I did a SWB Panel Van > Kombi conversion on my new to me T6 about 18 months ago.
I bought a kit of genuine parts from a conversion company that comprised the 3 seater bench (in Simora to match the front), 4x floor brackets, underfloor reinforcement plates, seatbelts, upper mounting plates and a Kombi padded floor mat.
After removing the exhaust, undertrays and dropping the diesel tank it was easy enough to fit the brackets and with a bit of ingenuity required to fit the upper seatbelt plates I completed the conversion.
During those 18 months I have carried a rear seat passenger once !
The main use has been for either me or the wife to sit at the table (the other in the single passenger seat swivelled round) to eat lunch on a day trip, or after a walk or cycle ride.
But, it was a little cramped and you had to get out, swivel the seat, fit the table and get back in - not ideal in the cold and wet.
So I started researching the 2nd/3rd row with the intention of moving the 3 seater bench back and opening up the space inside.
No intention of sleeping in the van so a rock n roll bed was a waste of money for us and I already had the Kombi bench.
The floor brackets turned out to be super easy - for around £100 I bought another set of 4 with the reinforcement brackets, the dimples were on the floor pan to see where to drill and I didn’t need to remove anything underneath the van to do up the nuts - I did need a wobble bar to get the socket on the front two which are inside the rear suspension chassis mounting.
I also needed to cut out 4 more holes in the Kombi padded floor - they are outlined underneath the floor mat so it is easy to cut with a Stanley knife.
As for seatbelts - the 2nd row upper mounts are not drilled on a panel van and as my van is lined and carpeted it would have been a real ball ache to get them fitted. So I decided that with the seat in the 2nd row I would just use the centre belt and limit to carrying one passenger. If I ever need to carry two or three in the rear then I will simply move the bench back into the 1st row so that the outer seats have seatbelts too. For the MOT I would also refit the seat in the original Kombi mounts.
The amount of space inside is now fantastic. The rear ‘boot’ behind the bench is also still very useable.
I’m going to fit a removable kitchen pod inside and another table.
I have fitted Van-x caps to the original 1st row floor mounts and intend to fit a large tailored mat too.
Overall I’m very pleased with the modification.
These photos show rough position of bench in 2nd row and prior to fitting the mounts...
I bought a kit of genuine parts from a conversion company that comprised the 3 seater bench (in Simora to match the front), 4x floor brackets, underfloor reinforcement plates, seatbelts, upper mounting plates and a Kombi padded floor mat.
After removing the exhaust, undertrays and dropping the diesel tank it was easy enough to fit the brackets and with a bit of ingenuity required to fit the upper seatbelt plates I completed the conversion.
During those 18 months I have carried a rear seat passenger once !
The main use has been for either me or the wife to sit at the table (the other in the single passenger seat swivelled round) to eat lunch on a day trip, or after a walk or cycle ride.
But, it was a little cramped and you had to get out, swivel the seat, fit the table and get back in - not ideal in the cold and wet.
So I started researching the 2nd/3rd row with the intention of moving the 3 seater bench back and opening up the space inside.
No intention of sleeping in the van so a rock n roll bed was a waste of money for us and I already had the Kombi bench.
The floor brackets turned out to be super easy - for around £100 I bought another set of 4 with the reinforcement brackets, the dimples were on the floor pan to see where to drill and I didn’t need to remove anything underneath the van to do up the nuts - I did need a wobble bar to get the socket on the front two which are inside the rear suspension chassis mounting.
I also needed to cut out 4 more holes in the Kombi padded floor - they are outlined underneath the floor mat so it is easy to cut with a Stanley knife.
As for seatbelts - the 2nd row upper mounts are not drilled on a panel van and as my van is lined and carpeted it would have been a real ball ache to get them fitted. So I decided that with the seat in the 2nd row I would just use the centre belt and limit to carrying one passenger. If I ever need to carry two or three in the rear then I will simply move the bench back into the 1st row so that the outer seats have seatbelts too. For the MOT I would also refit the seat in the original Kombi mounts.
The amount of space inside is now fantastic. The rear ‘boot’ behind the bench is also still very useable.
I’m going to fit a removable kitchen pod inside and another table.
I have fitted Van-x caps to the original 1st row floor mounts and intend to fit a large tailored mat too.
Overall I’m very pleased with the modification.
These photos show rough position of bench in 2nd row and prior to fitting the mounts...
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