505 replies to this topic

[Tyre biter]

Andy, no SMS mate but really glad to hear it arrived safe and sound.

Jeff and Sam - great to hear I am not the only one - that is three of us - seems we have enough for a quorum and so can start a club for us 'three-times lucky' types

 

The back seats are all in and look the goods, but just when I thought I was out of trouble...

Problem is, the seat backs don't latch - the upside down v shaped rods are too wide apart!

 

 

 

I have used a ratchet strap to coax them inwards to no avail.

The gap is 120cm.

 

These seats are doing my head in and so I am wondering;

1. Has anyone else had this problem and if so, how dd you fix it?

2. Would someone with a hatch kindly measure the gap between the inside edges of the upside down v shaped rods for me as a reference please?

 

Ta, TB

[76lxhatch]

2. Would someone with a hatch kindly measure the gap between the inside edges of the upside down v shaped rods for me as a reference please?

Mine are 1215mm apart (1205mm gap inside), the latches only just catch on them but its enough. Compared to your latches mine seem to hang out past the edge of the seat a bit more. I'd possibly be a bit rough and see if you can bend them in with a shifter or something?

[Redslur]

Mine were the same mate.  Had to bend them slightly and then they still only just latched.  Will have some time in the next week or so mate to give you more of a hand too.  Been at the Nats all day!

[a9x868]

Andy, no SMS mate but really glad to hear it arrived safe and sound.
Jeff and Sam - great to hear I am not the only one - that is three of us - seems we have enough for a quorum and so can start a club for us 'three-times lucky' types
 
The back seats are all in and look the goods, but just when I thought I was out of trouble...
Problem is, the seat backs don't latch - the upside down v shaped rods are too wide apart!

 
 

 
I have used a ratchet strap to coax them inwards to no avail.
The gap is 120cm.

 
These seats are doing my head in and so I am wondering;
1. Has anyone else had this problem and if so, how dd you fix it?
2. Would someone with a hatch kindly measure the gap between the inside edges of the upside down v shaped rods for me as a reference please?
 
Ta, TB

the right side looks ok but the left one is uptoshit
the seat back catch has a tiny protrusion with a hole in it for an anti rattle grommet and the latch tight
are you sure that your seat backs have not been re-drilled

[a9x868]

the release handles on mine sit very close to the upside down v bracket when
in the closed position

[a9x868]

hope this is helpful!
release handles sit close to brackets when in the closed posi  SH101808.JPG   130.39K   3 downloads

[Obey 1]

TYre biter ..here is a couple of pics of my hatches rear latches.
As well my v rods are 120cm apart so they should be fine.
It appears ur latches are mounted in the wrong spot.

Damn ipad..!!

Sorry mate having trouble uploading photos but the latches overhang the seat by a fair bit,
Will try to upload photos later.

Got the photos below..it appears you have put a screw into the part behind the latch part,
Look at my photos closely and there is only 3 screws attaching the latch not 4 as per yours!
Hope this helps mate.. Love the hatch..hope it all goes well for you!

Edited by Obey 1, 03 January 2014 - 08:40 PM.

[Obey 1]

 image.jpg   171.68K   2 downloads  image.jpg   277.17K   4 downloads

There you go !!

[Tyre biter]

Thanks Jeff, Dave, Obey1 and Grant,

 

I've had a close look at my latches following your posts - thank you.

 

They are hard up against the edge - the photos of mine are perhaps a tad deceptive.

 

Obey 1: Whilst I have four screws in the latch the latch itself, the board of the seat back has four holes and the latches came with four screws each - none foul on the latch and the latch travels all the way to the outside without impediment by the screw underneath - wish it were as easy as removing one of the screws - God I wish this was the case!

 

Grant: The step is right on the edge of the underlying board and so the latch is in the right place unfortunately.

 

76lxhatch:  Thanks for your measurements - seems mine are tighter than yours and same as Obey 1 - again unfortunately.

 

I think 76lxhatch is right - I will need to bend them in some more and hope there is enough height in them after doing so to still latch because (as Dave asked) the holes haven't been re-drilled and whilst the originals are somewhat elongated - they cannot (in my case) be screwed in any closer sorry to report.  And as Grant said, this is not something I wanted to be going at this stage - alas, it is what it is, and will need what it needs - I just wish I could have a darned 'win' with this car is all!

 

Gez: I might have to take you up on your offer mate and let you have a look to see if there is anything I have missed...

 

Thanks guys - I very much appreciate your interest and advice.

 

Cheers, TB

Edited by Tyre biter, 07 January 2014 - 08:48 PM.

