I had my first drive of a Mk2 Jag (actually a Daimler) and found that the seat didn't go back far enough for me (I am 6' 3"). I am not sure if there was a problem with the seat and/or runners as the owner had not had it very long and never had to adjust the seat. I am going to look at two more next week, Mk2 Jaguars not Daimler's. So my question is has anyone relocated the seat back say about 2" or 3" ? I did this on a Holden back in the 70's successfully and it make a huge difference to driver comfort.
Bob

 

I have a 1968 S Type so the same set up as the Mk2. I am 6'2" and my seat goes back far enough for me to sit comfortably. Mine is an Auto so I do not have a problem with the clutch. The driving position is a little high and forward in comparison to a modern car but you get used to that. The steering wheel does adjust on the Mk2 variants so this gives you a lot of arm length adjustment. When I first started driving mine I felt very close to the dash and screen. When ever I waved at another driver I always hit the screen with my hand as it is so close to the back of the steering wheel again compared to modern slope screened cars.

When I bought my car the previous owner was a lot smaller and he had actually adjusted the seat using pieces of alloy angle on the runners so the seat would go further forward. I removed these and put it back to spec and have not had a problem. If my previous owner could adapt the runners to go forward I am sure you could do the same to make it go backwards but do not expect to take any rear seat passengers behind you seat. Knee and foot space is pretty restricted in the normal setting (seat fully back) so even less with any adaptations.

 

I'm quite surprised because I have never read about this as a difficulty in any of the road tests written during the time of production of the car. Did you check the passenger seat, as the adjustment mechanism is the same ?

 

The seat adjustment on a Mk2/Daimler is different to an S Type. The Mk2 seats have a conventional sliding rail while with S Types each was mounted on a unique fore-and-aft adjustment mechanism. Instead of the conventional sliding runners, this used swinging links that lowered the front of the cushion and raised the rear as the seat was moved forwards, and vice versa like the MkX/420G.

Daimler seats looked different in that they were more split bench looking than Mk2 buckets but mechanisms were the same.


Mk2 adjustment mechanism. Should be easy to mod.

 

In the 1960s when the road tests were done on the Mk2 the average height of a male in the UK was about 5,8" with few people over 6 foot tall. Average height now in 2020 is only one inch taller at 5'9" but there are a vast amount of people now over 6 foot who have difficulty fitting in to older cars, your MG midget being one of them Frazer. My father who used to race a Mk2 Jaguar in the 60s and 70s was 5'10". I am 6'2" and both my sons are 6'6". At this rate my grandsons will end up 6'10" and will never be able to drive my S Type if I ever pass it on as they will not be able to get in it.

 

Yes, I suppose you're right. I was last in the queue for legs just before I was born apparently, (1946) !! And you're absolutely right about the MG Midget, which I have now sold to another poor sod to try getting in it. However, you would think this issue would have been addressed by Jaguar because their service manager was called "Lofty" England and he was well over 6' in height.

 

Me again !
I remember stripping down the seat runners on my Mark 2 in the 80s and getting them replated. They are quite easy to strip down, but be careful as the ***** can go anywhere, and you need them all when re-assembling !

 

Well, my car is a 1963 Jaguar 3.8s and while I am not 6'4" tall, my mechanic is and has no issues but we upgraded the seats to a complete set from an early 2000's Jaguar Vanden Plas fully electric seats with headrests and picnic trays. Thus you could modify the car and install later model Jaguar seats and have more clearance and comfort.

 

Sir William Lyons designed the early saloons so that the tops of the seats did not go above the height of the windows. It made the car look uncluttered internally when looking from the outside. I know having head restraints makes the car safer but it makes the cars interior look too full and in my view ugly. Most of the conversions I have seen with modern seats from an XK8 or XJ8 might give thee driver a better, safer, more comfortable even sportier driving seat but I have yet to see a conversion that gives any room for the rear seat passengers and I notice in your photo Primaz that the rear seat photo has been cropped to exclude the rear leg room.
Just my opinion, some like it others don't and I am in with the latter.

 

Yes ~ and a lot of work went into creating more space & headroom for rear passengers in the S Type rear to overcome Mk2 complaints.

If you must have headrests they can be fitted to the standard Jag seats. A friend has fitted Mercedes headrests to the S type seats. The nice thing about the Benz headrests is that you can drop the rears at the push of a dash button because they obstruct rear view when you have no rear passengers.

