A friend of mine is looking at fitting a rear seat in an Astra Van to
carry the odd passenger.

I am somewhat sceptical - Is this legal ?  I feel its not but sombody
here maybe able to offer a more informed opinion.

Cheers.

wrote in message 
news:1121249040.351306.233610@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

>A friend of mine is looking at fitting a rear seat in an Astra Van to
> carry the odd passenger.
>
> I am somewhat sceptical - Is this legal ?  I feel its not but sombody
> here maybe able to offer a more informed opinion.
>
> Cheers.
>


AFAIK If it's there, it will be tested in the MOT. So seat mountings, seta 
belts etc all have to meet the regs.

On the vans I grew up with (70s and 80s) the back seat was often an optional 
extra, so the mountings etc were already there. Dunno about nowadays though.

wrote in message
news:1121249040.351306.233610@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> A friend of mine is looking at fitting a rear seat in an Astra Van to
> carry the odd passenger.
>
> I am somewhat sceptical - Is this legal ?  I feel its not but sombody
> here maybe able to offer a more informed opinion.
>
> Cheers.
>

==============
I don't think there is anything illegal with fitting rear seats in vans. The
situation used to be that fitting rear seats in a van was legal but fitting
rear side windows was illegal unless you paid extra 'Purchase Tax' (Purchase
Tax was the forerunner of VAT). Vans were exempt from Purchase Tax as they
were for commercial use which explains why Mini vans were so popular with
the young and broke in the 1960s. A new Mini van cost about 370-00 whereas
a new Mini car would cost about 560-00.

Cic.

Vauxhall now do a factory option of a Combo crewvan with rear seats so
it must be legal.

There is a company that specialises in rear seats but I have forgotten
their name. A Vauxhall van dealer may know it though.

They are expensive but they fit a proper folding bench seat with a
footwell (they remove part of the floor) with seatbelts. The seat is
solid and likely to be safe in an accident. I would not be happy
without some sort of bulkhead if you are carrying a load though.

An MOT tester is unlikely to even see it if you fold it flat and put
something in the back!

I am pretty sure that fitting side windows will cause problems though.

Alan

Alan (alan.steele@steeles.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they 
were saying :


> I am pretty sure that fitting side windows will cause problems though.


Physically on an Ashtrayvan, p'raps. Legally, no.

C15s were available with windows or with panels. Fitting the windows 
instead of the panels is very straightforward - the panel is only seam-
sealered in, and the window is the usual old-fashioned rubber gasket mount.

a.j.beddoes@talk21.com wrote:

> A friend of mine is looking at fitting a rear seat in an Astra Van to
> carry the odd passenger.
> 
> I am somewhat sceptical - Is this legal ?  I feel its not but sombody
> here maybe able to offer a more informed opinion.
> 
> Cheers.
> 

No, providing you inform your insurance company, who will increase
your premium for the extra liability.

DJ_Crazy_Frog