Fitting rear seat to a TR2

[Ricka]

Hi, this may be a dumb question, but here goes anyway. Have finally managed to get hold of a rear seat aseembly for my '56 2. Seat fits in perfectly, but I don't seem to be able to get enough movement in the front seets to allow any leg room in the back. Question is, do I need to modify the runners or front seat positions to get the back seat in and have room for little legs? Or, worse still, do I need to get hold of different front seats? Any advice welcome. Thanks Rick

[stuart]

Hi, this may be a dumb question, but here goes anyway. Have finally managed to get hold of a rear seat aseembly for my '56 2. Seat fits in perfectly, but I don't seem to be able to get enough movement in the front seets to allow any leg room in the back. Question is, do I need to modify the runners or front seat positions to get the back seat in and have room for little legs? Or, worse still, do I need to get hold of different front seats? Any advice welcome. Thanks Rick

Rick the rear seat option usually ends up like a parcel shelf unless the driver and passenger are about 5"4". With the seats in the fore most position there still isnt much room behind. But on a 2 the rear seat i dont think was offered as an option. The rear seat will sit a little further forward because the back panel is different to the later cars that had the seat option. Mike Ellis may be able to tell you more.

Stuart.

[Trevor S]

As I understand it a rear seat was not an option on a TR2. It only became an option from the TR3 onwards. On the vertical panel immediately behind the floor pans there are two captive nuts one either side of the prop shaft tunnel to secure the seat frame base which are not present on the TR2 although they could easily be added subject to adequate access underneath. The petrol tank is also larger on the TR2 than on the later cars and was reduced in size to accomadate the rear seat better. I don't believe the above would have a great affect on the leg room access. I'm sure the seat runners could be modified to give greater forward movement to create more leg room in the back but this would be at the expense not only of leg room in the front but of the proximity of the steering wheel to the chest of the driver. Whether modification to the runners is feasibe would therefore depend upon the build of the regular driver. It may also be worth having a look at the early TR4 seat runners to see if they are any longer than the TR2/3 runners as early TR4 seats are quite similar, and the early TR4 runner had two separate runners for each seat and were not joined together so any width issues would not come into play.

 

I hope you vcan solve the problem

Good luck

Trevor.

[Nigel Lay]

Rick, Someone had tried this on TS952. I did not take a photo of the seat itself as it was just 'chucked' in the car but they had moved the tank back, in point of fact they had turned it round and it was resting on two lumps of 4"x2 to try and get more room, see photo. The seat was out of a 3 and I swapped it for a pair of sidescreen frames as there none with the car. As Stuart has said there is just not enough space.

Nigel (with TS952)

Edited November 23, 2007 by Nigel Lay

[Ricka]

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to reply - I guess the kids will just have to walk for now! Regards Rick

[j-eichert]

Hello,

 

let me add a text passage from the 1958 TR3A sales folder:

"Interior of car - The optional rear seat makes the Triumph T.R.3 a true family car. Two children can sit comfortably in the back, snug and safe. No dorrs to snap open, an d the sides of the car are high at the back seat for added safety."

 

Nice piece of ad-talk, isn't it

The same folder shows a boot , filled with a suitcase and two cosmetics cases. Fascinating: The top level of all these items is lower than the level of the rear outer corners of the boot - leaving a lot of space free to fill above them. The boot seems to be only half filled. Never saw luggage that flat....

 

A view into the interior shows leg space behind the rear seats, but the backrest is slightly in front of the B-post, front end of seat almost under the dash - so imagine, where the steering wheel is.... it all depends on the size of your belly

 

So if you can get the seats so far forward, then there might be space for legs behind them.

 

 

I took the rear seat as the opportunity to get an even loading area behind the seats. So I will take some spare carpet, simulate the later floor with plywood and get an even loading area with a divided hiddden compartment below. Using the mounting points (2 cage nuts in each floor section, 2 cage nuts an each rear wall) this should be easy carpentry...

Edited December 3, 2007 by j-eichert

[tr3acrit]

Hi Rick,

I fitted the rear seat on my 59 TR3a last month and with the driver seat completly car forward there is space enough for my younger son (3years old) but not for the older (7years old).

It doesn' t mean that they can not stay on the rear seat, but sure not front face and only for short trip.

Ciao Carlo