Hi Dennis, and welcome to the list. You have come to the right place, and
you have obviously bought the right car.
<< In a message dated 5/10/99 12:38:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
dennis@page-campbell.com writes:
Enough of that for now, on to the questions. >>
We always want to hear about your personal feelings and reasons for owning an
LBC.
<< 1) The seats have adjustable head rests (I assume) that will not budge for
anything. One is all the way down, the other is halfway up, looks kind of
wacky that way. Is there any trick that I'm missing to remove these from the
seatbacks? I've tried penetrating spray and a hammer, as they seem to be
rusted in place, to no avail. How can I get them out? >>
Yes, the headrests are adjustable. Squirt some WD40 or PB Blaster down the
edges of the metal bar that goes into the seat. Let it soak in for a while,
while you have a beer to bolster your strength. Then give it a good pull
whilst standing on the seat. The headrest may come completely out, but
that's okay. Mine were stuck when I got my car last year and now they are
fine. If they are really rusty, try spraying PB Blaster every day for a few
days. Last resort is to cut the seat cover off, but...
<< 2) There is some sort of handle on the inboard side of the seatback. Is
this a seatback recliner handle and if so, why won't the seat budge? The
handle will move about half an inch but it doesn't seem to do anything? I'm
thinking that maybe these seats are all rusted internally and the proper
functions of these items can't be restored without completely dismantling the
seats. Is my thinking correct? Any way to get to these mechanisms without
destroying the seat covers as they are alright? >>
The recliner release on my seats moves about 2" The first inch is very easy
and does nothing, then there is some resistance and it moves the rest of the
way to release the seat (which then springs forward!).
It is very easy to take the seats out. Move the seat all the way forward and
remove the two bolts on the back ends of the rails. Then undo the nuts from
underneath the car at the front of the rails. Lift the seat out.
Spray some PB Blaster up the side of the seat where the recliner mechanism is
and then work it back and forth until the seat springs forward and either
flips out of your hands or knocks you over. While you have the seats out,
remove the sliding rails, wire brush the rust off, paint them, and re-lube
them with lithium grease. Oil up the sliding release too. Then remove the
carpet and replace it, after cleaning and repainting the floorboards.
While you have the driver's seat out, you might want to replace that parking
brake cable that probably doesn't work. Come to think of it, you might as
well check the back brakes, brake lines, master cylinder, and front
brakes...while you are doing brakes.
Now you have some idea of what you are getting into! Hey list...sound
familiar?
It's all lots of fun, and whatever help you need is only an e-mail away.
Good luck with your Midget.
Allen Hefner
'77 Midget
'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
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