This thread was saved without dates. "Around May 2005" is estimated from neighbouring threads.
Well. I got a pair of Fiberglass Racing seats for christmas and was woundering how i would going about installing them. I have a 87 s12 1.8T and have never installed them before. i dont want to have to get them done perfessionally. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Brad
well depending on the bottom seat cushion thickness you need to make custom brackets and or solid seat mounts.. the floorboard makes it a pita...
I was qouted $80 an hour for labour to get brackets/rails made up...
I can take some photos of my solid rail installation if you like. I've done both sliding rail and solid rail installs. Aftermarket seats generally sit higher than stockers tho so in the already low roofed S12 (esp with sunroof) you may need to go to solid rails to get head room. For sliding rails basically the inner rail will pretty much bolt to alot of aftermarket seats, or will if you drill some extra holes. The outer rail is lower so you need to bolt the rail to 50mm box section and the seat to the top of the box (this will also take into account any width differences with the aftermarket seat.
For solid rails i have some 50x5mm steel strap and had it bent up to suit the holes in the floor and the seats bolt spacing. Not hard to do with a bender but really hard to do otherwise hehe. That's the setup i'm running now to get headroom, i can get you a pic of it if you like.
I was looking at it and if you wanted to really mount your seat low it wouldn't be to hard if you cut the inner seat post thing off cos there isn't anyhting else really stopping it from being low, just need cutting and welding skills then to which i'm guessing you don't have.
Photos would be great of the solid rail. I do have all the skills nessasary ive done welding a metal working for 5 years but never installed seats. and the floors arnt exactally flat to work with. anyways i think i'll custom make them at work but those pics would help out on how to. thanks
Brad
I just modified my stock seat rails to attach to my Sparco seat. Didn't take much to do. Some spacers were needed for the left side, since the floor has that large hump in it for the catalytic converter.
this is how I did mine.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/480845/4
Yep, that looks almost identical to mine.
Yea the ones in the pic are exactally what i was thinking i just had a doubt if it was gonna actually work. thanks for all the feed back it helped out alot. looks good too.
thanks again
Brad
Mine's aaaa... ghetto but it works. Costed $5 but took a month cuz of school and work. But if u have none of these then just three days or four. I'm doing it again anyways for the passenger side. I have tenzo r rally seats w/ uni brackets.
most of racing seats manufacturers can supply you universal seat brackets made of aluminium or metal from $20 to $60 for each seat.
Yes, but those universal brackets don't work in Left Hand drive S12's, due to the large bulge in the floor under the driver's seat from the catalytic converter.
Well that's why you have to mod them to get them to fit.
Only just took photos of my seat rails today since i took them out to paint them, this is what they look like.
They are made of thick flat straps of mild steel welded together for the front legs. Pretty simple stuff ay.
This is as low as you can mount a seat in the S12 without cutting anything (apart from the carpet)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/Nebuchernezzer/101_4289.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/Nebuchernezzer/101_4290.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v471/Nebuchernezzer/101_4291.jpg
judging from the brackets, it looks like your racing seats are bottom mount.
if so, why didn't you just use the stock rails and modify the seat?
Modify the seat? Not likely.
I used solid rails cos it was the only way to get the seat close enough to the floor for me, my car has a sunroof which cuts into the headroom quite a lot. I did adapt it to the stock rails to try it out first but it just wasn't a good way to be so solid rails is the go. The passenger side seat (when i get around to it) will be adapted to the stock rails since the passenger doesn't have to be in perfect harmony with any steering gear or pedals hehe.