Restoring my P1800E

[DJS]

Great work as normal Mitch.

[Oilline]

Hi Mitch

Can you give me the details of where you have bought the Detroit diff from?

[Burdekin]

PM sent with the details. Let me know if you need anymore details etc.

[Burdekin]

This weekend I thought I'd do something a bit different and start making the seat brackets for the MX5 seats. For a start I thought I'd fit the old P1800 drivers seat for reference and then align the MX5 passenger seat with the old P1800 seat. I then supported the MX5 seat when it looked about right and measured what the dimensions for the brackets would be. I made up the brackets out of light gauge sheet metal for a start, it all looked good but when I sat in the car the seat was too high by about 1 inch over the P1800 seat, even though it sat lower than the P1800 seat, see the pic below. The MX5 seat is firm where the P1800 seat is soft so my idea of using the P1800 seat as a guide didn't really help. It was 2.30 and the aussies were due to start in the footy so packed up for the day and went and watched the match. On Sunday I talked my lovely wife to come over and model in the seats (I have included a pic of me in the car as I was told the pics of her were not to go in the forum, and if they did I would be in BIG trouble) so I could get a better idea of the heights. I've cut the rear bracket down to size but will need to make new ones for the front. They will need to be similar to the P1800 seat brackets/mounts as the best position for the MX5 is really floor height at the front so will need to come up with a solution with mounting the brackets through the floor. I was getting frustrated and not enjoying not coming up with a solution so I called it a day and will ponder over how best to do it. So I didn't really achieve much this weekend.

I've included a pic of my ex-chief mechanic (I had to let him go as I found out he knew stuff all about cars) helping out with the seat heights but as he is too short he didn't help much...

One good result for the weekend is that the left inner wing is now all done... All the rust is gone!!!

For my engine/gearbox conversion I've got myself a 850 flat flywheel and 850R clutch assembly, it will be ages before I'm ready for the engine but am accumulating the bits I'll need.

[john h]

I had the exact same problem with the 164. And I am also using Mazda seats (RX7).

Below is an extract from my project thread which might help a bit? I just joined up some bits of steel bar until I had something strong which would connect the Mazda runners with the Volvo brackets at the lowest seat height possible. Luckliy this gives a fine driving position for me in the 164. (I am 6'5").

I don't have any pics of the brackets finished because, err, I never finished them! But they do work and fit the seats at the right height.

Interior

My seats. They are from a Japanese market mid '90s Mazda RX7. I chose these because they are similar to the '70s Volvo P1800ES seats, which I was thinking of using, but these have much better support bolsters. They will be reupholstered in leather to match the 164, with box-pleats added to the centre section to match the 164 rear seat.


Subframe fabricated to attach the RX7 seats to Volvo 140 brackets (which are shown in primer)




I have moved the hand-brake to the right hand side.





Good work on the inner wing, looks fantastic.

Cheers

John

[Burdekin]

Thanks John. I read your post again the other day when looking for ideas of how people have done it. I thought about doing like you did, fixing the bracket to the old seat mounts but decided in the end just to make new ones. Probably working out a bit more of a pain than I thought but once I get it sorted it will be worth it. The MX5 seats, like the RX8 seats I assume are nice and comfy compared to the P1800 seats.

[Burdekin]

Haven't done much this weekend due to all the sport on at the moment but I've worked out how the seat mounts are going to be and have made the rear mount (still to be welded fully) and started on the front. The front mount I'll box in under the floor and weld to the outrigger. I'll fully weld it all when all fitted and I still need to get some bolts and nuts. I went to B&Q to buy the nuts and bolts today but they are junk and wanted about £2 for a M12 x 40mm bolt so I decided I'll go else where and buy some grade 8 bolts to hold the seat down.

[redcar]

good work Mitch. i'm interested to see how this turns out.

i am thinking of going down the same route, putting in better front seats... i know i put the headrests in, but the seats are becoming a little worn with the daily use. replacing the covers is about the same price as going with a decent pair of BMW e30 seats, or similar, which would offer much more support/comfort


cracking footie over the weekend btw...

[Burdekin]

I'll post some pics of the actual seat and how it looks in the car when done, hopefully pretty soon. At this stage I'm just doing the left side as I've got work to do on the right floor before I do the new seat mounts. Just doing the seat mounts as I was wanting a bit of a change.

The P1800 is quite a low and narrow car so the MX5 seats worked out well for size. I also looked at RX8 seats as I like the fit and style but they were too high and I would have had to lower the floor or raise the roof to fit them... ;-)

I was supporting the English but they were dire unfortunately. The quality of play should start to improve now being at the pointy end of the competition. There's also the Tennis, Cricket and Tour De France starting soon so a good time to be a sports fan...

For interest I bought my bolts etc from a website previously recommended by Derek : http://www.wrightsautosupplies.co.uk/ Have a look if your after fixings and odds and ends.

[Gordon Hunter]

Hi Mitch,

I fitted MGF seats in my 1800 as they have a similar pattern ribbing to the rear seats and the doorcards.
They are a lot more comfortable than the originals but took a fair bit of hacking and fabbing to get to fit as I mounted them on the original seat runners so I could reinstate the originals again (if I ever want to)...