Seat availability
 

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and I'm on the hunt for a 2 door 122s.

I've wanted an Amazon since I was 17 (now 39) but was discouraged from buying a classic as my first car. Now that I'm in a position to afford one in good condition, have a garage and have the time to look after it, I'd like to drive an Amazon as my daily car (with the exception of the extreme winter months when there's salt on the road).

I spotted a 122s on ebay but at some stage it has had its seats swapped for C70 seats. The interior looks to be otherwise original. My question is, should I consider buying this with the intention to replace the seats with original Amazon seats? Are they hard to come by? A quick search online came up with none currently for sale.

I'm not in a massive rush to buy, so I'd rather wait to find the right car but it occurred to me that if the seat swap was relatively trivial then this could be a contender.

Thanks in advance for any / all advice.

Welcome to the forum.

It is easy enough to swap seats, but one man's trivial is another man's nightmare, so it's hard to say how you will find it. On a scale of 1-10 (easy-hard) of doing mechanical things I'd say it's about a 2. 3-4 if you have to weld new mounts as I did. Finding original seats is probably easy enough if you ask, but you will probably find original seats need new webbing, foam and covers to be as comfortable as modern seats (probably why the car you saw has different seats). it is possible to get all those things new if you want to make your original seats perfect. Expensive to do that mind.

I would say don't be in a rush...spend time on here, ask questions, look at other people's cars if you can etc. There are some good Facebook groups if you are on there where you can get a look at things and ask more questions.
I have been driving my 131 daily for 15 years, rain and shine, next to the coast in Cornwall, and it never misses a beat and is as reliable as a stick, so it's a perfectly feasible idea.

Thanks for the warm welcome, amazon69.

That's good to know that there are seats available and it's not that challenging to actually replace them.

I appreciate the advice about not being in a rush, whilst I've wanted an Amazon for years, I only made the decision to buy a couple of months ago and will wait to find the right car.

Cheers!

I would say that the condition of the body is the most important consideration when buying, followed by the condition and spec. of the running gear. If the seats are the only thing you don't like I'd think seriously about it, as there don't seem to be many really good ones for sale at any one time, and the prices are only going to go up. As for running one as a daily car, I have for the last 7 years, and every run still brings a smile to my face, and that's in a scruffy old thing with modern seats! Good luck, Andy.

Thanks for the advice, I am conscious that prices seem to be rising quickly and there's only a couple of solid cars for sale at any one time. I'll need to compromise somewhere.

Cheers!

That car belonged to a very ! Active forum member and he loved that car took great care of that car so i have no doubt it’s in great condition the seats are easy enough to sort also a great price with a addition to putting in a offer ! I would buy it myself they normally fetch £12-13k so for £10.995 with offer go view it at the very least and make a decision then but if any doubt in your mind then follow your gut instinct.

I would bet that cars in tip top condition I forget the guys name on the forum derek will know him he’s from Wales I think from memory Redcar was his name I think and he had some seats on his loft I know because the c70 seat conversion then the reggy number so know the cars all over the forum 😎👍

All the best
Kind regards
Robert.w

I certainly know the car but don't know the owner. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that it was you that fitted the interior? Sorry if I'm wrong there. 😎

That looks like a really nice car in the advert.

I agree that there are more (much more) important things than seats.

The earlier PV (which was also produced along side the Amazon for a while) is known to have uncomfortable seats and people with PVs sometimes upgrade to Amazon ones. My PV happens to have early Amazon seats in the front. If these seats are better I'd hate to try the originals!

I imagine after fitting the poly bushes in the suspension the even better upgrade to the V70 seats was desirable (controversial)

As a daily driver the V70 seats might actually prove to be the better choice. I wouldn't let the look or non originality of the seats put you off the car, you could take your time and stick up a WTB advert in the appropriate section of the forum and see what turns up.

What ever turns up will most likely need new coverings. These are still being made in Sweden...

I don't know much about the Amazon (I'm a 244 and P1800 sort of bloke) but I cannot fathom why you would want to change the nice, later interior in the advertised car back to an older one.

The car is not original in lots of ways, which I think is a good thing (very much like my 244, which has lots of mostly invisible improvements). I'd say that if you wanted an original car that would be the wrong one to buy, but if you want a good (but still very interesting) motor car it would be perfect.

This is just my opinion - I certainly won't be offended if you don't agree.

That's great to know that the previous owner was known on the forum, I agree the price does look great for the condition of the car. Thanks for the background and perspective.

Agree, it does look like a great car. I think I'll try and go and see it, at least to judge it in person. And that makes sense about the seat upgrade and daily driving comfort, for me it visually detracts from the interior of the car, which is just a personal taste thing, but I might well eat my words after driving any distance on original seats. Thanks for you thoughts and the info about refurbishing original seats for daily use.

Thanks for your thoughts Othen, I don't disagree particularly, I think I'm unsure because I haven't driven the Amazon for any extended period of time with original seats. The most I've done is a test drive or two. Part of the appeal of the Amazon for me is the look of the original interior but I can see the argument for comfort especially given the other modernisations that have been made to the car. I think making the trip to see it is the way forward. Thanks again, the perspective has been really helpful.