65Tuxedo

After driving several hours to and from the Eureka Springs Weekend event, I found myself wondering about swapping later model vette seats into my 65 coupe. Have any of you done this or know which seats might reasonably fit (and be comfortable) without altering my car permanently? Thanks for your ideas. JBL

62fuelie

The seats in my 67 are quite comfortable to me. However, they have been rebuilt from the frame up. Do your seats have good springs, moulded foam in good shape, etc?

docbum

I have seats from a porshe 924 in my 63. There are no rails- they are bolted into floor otherwise they would be too high. They are very comfortable. My 63 seats are on the shelf in the garage.

MasterDave

When I rebuilt mine I tied (wired) some 'piano wire' cables to the 'S' springs. This made them less prone to sagging and I have received many compliments on the seat comfort. I did also put new foam and leather covers on. Still though, it would be nice to have some lumbar support for long trips. :chevy


[Modified by MasterDave, 11:30 AM 10/7/2002]

waynec

Search the archives on the keyword "seats"; for example, one poster said he adapted RX7 seats into his C2: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=178776

I have a photo of that installation in html page format I can send you if you wish, just email me to request it, or better yet, email that poster to ask how he did it.

bcwaller

Would any of these ideas work in a convertible? I use the seat most of the way back, and the hard part of the seat case is under the rear decklid. So you can't just plop in any seat unless you are short! I'm not looking for more comfortable seats as much as seats that keep you in them when you corner! The stock seats are very flat, and I would love a seat with more side bolsters that would still allow me to fit and not hit the rear decklid. My guess is that the seat back would have to be very thin to accound for not going back as far...

Dyna

I just re-did my 66' seats and I am sure they are per factory specs, but I think we are spoiled nowadays for really good automotive seating. Those old seat diesigns just don't compare to the newer seats.
:conehead :conehead :conehead :conehead

Dyna

docbum

my 63 is a convertable with the porshe seats

7vettes

The seats in my 64 Coupe were in need of major work several years ago and I started exploring different possibilities. At a swap meet I found a pair of very good 79-82 seats, excellent tubs and rails, only a couple of blems on the upholstery and a drop-dead bargain on the price. Since these had been one of the possibilities I'd thought about, I snapped them up. The pair of ready-to-go seats cost less than Ecklers and places get for just a bare bottom tub shell.

One thing I especially like about the 79-82 tub design, it allows the seatback to be folded completely flat, giving excellent access to the rear. I fabricated adaptors so I could install them in the car without drilling new holes and have been using them for maybe 4 years now, and for me they've been a great improvement over the originals, but they're now showing some wear & tear so it's decision time again. It'll be between $400-$600 to get new cushions and skins on these and I've got to decide if they're worth it or should I look for even better seats. These are an improvement like I said, but there's always something better.

I'm considering Fiero, RX-7 and Integra seats among others. I plan to spend a lot of time next month at the Thanksgiving Turkey Rod Run at Daytona checking out different possibilities. If nothing floats my boat I'll re-do these.

magicv8

Use the Details link on my homepage (listed below) to see what aftermarket Recaro seats look like. I did make the headrests twice as large as Recaro provides - so they would be a windblock with the top down. I also installed stereo speakers in each headrest, but they fit inside of ther original headrest frame.


[Modified by magicv8, 7:38 PM 10/9/2002]

bcwaller

Magic - I assume you are also pretty tall since you talk about legroom in the details (steering wheel, hood latch, etc.). I would have to guess that the Recaros are thinner than others to work. Is there any specific model, or just any Recaro? Also, I noticed on your picture from Monterey the car next to you has a rollbar. Any idea who that is and if the top still operated with it?

The two modifications I am seriously looking at (after the engine is in!) are better seats and a rollbar. The bar seems almost impossible if I want to use the top, so this really caught my eye!

magicv8

The Recaros are the cheapest ones they made in 1982. I put them in my 82, 84, and 86 Hondas, before they found a permanent home in the roadster. The Recaro tracks (included) are mounted on 1.5 square tube pieces about 2 inches long in front, and on a 3 inch square plate in the rear.
The original tapped holes in the floor are used to mount the hardware.

I talked to the couple in the picture a few times, but didn't get their names. I am sure the next edition of the NCRS Restorer will mention them, since both of the restored historic race cars that they drove down the coast highway from Portland OR were featured in the lobby of the Monterey show site.

Being race cars, neither one had a top, radio, heater, etcetera. The lady driving the race car to the left of mine in the picture at least had back bumpers on her car.

PS: I am 6'4.5" tall, but the main reason for the Recaros is comfort, freedom from back pain, and feeling fresh after 12-16 hours at the wheel.
The seats cost $450 each then - and they have been more than worth every dollar. They now have about 250,000 miles on them.



[Modified by magicv8, 8:30 PM 10/10/2002]