defender seats, and now I know why. New Defender seats are out of my budget, but I luckily had these old crusty ones to experiment with.
It looks like the seat has been recovered or reupholstered at some point. I'm noticing the lack of stripes in the center of the seat back, but I don't have enough info on this.
I'm going to see if Santa can deliver a reupholstery kit for the two outside seats. I'm seeing decent material choices from Exmoor at Rovers North, but I'm open to other suggestions if you have any. It looks like I can reupholster both outside fronts for half the cost of an entry level new Exmoor seat. The middle seat looks fine. The seat bases need paint, but are complete and they work. I'll probably spring for the seat heater kit that RN carries, but not the lumbar kit.
Here's both seats for comparison. Never mind the torn vinyl - that just made it easier to clean out the mouse nests.
I did a few measurements and found that, yes, I can swap seats. The bolt patterns are good to go, at least for what I'm doing.
I've got the driver's seat swapped into the S3, using the original Series fasteners. The Series seats use 2 bolts (flathead screws, actually) on each corner, compared to 1 bolt on each corner in the 110. The Defender seats use a different hole for its fasteners, which lives in between the two Series holes that are also in the Defender seat frame. To put the Series seats in the 110 (which I'm not planning on), I'd have to drill the 110 seat box to accept the two-per-corner fasteners. Photo below shows this pretty clearly.
After a week of driving around with a "new" seat under me, I have some observations:
They are nicer seats, even though this one is probably from the 80's (older than my S3 seats are), and has had critters living in it (past tense, I hope).
It's a bit better at insulating my backside from higher frequency vibrations, probably because of better padding. So, a bit less fatiguing over a longer trip.
The seat is a bit bigger. It overhangs the seat box on the front (at least with my current adjustment). The front adjustment bar is father over the seat box. It's taller, because it has a head rest. The bolsters ("squibs" in UK speak?) have more shape.
Adjustment is limited because of the Series truck's tub bulkhead being right behind the seat. With the original Series seat, there's a bit more room for taller drivers. You can adjust the seat back angle on the 110 seats, but that's negated by the relative lack of seat travel in the rearward direction.
For me, at 5'8" and relatively thin, it works. I'm trading legroom on the order of maybe one or two clicks of adjustment (about one inch/2.5cm) for greater comfort. So far, the trade offs look good.
If I was much taller, I might not like this new set up.
The headrest is pretty far back. I think that's because of how it has to be adjusted for me. I need to move my head uncomfortably backward to hit it, but even so, it should protect me better than S3 seats if I get rear ended. My boys like to climb into their back seat through the front doors and over the front seats. The head rest may get in the way a bit.
I can imagine this being a great set up for a 109 5 door, without the seat back bulkhead (assuming that long wheel base 5 doors don't have that bulkhead - corrections welcome). I know a lot of Series owners upgrade to Defender seats, and now I know why. New Defender seats are out of my budget, but I luckily had these old crusty ones to experiment with.
It looks like the seat has been recovered or reupholstered at some point. I'm noticing the lack of stripes in the center of the seat back, but I don't have enough info on this.
I'm going to see if Santa can deliver a reupholstery kit for the two outside seats. I'm seeing decent material choices from Exmoor at Rovers North, but I'm open to other suggestions if you have any. It looks like I can reupholster both outside fronts for half the cost of an entry level new Exmoor seat. The middle seat looks fine. The seat bases need paint, but are complete and they work. I'll probably spring for the seat heater kit that RN carries, but not the lumbar kit.
Here's both seats for comparison. Never mind the torn vinyl - that just made it easier to clean out the mouse nests.
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