Just got the Jag I've wanted since '92: a 1992 XJS Coupe with the AJ6 and 5-spd manual (36K miles). I love her but she's killin' me. I don't fit and I'm only 6' 200lbs. Two hours of driving equals a wrecked lower back and neck for me.

How do you guys manage? I will have to lower the seat...unless you can help. Got any ideas, seen this before? Do I have to use an unpadded racing seat? I don't need fore-aft adjustment 'cuz I going to remove the back seat (trying to emulate the convertible's storage area).

Thanks.

 

XJS 5-speed 4.0 ? Hmmmm.

There's no hope. The car obviously doesn't suit (or fit) you at all. Nothing can be done. Sorry about your bad choice but we all make mistakes.

Being a swell guy like I am, though, I'll take the car off your hands :-).

Cheers
DD

 

In all seriousness I'm not sure what you can do.

I vaguely recall that earlier models had a second set of bolt holes on the seat tracks that could be used to move the seat rearward. I'm not sure if yours would be the same....or not even sure if I'm remembering correctly. Worth investigating, perhaps?

I'm not sure all all how you'd get the seat *lower*, though.

Anything is possible but it might take some custom fabrication.

Hopefully others will chime in.

Sorry I can't offer anything concrete.

Cheers
DD

 

Remove seat cut 3 inches off floor pan risers reweld tops with bolt holes back on reward. You can cut more from the rear to tip the seat back a bit more. Remember two thing... It's only steel and it's only a car.

 

Nice. That's what I envisioned (from my couch). I've only had the car two weeks and haven't started taking it apart yet. Having too much fun driving. Headroom in the first hour is more than bearable. But this is supposed to be a GT. Thanks.

 

How can any Jag be a bad choice? (Unless it's the original S-Type)

I will find a way. And Doug, there's another '92 5-spd 4.0 on Kijiji Toronto right now.

 

What "Seat Pan Risers". My seats are bolted to the floor.

XJSPaul
6'5"

 

That doesn't bode well for me. I'll have to take the seat out and see if there's anything that can be shaved.

 

What is wrong with the "original S Type". My 3.4 is topping 1/2 million miles and still strong, still leaks oil, DG trans died loooooong ago, so a BW66 took its place, NO power steer, so no power steer leaks, PLENTY OF HEAD ROOM HAHAHAHA, air con is COLD. Only beef is my now mangled right foot gets all stuck between the pedals if I aint careful, stuff happens.

My suggestion was a 9" angle grinder and make a soft top out of it, but Doug made a better offer in my opinion.

Being a '92 it probably has electric seats, and they were higher set from memory??.

I just went to my '85 Coupe and adjusted the seat in a quite "upright position" and head room is a challenge (I am 6' + and 97kgs), and then I noted that I do have the seat raked quite a bit, so I kind of "lay back" in it, I like my distance from the steering wheel, and 3 notches from the rear most slide setting is my fore aft setting.

Doug is "spot on" with the slide bolt holes, and the second set of holes are where the slides actually bolt TO the seat, at least on the '85. The holes to the car are single drilled. I have mine on the aft most drillings coz NO kids anymore.

 

This is kind of funny because on mine someone installed 2x4's under the drivers seat so they could see over the dash! I can barely get my legs under the steering wheel and once I have it running, those 2x4's will be the first thing removed!

 

[quote=Grant Francis;340935]What is wrong with the "original S Type".

Just instigating for no good reason. I love the S-Type.

 

Grant, I think I'd use a hacksaw like R&T July '79 says Pininfarina did when they made their XJ-S study.

Ya my '92 has electric seats--are you saying the earlier cars had lower-set seats? If so I'll consider trying to find some. But I really have to settle the matter of mounts first by taking out the seat and carpet and seeing what's there.

 

I got off the couch and took a look.

Everyone is partly right:

-there's a 3" riser under the distal rear corner that could be chopped, but

-constraints in the shape of the non-flat floor prevent the front of the seat from being lowered, and also the medial rear corner, however

-there appears to be a second set of holes in the runners where they bolt to the floor, though the front holes will have to be made bigger, so the seat could be remounted an inch further back without too much trouble.

I'll let you know what happens.

 

yep we removed the seat. used a 4 inch grinder cut the floor up the rocker panel side, across the front mounting edge and down the trans hump side. pushed the front floor pan door 3 inches. added a filler of metal all around the new opening from 3 inches at the front to nothing at the rear. kinda made a resessed floor pan. just takes a bit of work. or just buy a convertable. ")

 

well I didn't look under the car, but there must be a reason for the bumps in the floor??

You wouldn't happen to have any photos of the results, would you?

 

If you don't need the electric adjustment feature, pick up a set of manual seats from an earlier model.

 

Not wanting to be a wet blanket, BUT, something is swilling around in my head other than Merlot.

The earlier seats had the runners, and obviously I reckon, the floor mounting pods, at a wider spacing than the later electric seats. By that I mean the 2 runners attached to the seat were wider in their track on earlier cars, and narrower on later cars with electrics.

When the sun rises again, I will measure the track on my '85 seat runners and post back, maybe they are the same as yours?????.

 

There'll be welding involved. I'm gonna have to encroach on the left exhaust tunnel: cut into that roughly 3x3 section that runs down the inboard side of the driver's floor so I can lower the rear seat mount. The outboard rear is an easy stand-alone riser.

I'll leave the front seat mounts up near where they are. I find the front of the seat a bit low as it is.

PHOTO: Taken through the left door. Seat mounting nuts are about 16.5" apart L to R, about 13" Front to Back.

 

Grant, you wouldn't happen to have a photo of the underside of an XJS would you? Just wondering (from my couch again) how much I'll have to move the exhaust to accommodate this mod, and whether there are brake or fuel lines etc in the vicinity.

 

Grant, you wouldn't happen to have a photo of the underside of an XJS would you? Just wondering (from my couch again) how much I'll have to move the exhaust to accommodate this mod, and whether there are brake or fuel lines etc in the vicinity.