[a9x868]

the right side looks ok but the left one is uptoshit
the seat back catch has a tiny protrusion with a hole in it for an anti rattle grommet and the latch tight
are you sure that your seat backs have not been re-drilled

tb
something else upon looking at this pic of yours
compared to mine
your seat backs still seem to dip in the middle
both at the top and bottom useing the tape measure as a guide
centre position looks ok in relation to my pic
but outsides look high!
is it possible that the outside hinges are still the wrong ones?
just asking?

[Tyre biter]

Hi Dave,

Yes mate, there is a slight inwards tip with the centre gap narrowing towards the top - nothing like with 09/10 inners nor 09/10 outers mind you.

A few folk have said to me that a slight inwards tip is 'normal' but then I look at your photo and your seat backs look to be perfect - dead flat with a consistent gap in the centre - you lucky, lucky bastard!

My outer hinges are correct (94/95) and a huge improvement over the 09/10 (UC), and everything is where it should be in terms of lining up with bolt holes and recesses - this is just doing my head in.

If I can get the seat backs to latch then I reckon I can live with the inwards tipped alignment - just (as i said) I worry that if I bend the V rods inwards a tad they will loose the amount of height needed to slot into the latch - good news is I have spare set and so can afford to muck around a little.

Finally, the hole for the anti-rattle grommet in the latch that you spoke of - you haven't got a photo of the grommet by any chance do you?

Cheers, TB

[boomfunk]

Hi Craig,

 

Cars starting to look really good, sorry to see the seats are being a pain.. can i just suggest if anybody else hasnt already

 

To save you sanity/mind, take the rod out and make a new one longer... it will then fit and as long as the seat are functional (fold down and up) and also line up 

 

Take you 10 minutes and job done, instead of mucking about with lining them up etc

 

its only round bar

[a9x868]

Hi Dave,
Yes mate, there is a slight inwards tip with the centre gap narrowing towards the top - nothing like with 09/10 inners nor 09/10 outers mind you.
A few folk have said to me that a slight inwards tip is 'normal' but then I look at your photo and your seat backs look to be perfect - dead flat with a consistent gap in the centre - you lucky, lucky bastard!
My outer hinges are correct (94/95) and a huge improvement over the 09/10 (UC), and everything is where it should be in terms of lining up with bolt holes and recesses - this is just doing my head in.
If I can get the seat backs to latch then I reckon I can live with the inwards tipped alignment - just (as i said) I worry that if I bend the V rods inwards a tad they will loose the amount of height needed to slot into the latch - good news is I have spare set and so can afford to muck around a little.
Finally, the hole for the anti-rattle grommet in the latch that you spoke of - you haven't got a photo of the grommet by any chance do you?
Cheers, TB

craig
do not settle for second best mate!
you have come too far!
as you can see by my pic the seat backs tops should be level
little bit of thought involved and problem will be fixed
were your seat back top sections original LX or were they UC?
next question!
is there a difference between the two?
i don't want to see this do your head in
and there must be a simple solution to your problem
i'll check the parts book for a number for the grommet!
if nesessary cut weld grind paint!
and tell everyone on here that you have it fixed!
that's all we want to see!
doesn't matter how you get there as long as you get there in the end!
shit if i had given up my car would still be in my mates shop
or in someone else's hands
and i'm glad that didn't happen!
keep workin at it dude
and your doing the right thing asking for help on this forum
cheers
davemc

[Toranamat69]

Craig, it look to me like in your pictures above that the latches on your seats are not adjusted all the way out toward the edge of the seats - they are on slotted holes.  If you look at mine on my LX and the pics of Jeff's and Obey1's above, they are all adjusted out to the limit of those slots.

 

Looking at the 'upside down V' shaped brakets from behind, mine angle in very slightly - it is a bit tricky to see yours.  I just checked the UC hatch and it still has these and 1 or them is actually angling out toward the outside of the car - it is bend a bit on the inner wheel well, not the bracket so they are fairly easy to tweak around as they are only bolted through 1mm steel sheet - it felt like I could quite easily tap it back in with a rubber mallet.

 

If your seat then looks like it won't be low enough to latch onto those brackets, it could be the adjustment of the angle steel brackets behind the seat backs as they will let the seat lie back a bit further if adjusted.

 

It does certainly look like your seats are angling in to the middle.  If the outter hinge was still a little high where it bolts to either the seat or the wheel well, that would cause all the problems you seem to be experiencing as lowering that will straighten the seat, pivot the latch out toward the side of the car and bring it down into alignment with the upside down V bracket so I would be having a look at that first.

