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850 seats in a 245

smosit

New member
Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Location
Lawrence, KS
the swap was surprisingly easy. most of the work was put into making the brackets.

here's a before shot of the seat bottom underside (a la dying camera):
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h14/smosit/IMG_3487.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

after with brackets and tracks:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h14/smosit/IMG_3488.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

bracket comparison (this mounts the seat frame to the track; 2 per seat):
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h14/smosit/IMG_3489.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

seats in the car:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h14/smosit/IMG_3490.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h14/smosit/IMG_3491.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

these things are a huge step up from the original seats. i love 'em. the seat heaters actually get warm.

have fun,
 
Any clearance issues w/ side bolsters & center/rest and B pilar caps?

no clearance issues (what do you mean by B pillar caps...i know what the B pillar is). the seats are ~1" narrower than the 240 seats. height is the same (well, the height from the bottom of the frame to the seat surface is shorter, which is why the brackets are taller). i had to get rid of the plastic change holder/crap collector things what were on the outsides of the seat bottoms, as they would have made contact with the door pockets (see the first two pics where i cut off the tube extensions that held them in place).

the DS seat was full power. i decided to get rid of the base motors and use the manually adjustable PS seat bottom for the DS. i rigged up an electric window switch at the seat base to control the seat-back tilt motor. the PS seat bottom is bolted firmly to the brackets, requiring unbolting/rebolting to adjust height/tilt; the PS seat back is still manual tilt.

i also removed the recall seat heater controllers, as i've read that they limited the current to such a point that the heat is barely perceptable.

thanks for the support!

ryan
 
Got a set of mint '96 850R wagon seats for my 245. Got the rear ones too. Not sure If I can wedge them in, but anything is possible. Good to know at least the fronts fit! Nice work.
 
ooooh! let me know if you get the rear bench to fit...or if it even looks close. if so, i'm going back to the salvage yard before the 850--a wagon too--goes to the crusher. the buckets were $17 each, i think the bench will be about the same.

ryan
 
Just went out to the garage and took some measurements to be sure. I don't know if all 850 wagons are split bench, but the ones I got are. The lower bench is about 53-54 inches, and the 245 is 51-52 inches. So just a **** hair wider on the lower secition. The backrest from latch to latch is literally the same width wise at approximately 51.5 inches. I couldn't get any hieght measurements because all the trim/dash/door panels, etc. are on top of the stock layed down rear seat in the car. That being said, I don't see why you couldn't fab it in there. I can tell ya one thing I'm not putting the front ones in if the rear one doesn't fit. Just would like them to match.
 
Just went out to the garage and took some measurements to be sure. I don't know if all 850 wagons are split bench, but the ones I got are. The lower bench is about 53-54 inches, and the 245 is 51-52 inches. So just a **** hair wider on the lower secition. The backrest from latch to latch is literally the same width wise at approximately 51.5 inches. I couldn't get any hieght measurements because all the trim/dash/door panels, etc. are on top of the stock layed down rear seat in the car. That being said, I don't see why you couldn't fab it in there. I can tell ya one thing I'm not putting the front ones in if the rear one doesn't fit. Just would like them to match.

that sounds tempting...guess i'll be going back in a couple of days to take measurements. if it seems like too much work, i'll go with my original plan, which is to have the bench reupholstered in matching vinyl...shouldn't be too much. as it is now, the bench looks like crap and plaid seats with daisies would look better (well maybe not, but you get the idea). if you want, i can email a scan of the drawing showing the bracket dimensions.

as for the weight: by lifting them, i'ld say they are ~5 lbs heavier. i could really care less about the weight difference tho (unless they were like 50lbs more/seat). it's my DD, not a race car. and the old seats made my ass hurt on short (3 hour) road trips. this move was mostly about comfort, which usually equates to a better looking seat.

ryan
 
The backrest from latch to latch is literally the same width wise at approximately 51.5 inches.

how about the width at the pivot point? do the two halves rotate on the same shaft? i gave the bench at the yard a quick look and thought it wouldn't work without some major efforts. for one thing, i didn't see a mechanism to make the seat bottom flip up. i guess i was too hasty. damn!

it was a split bench too, btw. 850 turbo wagon (i guess thats an 850R?)

ryan
 
The width at the pivot point definately needs to be considered. The 850 backrest is 46 inches including the shafts on the sides which only stick out about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. The right larger half has a shaft that inserts into the smaller left half. I can't get to the 245 backrest to measure the pivot point.
 
no 850 turbo = T5, R = R.
But are 850 seats the best? How about other late models like 940 960 s70 s60 s80 etc....
IF only 5lbs heavier and you get a whole lot more comfort and safety and also the power mechanism it's well worth it.
But switching seat bottoms sounds like a pain in the arse if that's what you've gotta do to get them on.

I think this is a cheaper and more luxurious alternative to getting sparco or other sport seats.
 
no 850 turbo = T5, R = R.

ah...i guess i have a 15 year knowledge curve when it comes to volvos.

But are 850 seats the best?

not sure how they compare to others. they were there, cheap, and matched closely enough to the rest of the car's interior, so i took 'em. :)

IF only 5lbs heavier and you get a whole lot more comfort and safety and also the power mechanism it's well worth it. But switching seat bottoms sounds like a pain in the arse if that's what you've gotta do to get them on. I think this is a cheaper and more luxurious alternative to getting sparco or other sport seats.

the power mechanisms for the DS seat would have added another 10-15 lbs, easy. they were pretty-well integrated into the design of the tracks/mount, which would have made fitting them to the 240 tracks difficult, so i didn't take them. in retrospect, i should have taken them anyways (i paid for them, essentially) and sold the motors on ebay and made some money on the deal....oh well.

overall, it was a pretty easy swap. i've trudged through worse. would one have to fab up brackets too for sparco's, etc?

ryan
 
Smosit,
Your knowledge curve is the same as mine as far as 850's go.
Sounds like the recovering of the orignal bench will be your best bet. Good thing I measured those huh.

The seats I'm using are the leather or vinyl (whatever it is) with the suede like material in the center. Supposed to be from a '96 850R. so I'm gonna try my hardest to fit the back one in.

Make sure to post some pics after you get the rear covered.

-Chance
 
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