The rear seat back and squab are fixed in the Fastback and fold to create a flat load space in the Variant. I expected the back to fit with little trouble (apart from the need to create a new hinge point) but the shape of the squab is different to suit the stiffeners and it is hinged at the front. They will all need to be reupholstered and recovered.
| I have trial-fitted an old seat back and squab from another Variant and the difference in shape is immediately obvious. The squab needs to be wider to sit on the side portion of the stiffeners that can be seen here and I shall need to trim the front corners to match. The overall widths are quite different so there may need to be a compromise to obtain the required support without fouling the door handles and the sides of the car. | |
 |
On the left here, the seat cushion is folded forward on the original hinges and held at the correct angle by the two steady wires. On the right, the back has been folded forward and is resting in its intended position, held at the front edge on the lip in the underside of the squab and the rear edge sitting on the corresponding lip at the front edge of the rear loading deck. |  |
 |
The fixed pivot point for the steady arm for the seat back was attached to the side of the Variant and needs a new mounting point. I wondered how easy or difficult it might be to work out where it needed to go, so I measured the position of the moving pivot (arrowed) with the seat back both raised and lowered. Imagine my surprise to find that it was in exactly the same place! That means I shall have complete freedom of choice where I place the new lower pivot mounting, so I can tuck it as far back as I can out of the way. I shall need to reshape the arm so that it will clear the wheel arch and the wider seat cushion. |
The front seats are almost identical. The only difference is the mechanism to tip the seat-back forward to allow access to the rear seat, which is the same arrangement for the 2-door saloon and the Fastback, so no modifications will be necessary.
To be continued . . .