While contemplating my next step I decided to take my seats apart to get them ready for rebuild. I found, as expected, that foam and lower diaphragm have seen better days and will be replaced as well as leather. But one minor question has to do with the seat adjusting lever. (See below)
The adjusting lever does not stay in the round chrome collar part - which I also remember from driving the car back in the 1980’s. I see the chrome piece has holes for the lever on both sides, but maybe that is so the same part could be used for driver and passenger side? But the lever and hole are not threaded and it is too loose for just a press fit. it does not appear to be broken, but I can’t tell how they were connected, unless they were just glued? It should not be hard to come up with a method of reconnecting them, but just curious in terms of how it was originally done.
Quite a common problem. It is just wedged in and operating it loosens it a tiny bit every time until the hole is slightly ovaled out, then it becomes loose. I would get a tiny bit of very thin brass shim, wedge it in and then whack it in. Should be good for another fifty years…
Thanks, Marek. My solution would have been something like that, but glad to know that is not just an amateur hack job. I kept looking at it to try to figure out what was broken.
The chrome piece has two holes in it because on the Series Three 2+2 cars there should be a shorter lever that protrudes from the opposite side from the long lever. That’s so that anyone sitting in the back seat (such as they are) can easily reach it to toggle the seat-back forward and egress without assistance from someone else.
The indicator stalk on my car (1972) is splined on the end, making it “adjustable” albeit in a crude way, so that the angle of the stalk can be matched with whatever position you choose to adjust your steering wheel. I can simply pull the stalk out, turn it to whatever angle I choose, and then push it back in.
Thanks, Jay. I have a 71 2+2 patiently waiting for attention but I rarely think of taking the cover off to help with answers. As far as my indicator stalk is concerned, right now it is resting on a shelf along with the rest of the steering column, and it will be there for a quite a while yet.
I saw this and thought I’d post some photos of my June 1971 build Series 3. It seems this lever is a bit different than the later cars. It is secured by a screw and those washers are plastic.
