Two into Two will go.

Well, I managed to get a little more done on the Polo project, finishing the interior fitting. This wasn't as simple as just bolting the front seats in, as I'd first hoped. Our car is an '82, the replacement interior comes from what on the face of it is an identical Mk2 but an '89. For some reason, somewhere in between the two years the seatbelts, which mount tot he seat frame were changed, and the seat squab subframe was also changed with the slide mechanism being moved from left to right on each seat. Had the seatbelts not mounted to the seats then it would have been easy enough to swap right for left, although this would have left the tilt lever in the centre of the car instead of by the door - an inconvenience, for sure, but not and MOT issue. But the seatbelts forced the issue.

So the question is, will seats from a Mk2, (prefacelift) go into an earlier Mk2? The answer is yes but no but yes. 

Looking at the old seat and the new, other than the slide mechanism being different the basic frame and tilt mechanism is the same. So, it was a case of swapping the entire backrest on each seat, and then removing the foam and fabric from both base units and fitting the new cover to the old seat so the right mechanism for the car was there, but with the right upholstery. It took about an hour to work it out on the first seat, and probably 40 minutes on the second, but both seats are now reinstalled and with a catch bolt in position to prevent the car sliding off the end of the runners they now operate smoothly, look good and are comfortable. Well worth the effort.

For anyone tackling such a swap, there are two little tongues half way down the side of the seat base bottom that the fabric slips over, two plastic pins that hold the front of the cover underneath the seat, and a tensioning wire that pulls the whole lot tight. The back of the seat folds into a slot - Release everything else, then lift the fabric and foam off the metal base using the back edge as a hinge, this should them pull out of the slot it sits in - it's a tight fit, but it will wriggle out. As ever, with such old fittings go slowly and carefully so as not to damage anything. reversal, in true Haynes Manual style, is the reversal of removal, ensuring everything is in the right place and tensioned down. Each side of the seat has a plastic cover to hide the metalwork of the mechanism s, these are held on with clever little fastenings which are almost invisible, but once yo see them push the little plastic pin out from behind (compress the seat squab a little to get access) Once the pins are out, the cover pops off easily enough with no damage. 

Final job for today,  I got the last wheel, the spare, rubbed down and repainted, so now all the wheels look smart too.

Now I really will have to go back to work for a few days - well six to be precise, but Saturday to Monday are nightshifts, so I might just get a little done in the afternoons.