David:

There exists hardware for connecting the seat to the tracks.  Hard for me to
describe.  Maybe you could find a friend with one installed or a local
junkyard.  I got mine from the person I bought the middle seat from.

Did you have to pull up carpet before you began cutting?

Maynard
'82 Westy Diesel "Reinhardt"
'93 EV GL "Klinger"

On Tuesday, September 07, 1999 1:56 PM, David Bogle [SMTP:bogle@BWAY.NET]
wrote:
> Interested Listmember,
>
> The middle seat intallation into my Westfalia is mostly done.  Just need
> some bolts for the track/body connection.  Don't think the plastic plugs
> will do in the case of an accident.;-)
>
> First I drilled up through four of the plugs from under the van to
> locate the track centerline.  Marked a 2 3/4 inch cut width and cut the
> vinyl flooring with my trusty Olfa retractable knife and a straight
> edge.  That left me something to follow with my circular hand saw.
>
> The tracks are recessed.  The front cut must extend beyond the shorter
> track
> length to allow the seat track to slide on over.  Both cuts are the
> lenghth of the longer track.  Since the circular saw only goes until it
> hits the cabinets, the last 3 to 4 inches was done first by drilling
> along the cut line and then with a chisel.  I'll paint the cut plywood
> edges before bolting the tracks down.
>
> If I remove the left side arm rest the seat will be able to slide on
> over about another 4 inches.  I think I will not do this since the seat
> is held in place horizontally by the door and the cabinets.  At least
> not until I have it anchored to the tracks somehow.  Any tips on this
> anchoring would be appreciated from those with middle seats anchored.  I
> can picture an accident scenario where the sliding door opens and the
> seat slides out with belted passengers attached. }:-0
>
> It's a tight butt-squeeze to get into the rearmost seat without the
> folding feature, but that will just be reserved for the not-horizontally
> challenged folks and kids.  There's plenty of legroom in front of the
> middle seat.  Only drawback is no access to the fridge while the seat is
> in place.
> --
> Regards,
> David Bogle
> Brooklyn
> '87 Vanagon GL Syncro Westfalia 6-Passenger