The National Lightning Owners Club Inc - View Single Post

Skritch · 11-23-2007, 06:16 AM

Since I need a couple of "little" things for the console I decided to fiddle with the seat pan tonight. That is, after I took a nap after Thanksgiving dinner !

Here's the seat slider lever. It requires a little modification to fit the seat sliders.

The seat pan. this is the passenger side pan for the Expy. It comes in bare metal. The OEM seat pan in the Lightning is also bare metal. Don't see a need to paint it.

From the OEM seat you'll need the outboard seat to floor bracket and both sliders for the seat. The seat slider lever goes in your "spare parts" bin. Two bolts undo the seat to floor bracket.

On the "drivers" side of the OEM seat the two seat to floor brackets come off and go to your "spare parts" bin. Both sides need to come off to get to the bolts securing the sliders to the seat pan.

Outboard side seat to floor bracket off allowing access to the seat slider bolts. Just two per side. The slider lever needs to come off as well. Just 3 bolts for the two sides of that. Leave the seat slider lever on until after unscrewing the slider bolts. The sliders have STRONG springs that lock the seat in position and without the leverage of the slider lever they're not much fun to disengage.

One side of the slider lever. Other side similar but not the same !

Here's the other side.

The new seat pan has the appropriate holes but they are not threaded, at least this one wasn't. 8 MM X 1.25 tap does the job. Be nice to your taps and lubricate while making threads. Just position the seat slider on the pan and pick the correct holes as there are "extras". The sliders are left and right so pay attention when you take them off your OEM seat.

The new seat to floor bracket for the bucket seat. It came in light grey so it'll get painted black. Use the bracket to determine where the front bolt needs to go. You'll need to cut the carpet to expose the insert to be tapped. It has the rubber plug in it just as the other inserts did for the front and rear mounts for the center console.

Tap the insert. 10 MM X 1.50. This is the location for the extra bolt that is recommended for this conversion. The bolt has to be longer to go through the mount into the floorpan. The OEM bolt is not long enough.

After a bit of tapping and a little assembly the seat pan is bolted to the floor.

The two slider levers. OEM on top, replacement for the bucket seat on the bottom.

And here's the problem with the replacement slider lever. The alignment holes to attach to the sliders are exactly opposite of the OEM one. You'll have to enlarge one hole and drill an alignment hole in the new one to match the OEM alignment holes.

All done for tonight ! The seat pan mounted with slider lever. There's more to transfer to the new seat pan but got a good start on it.

11-23-2007, 06:16 AM	#38 (permalink)
Skritch Moderator Paid Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The socialist kingdom of Washington State Posts: 4,507 NLOC member #: 1461 View this user's gallery iTrader: 6 / 100%	Since I need a couple of "little" things for the console I decided to fiddle with the seat pan tonight. That is, after I took a nap after Thanksgiving dinner ! Here's the seat slider lever. It requires a little modification to fit the seat sliders. The seat pan. this is the passenger side pan for the Expy. It comes in bare metal. The OEM seat pan in the Lightning is also bare metal. Don't see a need to paint it. From the OEM seat you'll need the outboard seat to floor bracket and both sliders for the seat. The seat slider lever goes in your "spare parts" bin. Two bolts undo the seat to floor bracket. On the "drivers" side of the OEM seat the two seat to floor brackets come off and go to your "spare parts" bin. Both sides need to come off to get to the bolts securing the sliders to the seat pan. Outboard side seat to floor bracket off allowing access to the seat slider bolts. Just two per side. The slider lever needs to come off as well. Just 3 bolts for the two sides of that. Leave the seat slider lever on until after unscrewing the slider bolts. The sliders have STRONG springs that lock the seat in position and without the leverage of the slider lever they're not much fun to disengage. One side of the slider lever. Other side similar but not the same ! Here's the other side. The new seat pan has the appropriate holes but they are not threaded, at least this one wasn't. 8 MM X 1.25 tap does the job. Be nice to your taps and lubricate while making threads. Just position the seat slider on the pan and pick the correct holes as there are "extras". The sliders are left and right so pay attention when you take them off your OEM seat. The new seat to floor bracket for the bucket seat. It came in light grey so it'll get painted black. Use the bracket to determine where the front bolt needs to go. You'll need to cut the carpet to expose the insert to be tapped. It has the rubber plug in it just as the other inserts did for the front and rear mounts for the center console. Tap the insert. 10 MM X 1.50. This is the location for the extra bolt that is recommended for this conversion. The bolt has to be longer to go through the mount into the floorpan. The OEM bolt is not long enough. After a bit of tapping and a little assembly the seat pan is bolted to the floor. The two slider levers. OEM on top, replacement for the bucket seat on the bottom. And here's the problem with the replacement slider lever. The alignment holes to attach to the sliders are exactly opposite of the OEM one. You'll have to enlarge one hole and drill an alignment hole in the new one to match the OEM alignment holes. All done for tonight ! The seat pan mounted with slider lever. There's more to transfer to the new seat pan but got a good start on it.