Colin Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Chaps . . . Here we go again! Silly difficulty time once more; Following 6 months' chassis and front body mounts replacements and 'B' post repairs, I have been re-installing the cabin internals (I stripped her out completely hoping it would assist the two 'specialists' who I eventually had the work done by (will be updating my previous posts in respect of the outriggers and body mounts in case it helps others). I took the opportunity to sound-proof her with slivered bitumen squares and then underfelt. This led to my new carpet needing fit adjustments. Please to at last have the passenger seat back in again, I struggled with one rear seat runner fixing. As you know, they are captive nuts in a slide-on the fixed bodywork tab above. All well and good . . . if the lugs that are supposed to prevent the square captive nut turning hold out as you tighten the fixing bolt up. I one of mine, clearly a lug (or both lugs) around the captive nut have given way (bent wide by the nut edge) and the nut just turns and this happened before she was fully tight. So if I wanted to remove the seat at any future point, I can't as I cannot undo the nut and more than I can fully tighten it. It's a hugely inconvenient place in terms of getting to it - normally, I'd cut through one part or another to release it and find another way of securing. Does anyone have any suggestions, please? It's really annoying to have re-fitted the cabin out with all fixtures and fittings, but to have a seat nut I can't do up - or remove! Cheers in advance. Best, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigolf Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Erm...you might be able to get a small,narrow grinding wheel on a electric drill between the seat runner rails and grind the bolt head off, then remove the captive nut and bolt remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 10 Author Report Share Posted June 10 Could be, Trigolf! I have thought maybe a coping or hacksaw saw blade, held one end. But that's going to be a bit of a PIA . . . I'll keep y'all posted! Best, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 when its cut off and free to marvel at now what, many drill through the whole floor and use along bolt and substantial washer /plate to reinforce the floor pan . then its easy to refit and remove in the future rather than the tired cage nuts . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Jam a screwdriver into the mounting point from behind, so that it slides alongside the captive assembly and locks the nut. Than undo as normal but with care. That happened to me twice with the estate restoration, that's the way I removed it. Make sure on fitting the replacement that the threads are clear, the bolt is undistorted, and it turns freely - lubricate with copper grease if necessary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 10 Author Report Share Posted June 10 Good suggestions, All. I think I will try the jammed screwdriver trick first, before trying to destroy and re-build! My concern (and apart from the disappointment of this happening after the arduous sound-proofing and recommisioning of the interior) is that if I can remove, then tightening the lugs on the nut, for subsequent replacement purposes, is not going to be sufficient as the lugs will only be forced outward again. E.G., the same thing will only happen again. There needs to be a way for me to hold that nut tight and prevent either side lug bending out making it impossible to tighten in situ. . . OR - will that never happen - once bent on tightening, it will always subsequently bend??? Cheers, All, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 from my parts list the Nut is FS2704 canley stock them Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 James Paddock has them, £1.45 each. https://www.jamespaddock.co.uk/caged-nut-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 Ha canley £0.95 guess both are +vat Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 You got me there... is that one-upmanship, or pricedownmanship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 10 Author Report Share Posted June 10 All good advice. I'm sure the nut is OK. Are the above quoted with surrounding captive 'cage' ?? (Then I can try to destroy the old!) Best, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 In line with Pete`s earlier comment, the one`s on plum are now bolted right through the floor with large washers to spread the load, with short tubular distance pieces between the floor and the seat support. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said: is that one-upmanship, or pricedownmanship? i suppose the answer is ....................Yes Ha ! pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 10 Author Report Share Posted June 10 Thanks Pete. I would have constructed something similar, I think. 101 ways to skin a cat! Best, C. PS:- for all those who seem to put more comfortable seats in their cars (Mazda etc) do they use the Herald saloon fixings - or do they construct something similar to that which you have just described . . . ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgana Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 I removed the PO's random assortment of metric and imperial nuts bolts and washers as it was a complete pain to remove the seat - one arm stretched all the way under the car to get to the bottom fixing, and another all the way into the car to get to the top. With the original captive nuts it's a breeze just undoing from the top. If the nut cage is distorting as you're tightening up, I'd think you'd got it cross-threaded as the friction of the nut pulling up against the underside ought to counter any rotation up to the tightness required, or you've got a damaged cage to start with. If forced to cut it off, with a hacksaw blade it oughtn't take more than a few minutes as the screws are only 5/16". The front fixings are square captives rather than the J-type. I believe I have a bag of those from when I did mine if you need some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 10 Author Report Share Posted June 10 Hi Morgana. Thanks. I seem to have had a nut (or nuts welded underneath for the front fixings - and yes, it's a stretch for both arms, isn't it! And it may well have cross-threaded . . . I probably won't find this out in reality. 😀 Thanks! C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted June 12 Report Share Posted June 12 On 10/06/2024 at 18:28, Colin said: PS:- for all those who seem to put more comfortable seats in their cars (Mazda etc) do they use the Herald saloon fixings - or do they construct something similar to that which you have just described . . . ?? I have MX5 seats, and nuts welded in to the floor. You can get the runners to almost fit the stock Herald locations but not quite. I wouldn’t do the same thing in the future, I’d retain more of the MX5 runner and construct something to allow me to use it’s original bolt positions which are quite different to the Herald’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 12 Author Report Share Posted June 12 Thanks for the clarification, Josef! Grateful. Bet they're more comfortable than my originals (always find I need a right leg under-knee support on long journies). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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