 

Matt

[Toranamat69]

Cruiza - you could be onto something there.  My centre bracket had a huge crack on it which I just had welded up so it is feasible that bracket could have bent down with a heavy weight in the back with seats folded down.

 

If Craig laid the seats flat - it should be possible to see if the outside edges are sitting high or if the middle is sitting low. compared with the straight edge behind the seat where the boards go.

[a9x868]

craig
there is of course one more test!
lay the seat backs down and the backing boards that are currently folded up
in the pics above should lock into place as you push the seat backs down onto the rear seat squab
for these to lock into place correctly they should be perfectly alligned with the
flat section behind the seats
if they don't then the seats are not right!

[Tyre biter]

Thanks all.

A few things for me to consider and look at now.

I'm off on hols for a week from tomorrow or so and so will re-visit this when I get back and let you know how I go.

I will say - I can't find any adjustability in either the latches where they mount to the rear seat back, nor where the hinges mount to the seat backs - no slotted holes like Toranamat69 speaks of - wish there was.

The wood underneath the vinyl is chipboard and is very likely original though the seats did come from a (cough) Sunbird...

I also checked the centre pivot - straight as a die - no bends or cracks unfortunately - the pivot point is where it is I guess as are the wheel arch mounting holes.

This leaves only the mounting position for the hinges on the seat backs as discussed - like I said, it is the original chipboard and I am loathe to re-drill and the like - the stuff can be pretty brittle after all there years.

I did have a play with a spare set of v shaped rods - am much closer to latching after bending them but of course, this doesn't remedy the seat backs remaining tipped inwards.

Like I said, I'll look at this again and afresh when I get home but in the interim - thanks again for your interest and help - much appreciated.

Cheers, TB

[hanra]

though the seats did come from a (cough) Sunbird...
Cheers, TB

As in a UC Sunbird? Are the rear seats the same LX to UC if the hinges are different?

[Tyre biter]

You cheeky bugger Brad
Nope, an LX Sunbird all the way.
Cheers, TB

[mick_in_oz]

Not that I've looked at mine, but how much clearance or room to move is there on the seat hinges where they bolt to the wheel arches? Clearance in the holes? Moving this pivot point down will level up the seat tops and may be the last little bit needed to get things to work.

[Tyre biter]

Righto,

ad a week or so off to think this through and come home afresh - no new ideas however...

 

a9x868

I had a look at your idea - flaps fold okay - tight but they align with a little shove - clearly something is a little out.

 

cruiza and Toranamat69

I had another look at the centre hinge bracket - seems all is as it should be...

 

mick_in_oz

No wriggle room on the outer hinge mounts - the wheel arch is rebated and has holes (not elongated) to mount it in but one spot.

 

As I said previously; before I went on holidays I got a second set of the v-shaped rods and bent them inwards a little - close - a tad more bending ought to do the trick but worried this will lower their height and thereby go under the snib of the latch - time will tell;

 

Also I checked (again) how close the latches were to the outside of the seatbeack back-board; right on the edge as suggested - previous photos were a bit of an illusion as it is right on the edge;

 

Also checked the inner hinge attachment point as suggested - it is as low as it can go;

 

And so am left with it being what it is - so long as I can bend the V shaped rods enough to latch...

Having said that, the good thing is I have redslur to help me out on these in the coming weeks - I will leave them alone and see if Gerry's fresh set of eyes see another way forward and will let you know how we go.

 

Finally, and on another issue, I have a question re: front seat belts.

I had four front inertia belts - two came with the car and two from a donor.

Three are LX and the fourth has a completely different container for the barrel - not sure what it is.

In any case, of the three LX versions I have, two have a plastic retainer for the male tongue which requires the belt to be woven through it - like this;

 

The third has a plastic button - like this;

 

Clearly the purpose of these 'retainers' is to stop the tongue from slipping down the belt and making it a PITA to buckle up - the tongue is located above the 'retainer' as a result.

One of the woven types is bloody rough and so I have fitted a woven style on the driver side and a button style on the passenger side as can be seen - all good - the difference doesn't trouble me despite being a Virgo - honest it doesn't!

 

The issue being the male tongue on the driver's belt is on the wrong side of the woven 'retainer' - see above image.

I can't for the life of me figure out how to pass the tongue trough the retainer or vice versa.

Has anyone had to do this and if so, how did you do it?

 

Failing that, I see I can buy the button types on E-Bay and so I can cut the woven type off - just trying to save some time, money and effort is all as they are all overseas suppliersl...

http://www.ebay.com....=item3cd216e094

 

Regards, TB

Edited by Tyre biter, 22 January 2014 - 09:28 PM.