Occasional rear seats in two seaters

[Duke Caboom]

Hi,

I am aware that some two seater sports cars were available with the option an occasional seat, often in reality usually just a piece of upholstered foam across the shelf behind the front seats. I'm not sure if any had optional seat belts too but I have seen a few with lap belts which I suspect were retro fitted. For some reason I find them intriguing. Probably because at the age of 17 I used to drive to school in a Spitfire with 2 passengers, one sitting sideways behind the seats, on a cushion (she was very small!). Oh the days before we understood health and safety!

Please add to my list if you know of any others:

Early MGB (roasters) No belts
Early TRs (2-3a?) No belts
GT6 (all versions?) No belts
Healey BN4 and BN7 and Merc R107 (actually just small proper seats) No belts.

Thanks

[Unsorted]

Aston Martin Vanquish.

NB: Remember a dealer telling me the Vanquish he had for sale had the desirable deleted rear seat option. No. The first owner wisely thought the daft amount of money AM wanted to put a rear seat in was not worth it. 12K back in the day? Could well be wrong.

Edited by Unsorted on Sunday 19th April 11:42

[Allan L]

Until 1968 belts were not mandatory at all and initially they were only required for the front seats.
A number of cars I've had, a 1950 Lea-Francis 2½ litre Sports and some 1960-63 Daimler SP250s, had a properly-formed rear seat only suitable for the legless progeny of dwarves as Motor Sport put it. Fitting belts for the front seats made those rear seats quite unusable.

[gnc]

early triumph stag, no rears in mine

[OverSteery]

Duke Caboom said:

Hi,

I am aware that some two seater sports cars were available with the option an occasional seat, often in reality usually just a piece of upholstered foam across the shelf behind the front seats. I'm not sure if any had optional seat belts too but I have seen a few with lap belts which I suspect were retro fitted. For some reason I find them intriguing. Probably because at the age of 17 I used to drive to school in a Spitfire with 2 passengers, one sitting sideways behind the seats, on a cushion (she was very small!). Oh the days before we understood health and safety!

Please add to my list if you know of any others:

Early MGB (roasters) No belts
Early TRs (2-3a?) No belts
GT6 (all versions?) No belts
Healey BN4 and BN7 and Merc R107 (actually just small proper seats) No belts.

Thanks

early MG Midgets - loads of room.

[Dapster]

Duke Caboom said:

Hi,

Merc R107 (actually just small proper seats) No belts.

Thanks

The later R107s had factory fitted rear belts

[john2443]

I think GT6 rear seat were an option, ind didn't have any, but I don't know where you would put your legs! As far as I know, Spitfires never had them, there was (just!) enough space for an adult to sit there...sideways.

[Duke Caboom]

OverSteery said:

Duke Caboom said:

Hi,

I am aware that some two seater sports cars were available with the option an occasional seat, often in reality usually just a piece of upholstered foam across the shelf behind the front seats. I'm not sure if any had optional seat belts too but I have seen a few with lap belts which I suspect were retro fitted. For some reason I find them intriguing. Probably because at the age of 17 I used to drive to school in a Spitfire with 2 passengers, one sitting sideways behind the seats, on a cushion (she was very small!). Oh the days before we understood health and safety!

Please add to my list if you know of any others:

Early MGB (roasters) No belts
Early TRs (2-3a?) No belts
GT6 (all versions?) No belts
Healey BN4 and BN7 and Merc R107 (actually just small proper seats) No belts.

Thanks

early MG Midgets - loads of room.

Oh, interesting. Do you which models it went up to? I guess when the folding hood replaced the tent? Or when front seats got larger?

[imagineifyeswill]

Allan L said:

Until 1968 belts were not mandatory at all and initially they were only required for the front seats.
A number of cars I've had, a 1950 Lea-Francis 2½ litre Sports and some 1960-63 Daimler SP250s, had a properly-formed rear seat only suitable for the legless progeny of dwarves as Motor Sport put it. Fitting belts for the front seats made those rear seats quite unusable.

Any car built after 30th June 1965 or first used after January 1st 1966 must be fitted with front seat belts, wearing them became compulsory on
January 31st 1983. Rear seat belts became compulsory fitment after April 31st 1987.

