Series 3 12 seater or 10?

Hi all, a bit of a strange question here!
I bought my 1974 series 3 lwb safari 5 door with no side facing bench seats in the rear. How do I tell if it is a 10 seater or 12 seater? I want to buy the seats soon and a mate has a pair of 3 man seats for sale.
Do both 2 seat and 3 seat fit anyway?
Thanks in advance!

GSF 109 said:

Hi all, a bit of a strange question here!
I bought my 1974 series 3 lwb safari 5 door with no side facing bench seats in the rear. How do I tell if it is a 10 seater or 12 seater? I want to buy the seats soon and a mate has a pair of 3 man seats for sale.
Do both 2 seat and 3 seat fit anyway?
Thanks in advance!

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IIRC the only difference between the 10 and 12 seater series 2/3 was the length of the seats. The seats used in the 12 seaters were a little longer (3 person) and the 10 seater used standard SWB seats (2 person). It was a tax dodge, 10 seaters were classed as 'cars' and attracted purchase tax (pre VAT) where 12 seater were 'buses' and subsequently much cheaper. I think 6 people in the back of a safari would be 'cosy' to say the least, but if they fit buy the 3 man seats and give your passengers a little more space and comfort...

My 109 station wagon was described as a 12 seater but the passengers on the side facing seats would have to be very slim. I can't see how 3 people would fit and the seats take up the length of the rear space. However, seeing as how I have no intention of carrying any more than two or three passengers, I removed the side facing seats to give more load room. If you want to carry that many people, get a minibus or big people carrier so that they can ride in comfort.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

However, seeing as how I have no intention of carrying any more than two or three passengers, I removed the side facing seats to give more load room. If you want to carry that many people, get a minibus or big people carrier so that they can ride in comfort.

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There is a lot more load space with the seats out. Disco 1 jump seats do fold down flatter though so for flexibility, fitting one of those on either side might be a good option.

Does fitting the smaller seats leave access to the tool lockers that the 109 has.

As far as I know the only way to tell for sure is to go down the Heritage Certificate route. This is quite an expensive exercise for a piece of paper and the knowledge that the administration was total and utter **** (<= the first of those four stars is a W!) back in the day...

...if your 12 seater was used as a "minibus" / bought as one then the DVLA might have the number of seats registered. However, that registration information could have been changed and might therefore be misleading

Blackburn said:

Does fitting the smaller seats leave access to the tool lockers that the 109 has.

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No, I don't think so.

Col

Thanks all for the replies. I might go down the heritage certificate route at some point, but i agree, it does seem a lot for the amount of info that I would get back. To be entirely honest, the seats my mate has are cheap and worth a shot, even if it does reduce the load space a bit. As long as they fit. My kids would love eating their lunch on a day out on those seats at the back, I’m sure....
Do the lockers under the seats normally have lids or not? Mine doesn’t.
Also, are there fixings required for the seats?
Cheers again

There should be holes in the tub and slots in the rail. There are clips that fit in the slots. Very very fiddly. part 333293/4. The seat base lifts up and gives acess to the tool box. I cut part of the seat base panel away to make it easier. I have the seats (2 person) plus tool box lids, fits ok. One reason for the 12 seater was tax, the other was you could use bus lanes, I think that loophole has been closed now.

Ah, that’s brilliant, many thanks. I will check to see if the brackets are with the seats my mate has.
cheers again.