C15 Champ Rear Seats

[ScarbScotty]

Hi all, I'm contemplating a C15 Champ van, though have been advised that whatever vehicle I get needs to have 4 seats (to ferry the inlaws around), I know some French versions had rear seats but wondered if anyone had experience of modifying a UK van?

I'm thinking either a couple of swivel seats with engineer inspected mounting, pr a side mounted bench seat similar to those in Romahome camper vans.

Anyone done anything like this?

Thanks for any help

Iain

[Richard_C]

Not done anything like it, strikes me it might be difficult - there is the 'engineering' of the mount, seat belt mounts and getting insurance. You would have to make the front passenger seat tip forwards for access, and I don't think there was ever a 2 door Visa that you could get the parts from - I guess the van ones don't tilt but maybe they do. I have seen C15s in France with a side window and I think maybe you could buy a back seat kit for them. If you google for "siege arriere pour Citroen C15" or "Banquette arriere...." you might see a few pictures (banquette is a bench seat, siege is an individual seat).

(upturned beer crate, cushions and blankets served well enough for trips to the beach in my mates Dad's Bedford back in the 60's)

[van ordinaire]

All C15's have side windows, it's just that the UK ones are, with very few exceptions, blanked out (a throwback to windows behind the driver attracting purchase tax) & some French ones (at least) have tipping/folding passenger seats. However, afaik, only the ones with sliding &/or 4 rear windows had rear seats (+ some rear trim, including full length headlining, HRW's, etc - some even had a rear side door!) Soooooh, if you must have a 4-seater C15 - it'll have to be LHD.

I had a 2-seater sofa in the back of my 400E Thames - but I don't think you'd get away with that now.

When passenger seats were an option in small vans here (another purchase tax avoidance dodge), if you went for your driving test in one, you were REQUIRED to provide a box for the examiner to sit on!

[Richard_C]

When passenger seats were an option in small vans here (another purchase tax avoidance dodge), if you went for your driving test in one, you were REQUIRED to provide a box for the examiner to sit on!

I remember that! Upturned wooden "Bass" beer crates were just the job, 6 bottle ones, the pint bottles were a little taller and slimmer than most and you could put a cushion from the family sofa on top. I had a typical 6th form summer job on the local dairy delivering cream to hotels all round North Devon, 2 of us in a knackered Thames van - painted cream of course. I vaguely remember that delivery drivers were exempted from seat belt rules at the start, most just drove round with their sliding cab doors open - as we did. Bowling along the A361 at 45 mph, doors open, sitting on a beer crate. Excellent.

[van ordinaire]

Ah, sliding doors* - another dimension. One of my cousins used to drive his scout troup's Bedford CA. Now CA's suffered from rusty door channels - in the region of the door stop &, yes, he's driving along, opens the door, it comes off the runners - & the lorry behind ran over it!

Anyone remember trains running with the doors open in the Summer?

Oh, & you're right about seat belt exemptions: cabbies & roundsman

Of course milk floats don't have doors - BUT which Thames had sliders?

p.s. lest it be thought we've gone too far off topic. there's a C15 "Familiar" just come up on eBay - but it appears to be a regular Euro spec van, albeit RHD (was there a Chanel islands spec C15, as there was 2CV?)