ISRI seats... the rebirth

shiney!

 a washing machine 

no, really....

Are you sure you still want to put that common padded dash in? if not let me know.

Tools:

Phillips Screwdriver.
Big Flat Screwdriver
Right sharp knife
Turny tackle. Ratchet is good...
Socket extension.
13mm Socket
5mm Allen key
Pliers

You will also need a decent staple gun with some short (4mm) staples.




Right.... remove your seat from the van. This is a bit trickier with the ISRI seat than with a standard seat... do the passenger one first, its easier to get out, and once you know what youre fiddling with the drivers side is easier....

swivel the base around, and on the right side of the seat, as you sit in it, theres a little metal wedge underneath. You need to push the seat forward on the runners as far as it will go, then push this little wedge downwards it will then slide further forward, and off the rails.
Foraward being towards the front of the seat, not the van
Sounds more complex than it is. you can either get a long screwdriver under the seat and hold the wedge down, or go through the side of the seat between the seat and runner.
At the same time you need to push down on the seat adjustment bar and push the seat forward...

You can see the wedge on this photo, middle top...




You'll notice in the above photo that the runners have been removed... 4 Phillips screws. doddle...  theres also a springy bar arrangement that just pulls out once you have the runners off.

See all those clips around the edge? You need to remove them all. Theyre basically little sprung steel clips, and they hold the fabric to the seat frame. You can just prise them off with your screwdriver, careful, cos theyre springy, and sharp!

Whilst youre at it, theres a metal plate that covers the rear of the seat, if you slide it towards one side, the other will pop out, do it gently, and dont break anything



All the clips off? Sure? Then you can start easing the fabric off the base. pull it up through the gap between the base and backrest first. It will come off easy enough.

Now the fabric is off, there is nothing holding the foam on, remove it, and put it to one side.

Next we'll tackle the arm rests. These can be a proper faff, but its not impossible. Mine were held on with a nut and Allen bolt. I'm assuming this is standard, and that they havnt been off in the past and the roll pins (as used on standard captains seats) replaced with nuts and bolts...

You can get a slim 13mm Socket between the seat and arm rest, and an allen key in the other end. Undo the nut and remove it, then push the bolt out with a screwdriver or similar. Waggle the armrest to free it more easily...





Same on the other side.

Next , angle the backrest forward and you'll see a load of staples. you need to pull them all ou. There are lots of them. Once you think you've removed them all, fold the vinyl up and remove a load more that fasten the fabric on

Theres also a few under neath the vinyl on the rear of the seat. get them too. Theyre all sharp, and probably rusty. Tetanus up to date? Good...

Next job. Start peeling the rear cover upwards. gently. you'll have to easy it over the sticky-outy bits for the arm rests. Once you get about 2/3 of the way up, you'll meet some resistance. Stop tugging.

Now, have a look at the front of the seat. On the inside you'll see a loop of cloth that goes through the foam and back of the seat. about 10" wide. If you lift up the cardboard on the rear, you'll see...





That isnt the greatest pic, but basically what you have is the red bit that runs across the picture is the loop of cloth. Through the middle of that, again running across the picture, is a metal rod. You then have 2 smaller pieces of the same rod going up through the cloth, but under the long piece of rod to stop it pulling through. Simple, but clever.

Pull out the short pieces with the pliers, then feed the long piece out of one end of the loop. Now the loop will pull through and you can remove the cover completely. Mine was glued to the foam near the top, but it didnt take much persuading to get it off.

Now, ask the missus to show you how to use the washing machine. Cool wash, for delicates if poss... No fast spins.



Once theyre clean, lay em out to dry. I didnt hang em cos I dont want them stretching...

wait...

Once theyre dry, refit. Its all pretty straightforward, just opposite of removal.

What I did was to cut some thin foam and put it on top of the base foam of the passenger seat. This took up a little of the slack from the sagging foam...
On the drivers side, I put some underneath the base foam too, as obviously the drivers side had sagged a little more.

the spring clips just pop back on with a bit of force, you can close the clips up a little if you were a bit too brutal removing em

I swapped the passenger side for the drivers side when I refitted.




Edited by Tee3 - 07 Aug 08 at 06:31

ISRI arm rests are plastic not fabric, I think?  V. nice.  So the arm rests are a different fitting to the standard captain seat design, which I presume my Atlantic is? Have mine got a bolt or screw head coming in through the pivot point from the side? I can feel a hole around that point under the fabric. They are a bit wobbly so I am hoping they will tighten up.

mine are vinyl, so I just left them on the arms and scrubbed em up.

I once tried to dismantlt a Bluestar one  and it took me about 3hrs of swearing and cursing to get it back together

There are a few different types of arm on the normal seats. Bluestars have a roll pin in them.

Well done! That looks like a fiddly bastard job to do!  I take it ISRI seats are an option over the standard seats I have in mine?  They certainly look comfier.

That's it, i'm selling the Atlantic and getting a Club Joker. Iv'e got ISRI jealousy going on! Unless I can persuade PeteWesty to sell me his of course?  I think all Club Jokers have them. I have never seen one that hasn't unless some jealous bastard like me stole them for his Atlantic

good spot

oh, mine has the zips...