Title: They're the same but they are also different
Post by: WessexElectricNutter on July 23, 2014, 09:30:37 pm
In my search for leather seats, I finally found some which I thought came from a railed vehicle. I contacted an ebay seller thinking "ok, lets buy them" and being in the UK, I thought, "Yeah, they look like what I am after, they work with my car and they don't require any modifications to work on my Espace.."
So, I brought them for £270 + £60 delivery for a set of 7 but only have 6 at the moment (he brought them down in his car, just before I attempted to go to Wales and broke my Clio just outside Chippenham!) and when I saw them, I thought 2 words.
"OH" and "S***!"
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2205_zpsf1f71d82.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2205_zpsf1f71d82.jpg.html)
I brought the wrong ones. 2 BIG problems, number one, the seats were off a left hand drive vehicle. That only affects the front ones, but as a side effect, one side has a height adjuster! Am I the only British Espace owner with a set of left hand drive seats on a right hand drive vehicle? Anyway, problem number 2... my Espace has Rails, not Rings. The 2 dirty words come out again. So I tried to install one in the silver Espace and didn't fit! And added to that, I have problem number 3 which doesn't really bother me, no side air bags, my clio doesn't have a single air bag (or at the moment, seat pre-tensioner!)
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2206_zps3a549345.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2206_zps3a549345.jpg.html)
This is what I should of brought, 5 of these!
Then I thought, "Ok, I got a set of 7 white elephants, what the f*** do I do with them?" Considering the rear ones were for a different mounting method, I.e. "Rings" as Renault like to describe it, whereas I have an espace with "Rails" (which I am not a fan of if I am honest! I've always preferred rings!)
Then I thought "Lets see if I can take the bases off the ring seats" and so I took them off. I should of got an authentique Espace though for that, hindsight is wonderful if you stop and think which would of made the situation more easier. I thought, "if worse comes to the worse, I'll buy another Espace, kit it out with the leathers and give that to my mum." as she is looking for a cheap Grand Espace with lifting tailgate glass for her lovely Irish Red and White setters which she wants to breed.
About 4 torx bolts got in my way and were easily dispense of. Simplez! Take the springs off for the base plastics, slide it forward to get the 2 bolts, slide the seat back for the other 2 bolts, done. Lift and you are away. I thought "lets.... oh god! That was a bad idea!" in that I found out the bases were also mounted differently. The ring seats had 4 torx bolts holding them, but the rails have 4 bolts holding them in, 2 of them are under the plastic covers. So off comes the bases then the next thing. If I can't have leathers, lets strip the whole bloody thing down. So I did, I removed the cusions from the frame gently, took one of my original seats, with the aid of some material (thank you to whoever uploaded it, I am truly grateful!), I did some intense research and found actually the seats are not that different and I found out how to strip them down.
The only real difference is that my old bases don't have arm rest supports whereas my new ones do. Not a problem, I won't have any arm rests yet.
I started by stripping down the bases and removing the cushions gently, I didn't thankfully rip and thing (good), then attached them to my old frames and stored the old bases. That worked, half a conversion later (As the head rests are the same) and the seat looks like what I am trying to achieve. Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention, the headrests are identical, so that helped things immensely. I think if I had the integral headrests, I would of had masses of trouble. So, done that, put it back and thought "This actually will work!". The only problem is, I wanted to swap the back rest cushions with the bases. In other words, don't actually bother! The manual tells you that you can't seperate them, I actually agreed. Why? Its held in by a massive spring!
I then popped 4 rivets and had a good look, thinking "Oh god, cutting necessary" turned into "Oh good, no cutting required", took the tabs off, removed a ring and done in 60 minutes, stripping my old ones were even easier, put the whole lot back together, done!
Heres the result.
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2202_zps14f72c27.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2202_zps14f72c27.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2203_zpsd204e44d.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2203_zpsd204e44d.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2204_zps1652249d.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2204_zps1652249d.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2207_zpseb7455fe.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2207_zpseb7455fe.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2209_zps52bce6db.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2209_zps52bce6db.jpg.html)
Now, what would be interesting to see if someone is as daft as me to try and reverse it all. I don't think its possible with a few modifications, but far from impossible.
Brought the wrong seats? Just swap the cushions over! Now does anyone want 5 frames, 5 cusions, 5 back rests, 5 bases, 5 head rests and 2 drivers seats with 2 left hand drive bases from a right hand drive Espace? If so, I'm willing to give it all away. (One base has a crossthreaded bolt though and I've not finished yet! I've only just started.)