I find the (re-foamed) seats extremely comfortable. Their only weakness is lateral support if you are cornering hard. But with the centre armrests down that solves that both back & front. (Very Citroen DS like)

 

Hi All,
My 64 Daimler with column auto has reclining front seats. They are retained by six bolts two being used to mount the relining mechanism to the floor. When I removed the bolts the mechanism was under tension and let go with a bang. To refit i had to use a ratchet strap to pull the front mounting into place.
David B. Down under.

 

The S Type also has reclining seats but the mechanism must be a different design as there are just four bolts holding the frame to the floor and they do not affect the reclining mech when undone. On the S Type the mech with its spring is in the rear seat back. The seat bolster pad is removed as it is not bolted in place. You then undue the four bolts and the base and seat back all come out as one and the mechanism is not disturbed.

 

The rear seats on my car are also from the Vaden Plas and were sectioned about 1 foot as the 3.8s rear seat section is a narrower car. I do not often have four people in the car but there is enough roof for a 6' person to fit but the 3.8s is really more of a mid size four door so I would say that both stock and with my conversion the rear is adequate but not a much room as the larger Jaguar four seat models. The front seats are way more comfortable as the stock half back seats for me are NOT comfortable and provide no head and shoulder support. The front seats are fully electric and enable any person to fit comfortably in the car no matter their height and so much more comfortable than stock. To me the stock seats are just not comfortable like modern cars and with my car having a lot more horsepower it is not safe to drive without head and shoulder support. I do not have any other pictures of the interior but you can fit four without any issues.

 

Primaz you are right that even the S Type did not have a vast amount of legroom but more than the Mk2 due to the configuration of the lower seat base and raised roof line. The only larger Jaguar being built at the time os the S Type was the Mk10 which has ample room in the back but being designed for the US market it was far to big for the roads in the UK in the 1960s and on another topic we are talking about garages, well the Mk10 would never fit in to a standard sized UL garage or supermarket parking bay for that matter.

I use my S Type as a wedding car and I am glad that it is an Auto as I can slide the driver's seat forward and even at 6'2" I can still get in and drive the car giving more space in the back for the Bride and Groom. That said I would love to restore another S Type and add 6 inches to the length as they did with the XJ6 LWB.

 

I think the XJ6 and it's many derivatives looks better in LWB. Just IMHO.

 

I agree Glyn and I think it would suit an S Type as well. Shame to cut one up to prove it but if I came across a real rusty wreck I would love to give it a try as no real harm would be done.

 

Thank you gentlemen for your feedback and comments, I do appreciate them. yesterday I went to see a couple of Mk2's, the first one was a manual and very tight for me especially around the knees and steering wheel and as it was would not have been able to drive it safely. The second car was an auto and defiantly had more leg room, still not enough but I was able to drive it. With a smaller wheel and moving the whole seat back say 50mm it would be perfect. This car needed a lot of work including a complete re-trim and paint job. That is not the situation I want to be in so passed it up. The exercise was well worthwhile as I now am sure that a manual will not work for me but an auto will be OK. I am fine with this as I have been driving my manual Cobra for 23 years and an auto will do nicely now. There is an auto Mk2 for sale in Queensland which looks good but I just have to sell the Cobra first (I have 2 potential buyers, so fingers crossed).
Bob

 

As a 6 foot 2" long-time JAGUAR and Daimler driver, I well understand that many models were not exactly created for our "long wheelbase" bodies! From experience, it is no hard job to move the seat mounts rearwards in a Mark 2 (providing you do not need to consider the comfort of regular adult rear seat passengers), but I did want to chip-in that technically work like this should be certified by a qualified engineer and/or a relevant modification plate fitted according to the laws of your state/territory. If this isn't done, in theory it renders the car unroadworthy and this can have negative implications for insurance coverage in the event of an accident (if discovered). I truly am not trying to be a "kill joy" and it is true that I have seen many Australian Mk2 cars over the years with seat mount modifications that were not certified; but I jus thought you deserved to have the issue raised for your consideration and protection.
Best wishes,
Allyn.

 

Allyn, thank you very much for you input on this topic and it is relevant of course.in the interests of safety and insurance, and I take your points on board. As a retired mechanical/design engineer I do have an understanding of strength of materials and construction of things mechanical. If I do procure a Mk2 then I would make the bracket extensions from substantial material such as 50mm x 6mm stainless steel and utilising high tensile bolts and nylock nuts. I do appreciate in the event of an insurance claim the likelihood is that there is a remote possibility of the insurance company not honouring the claim.
This is a great forum with lots of knowledgeable members members. Again thanks for your input Allyn
Bob

 

Glad to hear you have the knowledge to manage the situation and I hope you find your Mark 2 Bob.
Best wishes!
Allyn.