Got my '88 240 recently, but the previous owner was a large woman. Huge. 450+ pounds. I'll leave it at that...

Anyways, I want some new seats, as the drivers seat isn't too comfy. So, are there other Volvo seats that will bolt right in without modifications? I don't care if I have power anything, just as long as it slides back n forth like it does now. Found some decent seats for sale on eBay and CL, but don't wanna screw with it too much. Leather would be nice too...

Please let me know!

 

most any 240 front seats should bolt right in, rails and all. the rails are held to the floor by 4 bolts, 2 front, 2 rear. if they have seat heaters, you'll need to unplug them. I don't think (m)any 240's had power seats. In the mid/late 80s, the GL model had leather, it was optional on the DL, other years, it probably varied. when the 740/760's came out the 240s got a lot less options.

ipdusa.com used to sell spring and foam rebuild kits for 240 seats, as well as some very nice OEM style custom fitting fabric seat covers, you could make a sagging and worn set of seats as good as new. I dunno if they still have these or not. I put the seat covers in our 87 244 right over the worn and torn OEM leather, and 5+ years later, they are still nice.

 

Thanks Pierce, but I would prefer to step it up to some newer seats, like out of a V or C model. Just don't wanna hafta do any rail modifications. But at this point, the seat is so bad it might be worth it.

 

afaik, the newer seats are all the wrong footprint, height, and angles for the rather upright 240. I'm pretty sure the 240 seats only fit the 240, the 700/900 seats only fit the 700/900s, and the new stuff is all different. I've got an 850 in the driveway, which is the same as the first gen V70, I probably could measure the seat rail footprint later today and compare it with our 240, but I know that seat is WAY closer to the ground (and its also a 6-way power seat with integral side impact airbags)

 

interesting. the rails on my 850 are about 446mm between the rails, center to center on the front bolts. The 240 parked next to it is 362mm.

great driver seats on early 90s cars are nearly unobtanium. I'd try and find a OK 240 drivers seat and 2 great passenger seats, and take the cushions and covers off one passenger seat and install them on that drivers seat

our 87 240GL drivers seat has a height adjustment front and rear, I don't know how many others had this, our passenger seat doesn't have this. this is handy for shorter drivers

 

Fact: IPD does not sell the bottom seat foam, but still sell the back part. Pointless? Anyways, the cheapest way to go is to swap out your passenger foam inserts for the driver's (if they are any good) similar to the said above. I think you can also just swap the seats, but you will loose the height adjustment mechanisms.
Pierce, my '93 has the dual height adjustments on the driver's side only also. I'm thinking that is a standard option seeing they are on my base 240 and your early '87. Of course, the GL might have that standard anyways, and my '93 might have it standard being the last they made... Not sure either .

 

Well it looks like I'm just gonna try an find a decent drivers seat at a pick a part or something similar. Would be nice to step it up to the nicer seats, but oh well. Thanks guys!

 

again, passenger seats are almost always nicer than drivers seats, and its pretty easy to swap the parts over to the driver's seat frame. you just need to cut and hem a new hole for the lumbar support

 

If you obtain one from a junk yard, make sure the doors were closed and the windows are rolled up. Make sure no critters have made a home in their either. Seems obvious, but junk yards scare me so I want to get out of there as soon as possible.

 

Thanks to you both. And Burn, when I go to junk yards, I feel like an eight year old at Disneyland. Friggin love it.

 

for seats, I think I'd rather look for a local car being parted out by a private party, I find a fair number of these on craigslist.

 

Yeah that's not 100 miles away, I rarely ever see private listings for parts 240's, and usually they are worse off than in the yard. Even so, I don't think he wants 240 seats anyways...

 

true, I live where there's both a LOT of CL activity and lots of Volvos.

re: not 240 seats, he mentioned S/C/V series, but comparing my 240 with my 850, their rail to rail width is way different than the 240 so adapting those seats wouldn't be a simple bolt in affair. my 700 isn't here (at mechanics getting a new head gasket), so I have no idea what its width is but I'm thinking its also considerably wider than the 240's (240 rails are 80mm (3.15 inches) closer together than the 850's rails). When I measured that, I didn't even bother to try and measure the front to back bolt distance on either.

 

I have two fairly new seats not sure what year, that I got when I bought my '85 240. The guy that owned it before bought them 'cuz the stock seat was uncomfortable. I liked the look of the stock seats better so I put them back in. I'd sell the spares I have for the right price. They are in great condition. PM me if you want em.

 

Might have to hit you up if I can't find anything local. Thanks for posting!

 

Hit up my local Ecology auto yard today, and scored 2 240 front seats for a whooping total of.....$24!

 

I noticed you said that there is 2 bolts on the front and 2 on the back. I believe I have the 2 front an 1 back bolt (outer side) but am unsure as to where the other bolt is to remove the front seats? I ordered a chiltons book but it won’t arrive for another week or so. If you could get back to me on this I would appreciate it very much. Thx

 

The 240 has four bolts, two in front, two in back, hard to miss. Maybe yours only has three, one missing from the previous owner's intervention?

 

"Junk yards scare me." I gotta an audible chuckle out of that one. But, to be honest, I'll admit they are a bit creepy.

 

"Creepy"? Creepy is the new car dealer showroom lounge: leather couches, coffee and pastry, three short skirt receptionists, TV, Wi-Fi. That's creepy, all designed to prepare you for the bill shock! Junkyards are honest, and you get parts you need for pennies on the dollar!