1980 300SD - better seats that are an easy fit?

[lombrozo]

Gotta admit that my hard flat seats aren't the best, after 425K miles.
Does something come close to bolting in without taking a week of fiddling?

[Brian Carlton]

I solved the "hard flat seat" problem on the W126 by getting a new rubberized "horsehair" pad and supplementing that with 1" of heavy duty memory foam.

The SD is positively comfortable now.

I treat the leather with a conditioner every six months or so to attempt to soften it a bit. It usually must sit for several days for this procedure.

[vstech]

126 and 123 seats are interchangeable, somewhat, but I'm unaware of the design of the 116. it would make sense that they would fit, hopefully, someone with the car that's done it will chime in.
the SDL seats are quite comfortable, as are the 124 LEATHER seats. if they will fit, I'd recommend them.
rebuilding your own seats are good too, like BC says, new padding will really help perk them up. springs being shattered under them will lessen the improvement, but still.

[Zacharias]

My '79 300sd had late w123 seats installed when I got it and they were great (as are the seats in my '85 w123 sedan), better than the original seats -- I know this because years later, when those seats were getting tired, I located a set of like-new seats from a grandma-driven low-mileage w116 and put them in to get the car back to a more original state.

I wouldn't say I regretted it, but if I had to do it again I would rebuild the w123 seats instead. I found the back support better and they felt less slab-like on the bottom cushion.

Again, these are late w123 seats I am talking about, I believe that means 84 and 85 model years.

[Junkman]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

I treat the leather with a conditioner every six months or so to attempt to soften it a bit. It usually must sit for several days for this procedure.

What conditioner works?

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by Junkman

What conditioner works?

I've been using Lexol. It has to sit on the surface for several days.

Others like to spend the money on Leatherique. I've always considered it a bit too pricey for the claims made.

[charmalu]

The W126 seat bottom is a direct fit into a W123. swap the seat tracks and seat covers. Use the passenger side, fits the drivers side and usually it hasn`t had the use the drivers side has. I know the 2nd generation 126 (86 - 91) have a couple extra springs and the coils in the corners have the foam roll for stifness.

The W124, W201, W126 have electric controls, the bottoms can be an easy fix by swapping the seat rails to the manual ones. not sure if the seat backs can be used w/o maybe installing and wiring a rocker switch.

I have not used the W124 or W201 seats, so best to measure the width of the seat tracks where they bolt to the bottoms. the W201 is a narrower body.

If the seat springs are broken, it isn`t worth it to try to wire them together or some other type of patch. the seat spring box from PNP is about $15.

I have no experience with the W116, so you will have to listen to the experts .


Charlie

[Beastie]

Very timely, I have been thinking about the seats as well. I remember my Father had the driver seat outboard padding replaced a long time ago but it is going again. I'm 6ft 4 in and about 300 lbs so I put a lot of wear and tear on the seat.
I recall someone on the forum that installed the seats out of a 300SDl and he said it was very straight forward. He even hooked up the seat heater.
If anyone has info I would also be interested.
Alan

[Squiggle Dog]

I find the stock seats very comfortable if they are in good condition (the original ones in my car were broken and flattened down, but I replaced them with better condition ones from an identical car).

Heavier people tend to find the seats "too springy", but there is a fix for that. If you take the seat bases from a pre-1978? W116, they have stiffer and more durable coil springs that offer more support. I plan to do this modification to my car because the newer style torsion bar bases tend to shear.

[Doktor Bert]

Hmmmmm