I've just become the proud owner of my first Volvo (an '87 760 Turbo Wagon), and am so far very happy with it. Please bear with me, as not only am I a Volvo newbie, I don't have alot of overall experience with DIY car maintenance, but have committed myself to having fun learning with my 760.

My issue centers around my front seats. The interior is leather, and the front seats are cracked and have a few tears in them. In addition, the driver's/left seat is powered, and while the other motions work, the forward <-> backward movement does not work. It's stuck in the 'all the way back' position, effectively prohibiting my short wife from driving the car. The mechanic I had look at it said the motor is the problem (and I know how much it would be to replace it!).

What I'm looking to do is replace the seats outright and have them dyed to match the interior (which is the oxblood/maroon/dark red). I scoured the local salvage yards, and the only thing that I was able to find was a set of gray leather seats. The leather is actually in great condition and the price is certainly good ($50 each). However, it's not a perfect match, as the junkyard seats are from an '88 760, and mine is an '87. Further, both the driver and passenger seats are powered, and mine is only powered on the driver's side. I don't have 100% guarantee that either power seat is totally functional, and can't test in the junkyard.

All of that said, my question is simply whether the seats from the '88 are seamlessly interchangable with my '87. Can anyone definitively answer this for me, please? I've already looked through the FAQ for this question (and found some close hits), as well as searched this forum, but I'm still not 100% clear on it. I imagine replacing the passenger power seat might be more of a chore (as discussed in this forum), but any comments on that issue would be most appreciated as well. I'm thinking I might just go with the driver's seat, and overhaul the passenger seat upholstery.

Any feedback is very much appreciated!

Thanks,

John


BTW - this site was an invaluable resource when we were preparing to buy our used brick! Thanks alot!