So, I brought them for £270 + £60 delivery for a set of 7 but only have 6 at the moment (he brought them down in his car, just before I attempted to go to Wales and broke my Clio just outside Chippenham!) and when I saw them, I thought 2 words.
"OH" and "S***!"
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2205_zpsf1f71d82.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2205_zpsf1f71d82.jpg.html)
I brought the wrong ones. 2 BIG problems, number one, the seats were off a left hand drive vehicle. That only affects the front ones, but as a side effect, one side has a height adjuster! Am I the only British Espace owner with a set of left hand drive seats on a right hand drive vehicle? Anyway, problem number 2... my Espace has Rails, not Rings. The 2 dirty words come out again. So I tried to install one in the silver Espace and didn't fit! And added to that, I have problem number 3 which doesn't really bother me, no side air bags, my clio doesn't have a single air bag (or at the moment, seat pre-tensioner!)
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2206_zps3a549345.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2206_zps3a549345.jpg.html)
This is what I should of brought, 5 of these!
Then I thought, "Ok, I got a set of 7 white elephants, what the f*** do I do with them?" Considering the rear ones were for a different mounting method, I.e. "Rings" as Renault like to describe it, whereas I have an espace with "Rails" (which I am not a fan of if I am honest! I've always preferred rings!)
Then I thought "Lets see if I can take the bases off the ring seats" and so I took them off. I should of got an authentique Espace though for that, hindsight is wonderful if you stop and think which would of made the situation more easier. I thought, "if worse comes to the worse, I'll buy another Espace, kit it out with the leathers and give that to my mum." as she is looking for a cheap Grand Espace with lifting tailgate glass for her lovely Irish Red and White setters which she wants to breed.
About 4 torx bolts got in my way and were easily dispense of. Simplez! Take the springs off for the base plastics, slide it forward to get the 2 bolts, slide the seat back for the other 2 bolts, done. Lift and you are away. I thought "lets.... oh god! That was a bad idea!" in that I found out the bases were also mounted differently. The ring seats had 4 torx bolts holding them, but the rails have 4 bolts holding them in, 2 of them are under the plastic covers. So off comes the bases then the next thing. If I can't have leathers, lets strip the whole bloody thing down. So I did, I removed the cusions from the frame gently, took one of my original seats, with the aid of some material (thank you to whoever uploaded it, I am truly grateful!), I did some intense research and found actually the seats are not that different and I found out how to strip them down.
The only real difference is that my old bases don't have arm rest supports whereas my new ones do. Not a problem, I won't have any arm rests yet.
I started by stripping down the bases and removing the cushions gently, I didn't thankfully rip and thing (good), then attached them to my old frames and stored the old bases. That worked, half a conversion later (As the head rests are the same) and the seat looks like what I am trying to achieve. Oh yes, I nearly forgot to mention, the headrests are identical, so that helped things immensely. I think if I had the integral headrests, I would of had masses of trouble. So, done that, put it back and thought "This actually will work!". The only problem is, I wanted to swap the back rest cushions with the bases. In other words, don't actually bother! The manual tells you that you can't seperate them, I actually agreed. Why? Its held in by a massive spring!
I then popped 4 rivets and had a good look, thinking "Oh god, cutting necessary" turned into "Oh good, no cutting required", took the tabs off, removed a ring and done in 60 minutes, stripping my old ones were even easier, put the whole lot back together, done!
Heres the result.
(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2202_zps14f72c27.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2202_zps14f72c27.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2203_zpsd204e44d.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2203_zpsd204e44d.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2204_zps1652249d.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2204_zps1652249d.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2207_zpseb7455fe.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2207_zpseb7455fe.jpg.html)(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/wessexelectricnut/Espaces/th_IMG_2209_zps52bce6db.jpg) (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/wessexelectricnut/media/Espaces/IMG_2209_zps52bce6db.jpg.html)
Now, what would be interesting to see if someone is as daft as me to try and reverse it all. I don't think its possible with a few modifications, but far from impossible.
Brought the wrong seats? Just swap the cushions over! Now does anyone want 5 frames, 5 cusions, 5 back rests, 5 bases, 5 head rests and 2 drivers seats with 2 left hand drive bases from a right hand drive Espace? If so, I'm willing to give it all away. (One base has a crossthreaded bolt though and I've not finished yet! I've only just started.)
