Discussion
You'll be waiting a little while Phil mate 
I need to fab up the simple rail frames first, then I can start the re-colour & renovation work with the Furniture Clinic kit.
In the mean time here are some more snaps from the trial fit yesterday.
A smaller lever knob required.
Marking the lever for trimming.
The offending XJS seatbelt bracket that needs to go, it's riveted on.
The XJS seatbelt bracket removed, turns out I didnt need to remove it as the original TVR rail will be used.
A snug fit on the outer bolster.
Door closed, no problems.
Seatbelt anchor before adjustment.
After persuasion.
The rake pivot square.
A session with Hakisawrus.
The remaining square.
Setting the rake with a 10mm spanner, a thin lever will be made up so this can be done when the seats are fitted.
The squab fits in nicely, it's not the problem.
The bottom of the back rest, look closely at the pivots, this is the tightest & most problematic area of the whole installation.
The roof stay misses the headrest, just.
Head room and scary eyes
Head room, another angle.
She's in, snug as a bug in a rug
I need to fab up the simple rail frames first, then I can start the re-colour & renovation work with the Furniture Clinic kit.
In the mean time here are some more snaps from the trial fit yesterday.
A smaller lever knob required.
Marking the lever for trimming.
The offending XJS seatbelt bracket that needs to go, it's riveted on.
The XJS seatbelt bracket removed, turns out I didnt need to remove it as the original TVR rail will be used.
A snug fit on the outer bolster.
Door closed, no problems.
Seatbelt anchor before adjustment.
After persuasion.
The rake pivot square.
A session with Hakisawrus.
The remaining square.
Setting the rake with a 10mm spanner, a thin lever will be made up so this can be done when the seats are fitted.
The squab fits in nicely, it's not the problem.
The bottom of the back rest, look closely at the pivots, this is the tightest & most problematic area of the whole installation.
The roof stay misses the headrest, just.
Head room and scary eyes
Head room, another angle.
She's in, snug as a bug in a rug
Thanks for the pictures Dave, see what you mean 'snug as a bug' they just fit, hats of to you for the fitting, well done mate.This may help anyone thinking of putting XJS seats in a Chimaera:
As we can see from the inconsistent measurements TVR is delivering their usual levels of high quality engineering here. I'd recommend just using the image as a guide and measuring your own seats as they are probably are all fractionally different from car to car.
The Jag XJS mounting points on the other hand are spot on to the millimeter, so will almost certainly be universally the same.
And here we have the basic principle of the converter frame, the frame being represented in blue. I have purposely left the measurements off as I strongly advise taking the true measurements from your own TVR seats.
IMPORTANT! The above basic rendering shows the TVR converter frame as symmetrical in relation to the XJS mounting points, this is actually not the case as for the XJS seats to fit correctly in a Chimaera the converter frame needs to be off set slightly.
As we can see from the inconsistent measurements TVR is delivering their usual levels of high quality engineering here. I'd recommend just using the image as a guide and measuring your own seats as they are probably are all fractionally different from car to car.
The Jag XJS mounting points on the other hand are spot on to the millimeter, so will almost certainly be universally the same.
And here we have the basic principle of the converter frame, the frame being represented in blue. I have purposely left the measurements off as I strongly advise taking the true measurements from your own TVR seats.
IMPORTANT! The above basic rendering shows the TVR converter frame as symmetrical in relation to the XJS mounting points, this is actually not the case as for the XJS seats to fit correctly in a Chimaera the converter frame needs to be off set slightly.
More progress:
The eagle eyed amongst you will notice these XJS runners are electric, mine are manual but the basic principles & measurements of the adapter frames will be the same.
The biggest challenge is getting the seats adjustable back and forth on runners without ending up with the seats being too high.
I'm over 6' tall, the headroom in a Chimaera is fine for me with the standard TVR seats, but I'd hate the XJS seat project to turn out like this
The ultimate goal is to create a pair of "Plug & Play" adapter frames which (once bolted to the XJS seat frames) would allow anyone to easily drop a set of Jaguar XJS Recaro seats straight into a Chimaera.
The first set of adapter frames will be ready next week, thanks Gregor
The eagle eyed amongst you will notice these XJS runners are electric, mine are manual but the basic principles & measurements of the adapter frames will be the same.
