At 6 ft 2 In. my beloved 98 Mini is just barely a fit. Even with the cruise control I've installed, and the extended seat mounts, I wouldn't take this car on a trip more than 50 miles from home.. just too constricting seating.
The sad thing is, I will NEVER have a passenger in the rear seat, and there is all that wasted space (a good 5 inches or so) between the front seat back and the rear seat.
Problem is that metal compartment along the rear seat outer wall that holds the seat belt mechanisms. That's what prevents the seat from being positioned any further back. The seat is sooo close to clearing that metal structure.. I'd say 1.25 inches max would free up the front seat and give me 5 more inches.
As near as I can tell, this piece is permanently welded to the body at the floor, and probably the sides as well.
I am considering just cutting a slice out of the corner of that box to give clearance to the front seat, and then just fabricating a replacement indented metal piece inside the original to close up the opening and return the rigidity, spot/plug welding along the way.
Just wonder if anyone else has accomplished such a modification, or if there is a simpler way to meet my goals?
UPDATE - 10-13-18
Thanks to all of you who replied to my post. In the interim, here are some discoveries I've made
1) after removing the plastic lid of the rear seat "bin" I see that the seat retract reel is only about 1 inch from the inner (toward the car seat) wall of the metal bin, which means cutting it wouldn't solve my situation without some major relocating of the retract reel.
2) In fact, I DID fabricate some off-center seat mounts, with the same plan as someone suggested, of relocating the seat closer to the center tunnel. After congratulating myself, and installing the seat, I learned, as previously reported, that the aft seat skids would then foul up at the center tunnel. I even thought about refabricating the inner seat frame, moving the lower part closer to the seat center. But then I noted that the seat belt clip, attached at the tunnel, is only about 1/2 inch from the original seat position, so that is not a viable option either.
Finally, I decided to try different positions of the seat back recline angle. I cranked it well forward, and was then able to position the seat base (mounted on extended front mounts) another 2 clicks backward. But then, my head head the ceiling. With the seat base in its new, more aft position, I then tried cranking the seat back recline angle. To my great surprise, I was able to return the seat back to its earlier, reclined angle. It seems that the rear edge of the seat is somewhat soft, and it managed to squeeze itself around the seat bin. Most definitely there is now seatback to bin contact, but the seat feels firm, and there is no noise created by this position. Since I am pretty much the only driver of my Mini, it won't need adjustment for some time.
No doubt, eventually there may be some wear of the seat back material, but for now I'll take that as a minor inconvenience in exchange for noticeably more legroom.
I do have to recognize this is not a Cadillac, and accept small discomfort in favor of the joy of driving this little jewel.
Phil
Edited by pauldridge, 13 October 2018 - 05:53 PM.
