Front folding seats in a four door saloon?!

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Hi all

Does anyone else have an early 1957 four door saloon with front folding seats?

Our seats fold forward twice once at the squab and also the whole seat unit folds forward via a metal pedal located under the seat this is quite visible if you look to the floor. Obviously this type of seat would not have been necessary in a four door. They are also the old bucket style design 1954-1956. I am guessing that as she is an early 1957 (registered) that surplus seats from '56 may have been used in her to save money and as she was the deluxe model the seats would have had to have been leather, her rear seat is also the old type.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has this type.

Maddie.

[martin418]

my 55 4 door has folding seats

[Trickydicky]

My Jan 1961 4 door has folding seats.

[ManyMinors]

I did have an early Minor 1000 4door (probably was a 1957 model) some years ago which had the Series2 type folding/bucket shaped seats on both sides. They were the correct light grey colour trim for the car so I have no reason to think they were not original. I don't think this specification lasted very long and they certainly weren't factory fitted as late as 1961.

[ColinChandler]

and my feb 1957 4 door too. Black bodywork with bucket style maroon seats. All as standard and with 2 owners from new - grandfather and I - the history is known.
Cheers, Colin,

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Interesting, I wonder why they put them in the four door model.

Trickydicky are yours the bucket shape type or the more square shape?

Manyminors I think you are correct that these seats weren't fitted much beyond 1957, october of that year was when they changed from the series 2 to the series 3 they probably just used what was left before using the new design.

I love them though they are very comfortable.

HI Colin that is just like mine black and maroon mine was registered on the 6th February 1957 how about yours?

[Trickydicky]

Mine are the maroon leather bucket style seats.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Well trickydicky 4 years seems like an awful lot of surplus seats to get through so they must have used them for a longer period than I thought. Does anyone know when they changed to the more square shape?

[ManyMinors]

It was certainly way before 1961. My 1959 4door didn't have them - in fact, the trim pattern of the seats changed around late 1958/early 1959 to a wider pleating and I have never seen any of the (earlier) bucket shaped seats fitted with the later pattern covers, so a 1961 car with the bucket seats must have had them retro-fitted

I have a reference to the seat frames changing on 4door models only at chassis number 579359 which is probably around the end of 1957. The seat frames were then the same as the 2door models.

[midget]

Just to confuse the issue, my '60 4 door has non bucket red leather seats but the n/s one only, is folding?
They do appear to be the original pair.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Ha ha! well this is really starting to become intriguing now. Trickydicky do you have retro-fitted seats?...

[minor65]

My march 61 4 door doesn't have folding seats. All original[frame][/frame]

[Trickydicky]

Here are pictures of my interior front and rear, my 61 4 door is a deluxe Yukon Grey model fitted with traficators and a 948 engine. As far as I am aware they are the correct seats, if anyone has pictures of another deluxe car of the same year then we could compare.

[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[minor65]

Your door trims look correct for a 61, but I think your seats are from a series 2 or early 1000. Here are the seats in my march 1961 deluxe which I know are correct. The camera makes them look a bit orange [frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[Trickydicky]

I think for some owners the correct seats are the least of there worries

[ManyMinors]

I think for some owners the correct seats are the least of there worries

That is true of course and there is nothing wrong with fitting parts from different cars.
The seats in your car are from a Series 2 (split windscreen) car. Very nice they look too and many people feel that they are more comfortable than the later Minor 1000 type.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

I agree with you many minors those seats of trickdikie's are gorgeous and I do prefer them to the later style myself. It is interesting that this has come up and that trickydicky now knows something about his car that he didn't know before unless there are others out there who will answer his request to compare.

My original question was why would they put folding front seats in a 4 door but I guess they just did and that is that,no particular reason. I am presuming that it was the only design made at the time.

Trikydickie mine is also the deluxe model albeit 4 years older than yours and is pretty much exactly the same interior, I also have trafficators and a 948 engine. However Manyminors, mine is just post split screen as registered in February 1957 so probably one of the first off the production line with the new design screen.

[ManyMinors]

I don't have the faintest idea why the earlier seat design carried on in the 4door and not the 2door as seems to have been the case
Most of the early 1000 seats have a contrasting coloured piping but not all.

It is easy enough to check how early in Minor 1000 production your car is from the chassis number. The 1000 was introduced in October 1956, single piece windscreen cars having been built from around June of that year. The first production chassis number I believe was 448801. It is easy to forget just how large scale the production of these cars was. I think at least 15,000 Minor 1000 cars had been built before the end of that year!

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Yes mine do have the contrasting piping in cream and so do my door cards.

I am going to check my chassis number and the contact a website called 'Gaydon' ,many minors you may know of it, they hold all historic details on classic cars and with the chassis number can provide a lot of information, for a minimum of I think £40 but for £100 you can obtain a full history and are given a heritage certificate all bound up in a smart leather wallet. A tad expensive ordinarily however this would make a wonderful Christmas present for any Morris Minor owner.

[luvvaminor]

Don't know if it's relevant, but I owned NBW 65 2-door which was 1958. It had a single-tip driver's seat and the two-fold version for a passenger seat. I didn't think the latter seat would work in the driver's position because of the steering wheel.