This may be exclusive to the ES, but I thought you guys might have some ideas.  I mounted my front seats 4" aft of the factory location.  It created some problems.  In the factory installation, the bolts that hold the seat rails to the seat platform go straight through the flanges on the seat bulkheads.  The bolt heads are recessed in the seat rails, making it difficult, if not impossible, to get a wrench/socket on the bolt head.  My usual method is to cram a slotted screwdriver between the side of the bolt head and the seat rail and tighten the nut below the seat bulkhead.

 

When I decided to move the seats aft, the front bolts that hold the seat rail to the seat platform now fall between the bulkheads.  I originally decided to mount the seats to the seat platforms before installing them in the plane.  Worked great!  But.....  I can't install the interior panels with the seats installed!  I need the seat platforms in place, then the interior panels, then the seats.  I installed nutplates on the bottom of the seat platforms. The seats don't slide aft enough to allow easy access to the front bolt heads.  I don't just have to hold them still now, I have to be able to tighten them from above.  I found some Phillips head bolts, and some hex head bolts.  The Phillips worked great if I folded up the corner of the seat upholstery and accessed the Phillips head through the space between the black tubing and the aluminum seat pan.  I still have temporary upholstery on the seats, so it's easy to just yank up the corner of the foam, but I don't know what I'll do when the final upholstery goes in and wraps around the corner onto the black tubing.

 

Drawing attached.

 

Any ideas?

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs