Center Seat, or Cubby Box - What do you think?

**charles1943** · 06-29-2021, 07:52 PM

For my money a cubby box makes for a very tight cabin and it makes for possibly dangerous steering in the offroad when quick response is critical to the vehicle's safety! I wouldn't use one if given to me.

**vlad_d** · 06-29-2021, 09:47 PM

You folks make some good points.

What about a "Short cubby"? Does anyone make those? I'm talking about a cubby only about as tall as the seat cushion, or maybe just 3 inches proud of the seat cushions? I figure that would give you about a half a cubic foot of storage, two short cup holders and not.get in the way of sliding your butt over to the other seat?

Is anyone making such a thing for sale? If not, I might try to make one. The next question is :
What to make it from?

I have a wire feed mig welder, rivet gun, and all the woodworking tools needed for furniture projects. So it's either steel(welded), aluminum(riveted) or wood(jointed)..

**jimrr** · 06-30-2021, 10:50 AM

ok, i'm sold on the center seat cubby. i've always wanted one but when cedreyk mentioned locking it I'm reminded i lost the cover for mine about 1975 and made one from a locker in the army barracks! so i need to see if that cover is available from our hosts as like charles I'm not too keen on that center console for the same reasons. Incidentally, the lock tab for one of mine got broken off. those are made of cast material and pretty hard to duplicate.... i'd be surprised if they are available but i'll look.

**vlad_d** · 11-19-2021, 07:45 PM

Old post, but I'm finally at a place where I can start looking at interior options. I think I like the 3 seats with the toolbox underneath. I may try to rig up something off the rear bulkhead for drink holders.

Now I'm looking at seat kits. Seems the going rate is about $400 for 3 NEW seats with frame and hardware. Okay. So like $133 per seat.

I was on Ebay last week and some guy is selling his original, ripped vinyl seat cushions for $150...just the bottom cushion.

Am I missing something? Do these "original" seats have value? Sounds like I could sell my old, ripped seats for $600?! And get new ones for $400? That doesn't add up for me?

Is there some interest in the community for "original" seats...even if they are rough?

I don't want to throw out a sought-after part. But it's just foam and ripped vinyl, right? Nothing that says "only ever made right in Solihull"?

I have been seeing things like original carburators being sought after because the reproduction ones are crap. That I understand how the original, rough one can cost more than NEW. But seats?

What are your thoughts?

**AP22** · 11-22-2021, 02:13 PM

mind sharing the seat kit you decided on?

**vlad_d** · 11-24-2021, 04:41 AM

@AP22:

I haven't purchased them yet, but these are the ones I am thinking about:

https://www.roversnorth.com/parts/ex11645k_deluxe_front_seat_set_for_series_black_vinyl&type=3

I don't like the the way reproduction/retcon head rests look on these...so this is the closest to the original I can get.

Does anyone know if Exmoor does these in Leather (exactly these, not some modern seat kit that looks like a tuner car wing back seat)?

**AP22** · 11-24-2021, 11:32 AM

those are oddly affordable. sold. thank you!

**vlad_d** · 01-24-2022, 02:27 AM

Older post, but I thought I'd circle back for some closure...

This last weekend, I finally put the new seats in. Per everyone's advice(thanks for all the ideas, folks!) I put in new "Deluxe" seats from ExMoor(via our hosts), including the center seat ...and I did the under-center-seat toolbox. Check out some pics:

I also got some MudUK door cards for the front, to smarten up the interior a bit. I'm really happy with how they turned out, even though I had to do a fair bit of trimming to make them work. I cut the wrap-around part on the outer part of the door cards. My doors have always been snug, and I just didn't have clearance for that(it rubbed). But the ABS plastic cuts easy with a dremel tool and I followed their advice and used a hand file to smooth out the cuts(so it looks like it was cast that way, no plastic burrs).

I shopped around for door cards. The generic exMOD ones look minimalistic, but no cargo net. The Rovers North ones were good looking...but I wasn't planning on installing speakers in the door, so those round cylinders look dumb. Also, please RN take the large logo off the cargo nets. I like you guys, but I don't want to be an advertisement. Just make a discreet little tag and tone it down. The MudUK ones were perfect and they even have a little oval logo stamping, but they let you install their logo...and that oval look suspiciously like a certain green oval logo that would look MUCH nicer there.Hmmm...now I'm looking for a Land Rover logo that's about 1" to glue/stick there.

I will say, the ExMoor seats are pretty good quality. The things I couldn't see in the pictures before I ordered them:

1) The 'black' vinyl is actually a charcoal grey. I don't mind so much, but the original seats were black...like Mars Black. So, there is a slight color variation between the dash vinyl and the seat vinyl. So, be warned.

2) It's hard to tell, but I feel like my original seats had bolsters more proud of the center flutes. Basically, I think the ExMoor ones are more flat, and my original were more cupped, which kind of holds you in the seat. The ExMoor ones feel nice, new and fresh. But they might not be exact reproductions.

3) I have all the correct parts, including seat rails, seat frames, bolts and back stops. But the center seat doesn't move, so when you adjust the outer seats back, the center kind of sticks out. In all the photos, the three seats align much like a bench seat effect. Well, this is only possible if you push the outer seats forward to line up. I'm a taller guy (6'-2") so that doesn't work for me ...I barely fit with the seat all the way back. So, the position is kind of like you see in my pics...a bit staggered. It's fine, and I can still slide over to unlock the passenger door. But it messes with my OCD trying to line things up straight.

4) For some weird reason, ONLY the Left Hand (LH) seat rail is available for the center seat. Like...everywhere! RN and John Craddock both only sell the LH. JC emailed me a week later to try to convince me to buy two LH ones and cut them up and re-fabricate a RH. Not sure that would even work?! Anyway, it seems this is one of those mysterious, sought-after parts. P.A.Blanchards saved the day with a genuine NOS set. But expect some trouble sourcing the RH center seat rail.

I'm still missing cup holders, but now I'm comitted to the center seat. So, my plan is to make a little shelf/magazine tray type thing to hang off the rear bulkhead, facing the load area, with two cup holders built on top. Hard to explain, but I'll post pics when I get around to building it.

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