What year/model was the last available with 3 front seats?

(Someone must have one that folds into its own pocket or has fur trim!)

Quite a lot of defenders in the mid/late 90’s were still 3 seaters up front as every man and his dog was selling people cubby boxes to stick in the middle. I can certainly remember driving a early 90’s truck cab on site with 3 seats.

I think the middle seat was phased out some time in the early 2000’s

We’ve got 2 Defender’s at work that are 2003 model’s and both have 3 seats in the front

I always thought it was a bit ambitious to call it a seat, horribly uncomfortable for the sittee and difficult to drive with someone there!

Wouldnt plan on putting someone in it for reasons above. Fine for emergencys.

Ive removed mine for a pair of cobra buckets and a secure cubby box.

If you want a middle seat all you’ve got to do is remove the cubby and fit one from Exmoor Trim.

think they are still an option…

My FIL has one with “3” seats from 2003 – using the middle one requires me to straddle the gear lever and handbrake…

I normally elect to sit in the back with the dogs.

difficult to drive with someone there!

I think it’s only proper for the centre passenger to be in control of the gear shift. Unless they’re under 5, or a dog.

to answer your question up to 2007.

you can not fit them to the PUMA defenders that are > 2007.

As said you just remove the cubby box & buy one such as from ExmoorTrim.

However they are are only really suitable for amputees.

I frequently drive with three in the front of my 1990 110.
Mrs MTG Junior has the left hand seat and Mrs MTG sits in the middle as she is smallest.

Option 1. Both feet in the passenger footwell. Swing right leg out of the way when I need 2nd gear.

Option 2. One foot in each footwell. Spread legs slightly when I need 2nd or 4th gear.

Either way, it’s best if the driver and centre passenger are comfortable with that sort of close body contact.

Option 2. One foot in each footwell. Spread legs slightly when I need 2nd or 4th gear

Regularly go 3-up like that, since the back functions mainly as a mobile tool shed and sheep pen. Not the best place to seat female hitchhikers though – “Just spread your legs while I give my knob a yank love” 😀

Breakers yards used to be a good source for them . Don’t forget seatbelts and insurance specs though. Used to have a kiddy seat in the middle of my s2 v8 swb trialer. They loved it but their arms were to short to stir the gear lever.

I never had any problems with the missing seatbelt at MOT time until a couple of years ago.
The tester said he couldn’t pass it with three seats and two belts, so I chucked the middle cushions in the back and forgot about them.
After I met The Present Mrs MTG and wanted three seats again, I refitted the cushions and made a cross bar about half way between the bulkhead and roof to take a headrest and seat belt mounting.

I don’t think there’s any Type Approval, or whatever, for seat belt mountings.
I just went by the old engineering theory, “If it looks strong enough, it probably is”.

Our 1999/T one at work had the 3 seats, but far more preferable to sit in the back with the rain, tools and general rubbish than the middle seat. Can stuff more crap in a cubby box than you can pile on the seat too.

In an old 2a, the middle passenger was responsible for keeping the thing in second as the ‘box was knackered and prone slipping out when off the power.

I drove all the way to Bosnia and back with three of us in the front of an old 100TDi.

We were pretty good mates by the time we got home.

“I don’t think there’s any Type Approval, or whatever, for seat belt mountings.
I just went by the old engineering theory, “If it looks strong enough, it probably is”.

Should be mounted to the chassis and not the seat box.

I looked into it recently when fitting harness – previous owner of the seats just bolted harness to the sub frame floor mountings.

in the land rover with its thin alu seat box this would probably result in an ejector seat scenario in a crash.

Should be mounted to the chassis and not the seat box.

The original belts aren’t on a Defender. Everything’s bolted to the aluminium seat box or side panels with steel spreader plates. I just copied that.

If you’re going fast enough for an ejector seat moment in a Land Rover, you’ve just driven off a cliff and are stuffed anyway.

must be different on a 1990 defender then

on my 87 ninety they were attached THROUGH the seat box to the chassis mount plates

the bottom mounts on the left and right seats are attached to thick steel plates on the door steels that go between the bulkheads

the middle seat shares the chassis mountings with those of the fixed sides on the left and right seats for its lap belt.

“If you’re going fast enough for an ejector seat moment in a Land Rover, you’ve just driven off a cliff and are stuffed anyway.”

I like it !!! – i have got high compression v8 sitting on my garage floor though….. you have the original 85bhp defender v8 dont you graham ?

I’ve had the seat box out often enough to repair the gearbox that I ought to know how it all bolts together.
You’ve got me wondering now. 😳
Hang on, I’ll go outside and check.

tbh not much is standard on mine below the surface – but it looks fairly factory fit…..The previous owners welding is nothing like good enough to hide these being bodged in 😉

I confused myself. I should have remembered that the belts stay where they are when I remove the seat box.
It doesn’t bolt to the seat box itself, but to the bulkhead where the seat box bolts on.
It’s not bolted direct to the chassis, but it is bolted to a steel bracket, bolted to the bulkhead, bolted to the chassis outrigger.
The top mountings are bolted to a steel bracket bolted to the aluminium side panels and roof though.

This what I made. It doesn’t really show on the photo, but that head rest is bolted to a bit of 50×25 box running the width of the vehicle.

This is where it’s bolted to the side panel. the smaller screws are for a fire extinguisher bracket.

was yours a truck cab in a past life – mines nothing like that. I have steel braces in up there betwixt the bulkhead and the roof

Mine was a soft top originally like most military Defenders, the guy I bought it off fitted the hard top. I think military soft tops have a sort of roll over bar behind the seats. It doesn’t look strong enough for proper roll over protection, but it gives something to bolt the seat belts and radio aerials to.

Mine was originally a 90bhp restricted 3.5 V8. It’s one of the very few genuine military V8s. All the others I’ve seen have been 1990 (G or H) reg so I guess they were all made in one batch.
I’ve got a 3.9 EFI in there now. It surprises people sometimes. 😉

This is where it’s bolted to the side panel. the smaller screws are for a fire extinguisher bracket.

That looks rather bodged. Like Trail rat, my hard top has the seatbelts mounted between the bulkhead and roof.

If you’re going fast enough for an ejector seat moment in a Land Rover, you’ve just driven off a cliff and are stuffed anyway –

absolutely correct.

Our year 2000 td5 has cubby box but found the middle lap belt still behind it
Lap belt is just fitted with big spreader plates through the seat box.

In an old 2a, the middle passenger was responsible for keeping the thing in second as the ‘box was knackered and prone slipping out when off the power.

Been there – done that.

Was that not normal for all 2a , reverse as much as second on my old one
Always fun when you failed to get up a hill

My IIA ended up with no second gear, it might have had something to do with the Perkins 4203 I fitted. Still it had enough torque in every gear at 1200rpm to go anywhere albeit slowly.