[OLDBENZ]

1950s Mercedes 190SL had a single transverse rear seat option.

My mother had Triumph Spitfires when I was growing up and we regularly used the rear parcel shelf to carry a passenger.

[Yertis]

gnc said:

early triumph stag, no rears in mine

Are you talking about belts or seats? I’ve never before heard of Stags with no rear seats.

[Yertis]

OLDBENZ said:

1950s Mercedes 190SL had a single transverse rear seat option.

My mother had Triumph Spitfires when I was growing up and we regularly used the rear parcel shelf to carry a passenger.

I’ve carried a passenger behind the seats in a TR6 (when I was much younger) and ridden in the back of a TR3 more recently. Not an experience I ever want to repeat.

[OverSteery]

Duke Caboom said:

OverSteery said:

Duke Caboom said:

Hi,

I am aware that some two seater sports cars were available with the option an occasional seat, often in reality usually just a piece of upholstered foam across the shelf behind the front seats. I'm not sure if any had optional seat belts too but I have seen a few with lap belts which I suspect were retro fitted. For some reason I find them intriguing. Probably because at the age of 17 I used to drive to school in a Spitfire with 2 passengers, one sitting sideways behind the seats, on a cushion (she was very small!). Oh the days before we understood health and safety!

Please add to my list if you know of any others:

Early MGB (roasters) No belts
Early TRs (2-3a?) No belts
GT6 (all versions?) No belts
Healey BN4 and BN7 and Merc R107 (actually just small proper seats) No belts.

Thanks

early MG Midgets - loads of room.

Oh, interesting. Do you which models it went up to? I guess when the folding hood replaced the tent? Or when front seats got larger?

I hang my anorak up in shame, but I don't know. They must have been pointless, even by 2+2 standards, and I've only seen them on the very earliest cars.

In terms of the OP's request, I think the list of all 2+2s would be huge.
In the old days, the seating capacity of car was determined by how many people fitted and seat belts were optional in the front!

In the 70s I went to school with the teacher of year one, who drove what was called the school bus. This was a Morris minor, with the seat back removed from the passenger seat. 4 small boys could therefore sit on this seat, 2 forwards and 2 backwards. Not a seatbelt in sight.

I shant even mention the 4 in the boot and 3 on the roof. And you tell the modern youth today and they won't believe you

Edited by OverSteery on Sunday 19th April 17:01

[OverSteery]

Shame that manufacturers don't offer this sort of arrangement any more.

[Gemaeden]

There's a photo in one of the earlier Lotus books (possibly by Graham Arnold) showing his sixties Elan two seater with a child seat mounted on the backbone and having leg room between the front seats.

[OverSteery]

This was my "3 seater". A child seat mounted onto the chasis. Before putting my daughter in it I had it inspected by crash engineer that I happen to know. After due consideration, he declared it the safest seat in the car, which in his professional opinion meant it was terifying as the whole car had the crash safety of a paper bag...




My daughter loved it, people used to wave at her and she would wave back...

[garythesign]

Gemaeden said:

There's a photo in one of the earlier Lotus books (possibly by Graham Arnold) showing his sixties Elan two seater with a child seat mounted on the backbone and having leg room between the front seats.

I used to sit on an adapted seat which sat on the transmission tunnel in my Dad’s frogeye sprite.

I must have been about 5

[john2443]

OverSteery said:

Duke Caboom said:

OverSteery said:

early MG Midgets - loads of room.

Oh, interesting. Do you which models it went up to? I guess when the folding hood replaced the tent? Or when front seats got larger?

I hang my anorak up in shame, but I don't know. They must have been pointless, even by 2+2 standards, and I've only seen them on the very earliest cars.

Rear seat wouldn't fit in a Mk1 Sprite as the rear shroud came further forward than later cars.

Terry Horlers book which is the most definitive Sprite history, says rear seat available for Mk1, Mk2 and early Mk3 Midgets - not sure how it works in the Mk3 as that had folding hood, I'd have thought that would be in the way.

[george123]

Alfa Spider Series 2 , the kamm tail one. Dont think the series 1 boat tail had one?

[AMGSee55]

Alfa Spider Series 2 had rear seats for a couple of years (74/75 I think??)