Upgrading Front seats

[Michael Montgomery]

Guys been thinking of changing the front seats for a long while although there ok still pretty worn from the cushion being 23 years old now. Just simply not up to par with modern comfy seats we have these days.

Read a little online both here & on IH8MUD but wanted to know more on a personal experience. I know Clive changed his a while back and saw his thread.

I know from what I read 550mm is the width recommended and got to measure up better the dimensions before looking into options available.

I would like grey similar to the interior so it doesn't look outta place and better support mostly up front and sides on the seating.

Lumber support possibly but perhaps not needed having better seats?

Can I used the existing seat brackets?

What else do I need to look out for in planning ahead on these switch out.

Not sure but might pop to a few scrap yards to see what they have and try them out.

Any ideas or experience much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Firewout]

hi,
you can use the existing brackets if you mill out two welds which hold the hinge of the backrest.

 

[SafariTecPeter]

We did a similar thing wo a J9 with a Supra MK3 "All Electric" Seat.
If You are not the biggest person, this is a superb option.
Anothe option would be BMW 3-Series (After E36) or possibly Recaros from Audi / VAG.
I personally love the Audi A/S8 seats, but they may be abit too wide. I`d have to measure carefully....

 

[Firewout]

Peter,
I've been looking at the S8 seats but if I remember correctly, the bracket sits on the side of the seat and the seating height would be too high.

 

[SafariTecPeter]

Partly Correct
Based on which MY S8 You look at.
I looked at the early ones, D2-body. And their tracks can be considered "side mounted".
One would have to move across the original Toyo seat mounting as pictured above.
The seat base itself is fairly thick, so I do agree seating height CAN be an issue.
We have seen the same issue when fitting similar seats to VW T4 and LR Defenders...
If You want rather "flat" seats, look for BMW, Saab or SMART seats. Possibly also Alfa and Maserati.
A buddy of mine has Maserati seats in his J4....

That being said, German "KÖNIG" seats are in favour among quite a few "Bushtaxi"-drivers , second hand they do pop up fairly affordable. I recently saw some on Ebay Kleinanzeigen sitting outside Munich

 

[Chris]

We looked at the Schielmann seats at the Bad Kiss show last year. Mmmnnn. We liked those. Just tricky actually trying to get hold of a pair here in UK land. Pricey too but lovely

 

[SafariTecPeter]

I`d be happy to get hold of Scheelman seats for You Chris

 

[Chris]

Well they were VERY comfy.

 

[SafariTecPeter]

They ARE comfortable

 

[Chris]

But also a lot of cash. I liked the Traveller. Not too much like a bucket seat, just very supportive and stylish

 

[clivehorridge]

Dervis,

Have you tried researching whether re-upholstering is possible locally, and prices?

Near to me there's a machine shop that will re-upholster in leather, range of colors, as-new craftsmanship and new foam, all for about 150 Euro a seat.

(coincidentally what I paid for the very nice Mazda 8 seats, but without all the hassle of making them fit)

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Dervis,

Have you tried researching whether re-upholstering is possible locally, and prices?

Near to me there's a machine shop that will re-upholster in leather, range of colors, as-new craftsmanship and new foam, all for about 150 Euro a seat.

(coincidentally what I paid for the very nice Mazda 8 seats, but without all the hassle of making them fit)

I'm going to look into all options Clive the fabric I have is perfect and don't want leather, just don't know if it's worth somehow fixing the seating sponge if possible and would it make a bigger enough difference or buying two seats may be a better option.

This is a issue when you don't have a new version of these seats to try being that it's a old vehicle in the first place.

Thanks

 

[Michael Montgomery]

hi,
you can use the existing brackets if you mill out two welds which hold the hinge of the backrest.
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Hi Firewout those seats looks awsome and I like the colour too.

Thank you for the pictures really helps out a lot. Can I ask what car those seats came out of?

 

[Firewout]

Hi DG,
They are the recaro expert M. http://www.autobahnpower.com/recaroseats/recaroergonomicseats/product_recaro-expert-m_19051.aspx
I waited a long time for a couple of those to pop up second hand for a reasonable price.
As Peter said above, seats from a sportscar like BMW could be a cheaper option. In my bushtaxi, I have the seats from a Mondeo ST220. Very comfy as well, but thicker than the recaro's.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Hi DG,
They are the recaro expert M. http://www.autobahnpower.com/recaroseats/recaroergonomicseats/product_recaro-expert-m_19051.aspx
I waited a long time for a couple of those to pop up second hand for a reasonable price.
As Peter said above, seats from a sportscar like BMW could be a cheaper option. In my bushtaxi, I have the seats from a Mondeo ST220. Very comfy as well, but thicker than the recaro's.

Great recommendations much appreciated. Those seats look and would fit perfectly. Thanks for sharing

 

[clivehorridge]

From my experience, trying to convert a replacement electrically operated seat to fit on your manually operated rack, will be a waste of time. Of course this depends on the seat, but even though my replacement seats were similar (a marginal difference in rack track-width) they operated in a wholly different way.

The seats I looked at, both manual and electric, relied on their mountings to the truck to keep the rack tracks parallel.

To avoid messing this up, I devised a support to keep them parallel, then bolted the support to the floor using suitably positioned (and length) "legs".

Overall, they fit Ok, well in fact, with the only exception being they sit about 1cm too close to the door, even though the seat cushion is the same width as the old seats.

It's not too big a problem, but I still need to play with a heat gun of some sort to deform the plastic trim to create some clearance where the seat belt is currently being trapped between the door pillar and the seat base.

It's just another little annoying job on the ever-growing list, that interrupts playtime...

 

[chapel gate]

I was going to suggest what clive said. I recently sat in the passenger seat of a cruiser that looked virtually un sat on. It felt more supportive and higher up than my well used drivers seat.

I'll be putting new foam in mine and giving them an overhaul at some point.

do people find the 80s seats uncomfortable?

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Guys today I visited a vehicle interior specialist store to get a expert opinion on the current seats.

Was told that the material was in great shape and advised to rebuild them internally.

I asked Jim the owner how much better would they be to justify the expense.
He said they would be sufficiently better and worth the expense to do that rather that buying alternative seats.

I took a look at the jaguar seats he had rebuilt inside and out and was very impressed so felt more confident the final result would be worthwhile.

I'm going to take a chance on this & €250 next month. Any one else rebuilt their original seats would appreciate your opinion?

Thanks

 

[Michael Montgomery]

I was going to suggest what clive said. I recently sat in the passenger seat of a cruiser that looked virtually un sat on. It felt more supportive and higher up than my well used drivers seat.

I'll be putting new foam in mine and giving them an overhaul at some point.

do people find the 80s seats uncomfortable?

That's exactly how I would imagine the seats to be Mike when new those Jaguar seats looked amazingly comfortable and firm. Mine have become very soggy and non supportive with the material loose in places loosing its shape over the 23 years.

I'm a lot more confident they would be very comfortable when new & hopefully get them to that standard soon .

Did you get a price on yours?

 

[chapel gate]

That's exactly how I would imagine the seats to be Mike when new those Jaguar seats looked amazingly comfortable and firm. Mine have become very soggy and non supportive with the material loose in places loosing its shape over the 23 years.

I'm a lot more confident they would be very comfortable when new & hopefully get them to that standard soon .

Did you get a price on yours?

No price as yet dervis.

I do know just the oem base foam is about £100 though..