I am replacing the seats of my 1981 spider and all was going well until a reached the driver's seat. I can't see how I can take it out. It doesn't slide as far up as does the passenger seat. Any advice on how to take out the driver's seat with out tearing it to pieces?

Thank you!

Both seats use the same track, so both should slide the same distance. You have something from blocking full travel. My guess is gunk in the slider or lack of lubrication. compressed air and an ample application of WD-40 should help.

It is unlikely but you may want to check: One of the mounting bolts may have backed out, blocking further motion of the track.

RRoller123 wrote:It is unlikely but you may want to check: One of the mounting bolts may have backed out, blocking further motion of the track.

Most likely, have a helper try lift the seat (upward pressure so the mounting screw bottoms out on the track) while you try and slide it....watch out for their fingers.

I have the same problem. The only screw I can't reach is the rear one next to the driveshaft tunnel and it's screwed all the way down. There's something hard in the track that I can't budge. Can anyone remind me whether I can remove the seat cushion by bending the tabs that hold it in, so maybe I can find the blockage? It's been years since I had the seat out and I can't remember how it's held to the frame.

I had this same issue on a 1981 I was putting back together. Removed the cushion, took a thin cutting wheel and made a slice through each of the screw ends. Then its a simple matter to use a screw driver to remove the screws that hold the pan to the sliding rails. The seat pan pops off and your all set. The sliding tracks on mine were shot so I ended up replacing them.

Hope this helps.

JF

Thank you so much for all the advice. Some of the bolts on the bottom track are rusted stiff, so I took out the cushion and tried to loosen the screws from there. The only thing is that all the screws are rusted to the point that they are one with the seat pan and wont budge an inch. Any advice on how I can get the seat out?

Thank you,

Soak seat bolts with PB Blaster for a couple of days?

The blockage in my track turned out to be ball bearings and nylon races, which had somehow turned sideways. I had to drill through the seat pan to reach the rear retaining screw on that side. Then I had to spread the two tracks a bit to get the ball bearings and races out. Needless to say, they didn't go back in. It's all good now.

Thanks for all the help. I finally got the seat out. After a while I defaulted to the hammer and pounded the seat forward so that I was able to reach the rear bolts. Whether it is good to default to the hammer or not I am not sure, but it all turned out quite well with very little damage. The seat track was reinstalled by the PO incorrectly so I had to get the bearing over the bump in the track.

Dexter