News
The Maruti Eeco is available both as a 5-seater and a 7-seater, but only the 5-seater variant gets air conditioning. A BHPian has converted a 5-seater Eeco with AC to a 7-seater Eeco with AC.
The rear seats of the Eeco (both 2nd & 3rd row) come in 2 parts - the seatbase and the seatback. The 2nd row seat in the 5-seater is full-sized while it is a bit small and can accommodate only two people in the 7-seater. The 3rd row is full-sized and can take 3 people.
To convert the car from a 5-seater to a 7-seater, he bought the seat base and seatback for the 2nd row. For the third row, he used the seatback from the second row but had to buy the seatbase as it is a bit smaller for the third row.
For installation of the seats, the car already has holes and small holes had to be cut in the carpet.
Part numbers for 2nd row seatbase and seatback - 87101M78L10HTN, 87301M78L10HTN
Part number for the 3rd row seatbase - 88101M78L00HTN
Total cost of the conversion: Rs. 7,442.
However, according to regulations, changing the number of seats in the car may be illegal. In 2019, the Supreme Court had stated that no vehicle can be altered so as to change original specifications made by the manufacturer. Such particulars which have been specified by the manufacturer for the purpose of entry in the certificate of registration cannot be altered.
Thanks to BHPian chiranjitp for sharing this with other enthusiasts.