Has anyone fitted 240 seats in a 140? Is it worthwhile (my 142 seats are pretty shot). Any tricks to make it an easy swap?

I'm only thinking about the front seats, but can the rear seats swap also?

JohnH

My '73 142 sports front and rear seats from a 242GT, so I've BTDT.

Rear:

The seat bottom is a direct fit.
The seat back requires that you take two small brackets from the donor car. Each mounts with 2 screws, but I wound up using an existing hole for one screw in each, and drilling only one new hole per.

Note that I did use the rear seat from a 242. No idea if a 244 rear is the same.

Front:

The 242 seats went in with a combination of parts. You will need:

Pair of 242 seats. 244/5 seats CAN be used, but they don't flip forward, rendering your rear seat useless!

2 sets of 200-series PASSENGER SIDE adjuster tracks. Can't use one from the driver side. The lever-style height adjustment makes it impossible to use. The height will be adjustable, just not "on the fly".

2 sets floor brackets from a '74 140 or '74-5 164. This will NOT work with your '73 (or earlier) brackets.

How to:

Passenger side:

Take the floor mounts off the 242 seat, leaving the sliders in place. Loosen the height adjustment bolts, but do not remove. This allows some play to line things up. Attach the 140/160 floor mount to the slider tracks. Snug everything up. Install seat.

Driver side:

Remove bracket and sliders from 242 seat. Install sliders (minus floor mounts) from 200-series passenger seat. Proceed as with the passenger seat above.

YES, it's a pain in the butt, but as you noted, 142 seats are hard to find. Then again, 242 seats aren't easy either. I bought the whole 242GT (parts car) just to get the seats! But your butt pain will be assuaged when you plant your butt in some nice 242 seats.

More questions? Just ask.

In the process of trying to do that same swap for a 71 142E, I found that the D-Jet brain under the passenger seat interfered with the newer (74) seat-frame mechanism. It seemed like such a messy problem at the time that I eventually abandoned the idea and rebuilt my original seats, which came out really well. However, I am curious if you encountered that problem, and if so how you solved it.

The PO of my '73 had it converted to a Weber. I removed the D-Jet brain and sold it on eBay. Kept it completely out of the way of a seat install :)

I took the U-shaped curved mount bar from the 140, lined up the slider holes from the 240 seats over them, marked and drilled through the curved bar, and bolted them together at four points. Installed them at the lowest position. They still sit a bit higher, but I like it that way. Also they move back much farther than before. They will do until I find a complete interior to refit to my 74 145.

I know you can fit the rear seats, no problem. I also know that you can fit 240 seats to the 1975 164, which basically was a 240 from the windshield back. However if memory serves there was *some* change to the floor sheetmetal for that one year/model of the 1-series. You can probably make it work, i.e. there's room in there for it, but I think you'll find the front seat tracks will need work to make it happen.
Maybe grab a really nasty 240 driver's seat in a junkyard and see if you can get the track to fit your floor. If you can make it work, the seat from any year 240 will fit.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!"

Wait a minute, let me guess....

"My brake disks flaked off while I was driving by the sea!"
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

George,

There is a multi-lingual warning label under the hood of 240s (those new fangled Volvos) that reads, IIRC, "Rotating Fan and Drive Belts." In other words, don't stick your hands in there whilst the engine is running.

I have no idea what language "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar" is, must be Swedish? Or German?

"I have no idea what language 'Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar' is, must be Swedish? Or German?"

It's Swedish.

Señor Aye:
For those of us who can't consider ourselves among the illuminati,
what does "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!" mean?
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma