Hi,
I'm helping a friend of mine who is renovating a 1972 Jaguar XKE. He has a bad back and would like to replace the existing seats with a more modern 6 to 8 point electrically controlled seat. At the least he is going to need a seat with lumbar adjustment.

Has anyone out there replaced their XKE seats with something more comfortable? If so, can you share the information on what type of seat you used? Does anyone have a suggestion for a type of seat that would fit.

What he thinks he is looking for is either 6 or 8-point electrically-controlled seats which are 17" wide. He thinks he could probably squeeze an extra inch out of that. They should also be 18" deep with a flip-lever to allow the seatback to collapse forward so he can access the rear seats. Seats should be about 5ö high at their lowest setting.

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.

Susanne

Submitted by mcload@ev1.net on Wed, 08/18/2004 - 14:08

Susanne: I would think that almost any seat from a "modern" car could be fitted to the floor of an E-Type. The problem is going to be how much forward/backward movement there be after mounting. And, you'll have to get a schematic for the control wires to see which wire does what.

Frankly speaking, the E-Type is a pain to get in and out of even without a bad back. I think he should consider selling it rather than going to the expense of finding another seat...they are probably very expensive.
He should condiser a newer style Jaguar that has more room and adjustable seats, say an XJS.

Patrick McLoad
1966 E-Type, Right-hand Drive Roadster

Submitted by pascal@jcna.com on Mon, 08/16/2004 - 14:56

is he sure taht the seat is going to cause problems? I have sat at the wheel of my 72 up to almost 40 hours non stop (Miami - Phoenix...) and never had back problems. these seats are much better than they seem.

1996-2001 Xk8/Xkr seats should fit in there although they only adjust, heigh, angle, fore/aft and lumbar.

Pascal Gademer
South Florida Jaguar Club
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKR Coupe
99 XJR