I've been quite happy with my original seats (with a little extra lumbar support fitted in them) in a late '73 +2S.
However, after years of seeing XJS seats selling for a kings ransom I've at last managed to be in the right place at the right time with no-one else about and picked up a pair in excellent condition for £20.
Now somewhere on this forum I thought I saw a thread about fitting these seats to a plus 2 - can anyone point me in the right direction to find it please as I can't seem to see it anywhere?
Additionally any advice from anyone who has done the same?
Lastly once I'm happy with the fit, any recommendations for leather seat re-trimmers? - inconsiderate that Jaguar didn't make them in my colour!
Thanks everyone.

And more than a little jealous.....

When I'm in the right place at the right time I'll be doing the same.....Peter

Not sure about XJS seats, the threads on here are regarding X1/9 seats.

regards
Mark

Not sure about Jag seats. Niall (Niallf on this forum) has fitted Mazda MX5 seats very neatly by putting a sheet/plate over the standard fixing points and bolting the seats to it. And, of course, the process is entirely reversible.

I've bought some Porsche Boxter seats (not particularly cheap) but they are quite tall and will not be easy to fit with this method. My car will be a Zetec car and fairly heavily modified so I'm thinking about re-working the fibreglass to produce a flat floor.

Mike

XJS seats were definitely recommended to me as an alternative to the newer +2 seats in the past on this forum.

Funds never allowed a serious search for XJS seats. There are always other more pressing things to do with the car......

The +2 seats are already quite wide. If the XJS seats are no wider then there has to be a way to get them in! (Sorry, the part about fitting them never got discussed in my seats thread....)

I have a friend in Wicklow with a +2. He fitted Audi GT (80's model) seats. They were ok width wise but (IMO) a bit too high (my head was touching the ceiling) and took a lot of legroom (:)) from the rear.

He simply bolted the Audi slider/runner rails to the +2 floor. I'm pretty sure that this just required new holes drilled in the floor, big washers etc. etc.

He now has airbags, albeit only side ones , in his +2!!!

Peter

Ta for replies,
yes I looked at MX5 seats aswell but really the XJS have an identical profile to the +2 (plus headrests if you want them) but are heated and also come with excellent tilt forward and rake mechanism, lumbar support, squab and sideways support. (went for a long trip in XJS some years ago before I started hunting for them)
I've measured width, depth and height - identical.
Now I just need to find the thread on here or for the forum member who did the same swap to spot this thread and offer me their advice before I go and make a mistake that could easily have been avoided with the benefit of someone elses experience.
Come on - I know you are there somewhere!
Thanks

I remember the seats being discussed, but not how to fit them. I seem to remember that the guy who had them was selling his Plus 2, a Spyder car.

As for the XJS seats, I agree that they are the most comfy you can get. I've driven over 300,000 miles in these cars, and 800 miles in a day on a few occasions, and have always found them to be superb.

Get fitting!

Mark

Is this the post you were looking for?

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16077

Mark and Robbie - well done, yes that was the post!
Don't know why it wouldn't come up when I searched for it!

Yes the XJS seats I've bought are the Recaro ones -same as the black ones in ZetecLotus' white car but mine are light grey in colour.

I'll try a PM to ZetecLotus later and see if there are any pearls of wisdom or pitfalls to be avoided on this swap.
Does anyone know if ZetecLotus is still on the forum?
Thanks for help, much appreciated.

The site below has several pages on fitting alternative seats into Elan Plus 2 plus photos.
Regards

http://www.searchsmart.co.uk/lotus/2005_nov_dec.htm

I am currently going through this process. here are some pics to see how well they match thre rest of the trim (at least well matched in my humble opinion, which of course you are all entitled to).

The seats themselves fit fine with some brackets and they slide perfectly. The problem is the recline lever. It digs into the side of the car and so I am having to choose my position, take the lever off and then put the seat in. And this means taking it out if I change my mind. If anyone else has overcome this issue, please let me know.

Rich

Hi Rich,

I have more or less the same XJS seats as you. (Oatmeal-ish colour)

They are currently out of the car as it is (still) getting prepped for respray

BUT I have the same lever problem as you, though I had left the levers on and they could JUST about be used on the driver's side.

Intestingly I discovered that the passenger side is narrower than the driver's

Will look at solving the lever probelm when the car is being put back together. Maybe a flat lever like the original seats may be the solution?

As an aside....my original Oatmeal seats were (IMO) more comfortable and, fund's allowing, I may get them restored longer term.

Peter

so we need to make some smaller levers.....this is some job for a little used function. might just have a spanner type key made and leave in the glove box as opposed to making some nice expensive ones on display.

When I was looking for alternatives the only ones I could find which fitted while allowing reasonable travel and access to the levers were MX5 ones, I have a pair of tan leather ones, which fit great and are very comfortable, they even have speakers in the head rests so no need to cut into door trims etc.

Mine fit in just fine, with the recline lever falling beautifully to hand just above the sill.

OK, nobody likes a smartarse......

But Rich, can the handle be rotated through 90 degrees so that it's upright, then push back to recline?



Mark