Extended seat runners

[stuartmmcfc]

Has anyone any advice or experience in replacing the seat runners in a classic so the seat can go further back?
Because of mobility issues, getting in the car is a struggle and if the passenger seat slide further back it would be a lot easier.
Thanks

[ttthilvester]

Re-locating existing runners would be simplest option I would have thought?

[grumpy52]

Depending on make , if they did a two door or convertible version in the range the seat runners on them often have a greater range of movement.

[stuartmmcfc]

grumpy52 said:

Depending on make , if they did a two door or convertible version in the range the seat runners on them often have a greater range of movement.

Unfortunately it is a 2 door Convertible

[stuartmmcfc]

As in my garage, it’s a Mercury Cougar Convertible

[stuartmmcfc]

I think that’s a good idea. Roll on a nice spring day and I’ll get it out

[john2443]

If we say the seat currently moves from 0 to 10, do you need it to go from 0 to 15 so that you can get in and slide it forward or would it be OK if it went from 5 to 15?

5 to 15 is fairly easy, get some 25x5mm steel and countersunk bolts/screws, screw the steel down to the floor and up to the seat frame. Depending where you drill the holes you can move the seat back as far as you like.

0 to 15 is more difficult, get another set of the same runners and weld them to the original - may need to cut and shut to get the holes for the seat latches to go into in the right place?

[stuartmmcfc]

john2443 said:

If we say the seat currently moves from 0 to 10, do you need it to go from 0 to 15 so that you can get in and slide it forward or would it be OK if it went from 5 to 15?

5 to 15 is fairly easy, get some 25x5mm steel and countersunk bolts/screws, screw the steel down to the floor and up to the seat frame. Depending where you drill the holes you can move the seat back as far as you like.

0 to 15 is more difficult, get another set of the same runners and weld them to the original - may need to cut and shut to get the holes for the seat latches to go into in the right place?

5 to 15, or just 15, would be fine. I’ll have a look and a think. Good tip

[Pete54]

I've relocated the seat runners on my Nissan. That addresses the 5 to 15 element which is certainly a great deal easier. One of my seats was electric and so the travel could not be extended, equally the section that the seat slid within would have been difficult to duplicate. So we cut off the rear mounts and relocated them further forward, whilst extending the front bracket.

Worked beautifully.

[grumpy52]

Seeing as yours is not a common model for the UK the easiest option would be to relocate the runners if possible . This may require some sort of spacer on the rear mountings to keep the runners level .
Many runners have a tab or block of some type to stop the seat sliding off . This can in some cases be moved and give a bit more adjustment. They normally need removing to aid the relocation and then refitting before final fitting .
I have seen runners joined to give a huge range of movement, easy if you have spares to hand but not an option on rarer cars .