The biggest challenge is getting the seats adjustable back and forth on runners without ending up with the seats being too high.
I'm over 6' tall, the headroom in a Chimaera is fine for me with the standard TVR seats, but I'd hate the XJS seat project to turn out like this
The ultimate goal is to create a pair of "Plug & Play" adapter frames which (once bolted to the XJS seat frames) would allow anyone to easily drop a set of Jaguar XJS Recaro seats straight into a Chimaera.
The first set of adapter frames will be ready next week, thanks Gregor
Richard 858 said:
Father Christmas turned up a bit early this morning !
Looking good mate. I have been chatting to Allison and ordered ours last week. I was going to start another thread but.... How are you going to mount them, Do you need to raise them to match the old seats and are you using the intatrim runners or the original TVR ones?
I did explore the XJS route and MX5 and various others to boot, you have made a great job of the fitment.
Jamie
Thanks Jamie & correctly identified, I've got a set of Intatrim runners as well so will experiment a bit when I get round to fitting them in the next couple of weeks, I'll be making up some ally strips above & below mounting points to spread the load (it'll be an improvement over the repair washers used by TVR originally in any case !). I aiming to get them as low as possible as I'm fairly tall so could do with a bit more head room so may end up direct to the floor. I'll post more pics when fitted.
Bringing back an old thread 
Just started a restoration on my 95 Griff and have been looking at seat replacement, currently in my garage I have a pair of xjs recaro type Seats and wondered if they would fit. Clearly they do or should I say they will with a bit of tlc
Would be great if you have any more info or pictures how the seats have held up over time?
Just started a restoration on my 95 Griff and have been looking at seat replacement, currently in my garage I have a pair of xjs recaro type Seats and wondered if they would fit. Clearly they do
or should I say they will with a bit of tlc Would be great if you have any more info or pictures how the seats have held up over time?
The Cerbera seats were, imho, the best seats TVR made. Early ones, not the Tuscan ones fitted to later Cerbs.
Comfortable, supportive and direct fit. Personally, a thinning of the seat base improves them but that is personal.
I can sit in them all day without issue plus they hold be up / in place on trackdays.
Comfortable, supportive and direct fit. Personally, a thinning of the seat base improves them but that is personal.
I can sit in them all day without issue plus they hold be up / in place on trackdays.
mk1fan said:
The Cerbera seats were, imho, the best seats TVR made. Early ones, not the Tuscan ones fitted to later Cerbs.
Comfortable, supportive and direct fit. Personally, a thinning of the seat base improves them but that is personal.
I can sit in them all day without issue plus they hold be up / in place on trackdays.
It’s getting hold of a pair now though. Comfortable, supportive and direct fit. Personally, a thinning of the seat base improves them but that is personal.
I can sit in them all day without issue plus they hold be up / in place on trackdays.
RobXjcoupe said:
It’s getting hold of a pair now though.
True. They do come up though. Just have to accept they have a certain value. I have three sets aside for the S's and Wedge.I happen to like the S1 Elise seats too but the seat frames are essential part of any purchase as the mounting holes are on the side! I have two sets of these aside as I may use them in the S's.
mk1fan said:
RobXjcoupe said:
It’s getting hold of a pair now though.
True. They do come up though. Just have to accept they have a certain value. I have three sets aside for the S's and Wedge.I happen to like the S1 Elise seats too but the seat frames are essential part of any purchase as the mounting holes are on the side! I have two sets of these aside as I may use them in the S's.
The Jaguar seats look sporty enough but also match the classic interiors of a Griff and Chimaera. You can buy new seat cushion foams if needed and the actual covers are fairly simple to put the TVR stitch design on or give a bit of a make over, with coloured fillets, double stitch diamonds or just retain the horizontal tuck and roll but with new leather. The Griff and Chimaera inner door panels have the perfect place to trim to match the seat design.
Also I’ve looked inside my Jag seats and it’s possible to reposition the button to tilt the backrest forward. If I’m fitting new covers moving the button isn’t an issue. The op showed this button fouling on the centre console bolsters. The rake adjustment handle could be changed for a series 2 or 3 xj6 version once the square drive has been shortened as the different handle is a slimmer design. Then connect the lumber support which is hidden un-used in the seat as a working seat upgrade.
I’m gonna give the Jag seats a fair go
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