TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:47 am

Do Eurovan seats fit in Vanagons? If you have this adaptation please post pictures and facts.

Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:08 am

yes, I will post pictures later.

Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:08 pm

Here they are-

Material That needs to be cut/ground from eurovan seats so they will slide into stock mounts

Big improvement over the stock seats and they can recline further also.

Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:34 am

Thanks, so much.

What is necessary to get the seats to mount to the sliders?

Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:36 pm

The pictures that I posted are of the modified eurovan sliders. The red is of the metal that needs to be removed from the eurovan sliders. They slide right into the stock vanagon mounts once they have been modified. I removed a seatbelt receiver from the inboard side as well, it hits the seat stand. I will have the frames painted or powdercoated before reupholstering. You will never miss the hard plastic headrest when you lean back against a adjusting padded cloth headrest.

Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:18 pm

syncrodoka wrote: You will never miss the hard plastic headrest when you lean back against a adjusting padded cloth headrest.

Stop teasing us with your fancy 1992 technology!
:D

Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:17 pm

I know, I am sooo cutting edge :lol: . I spent $40 on my ElCheapo seat upgrade. I don't think that the $1400(each) GoWesty recaro seats headrests tilt forward/back.

Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:58 pm

I too have the Eurovan seats in my rig. Love them. slid right in. $60 a pair at Pick-n-pull. Full recline, soft headrest, and generally more firm. I put a lot of saddle time in them this past summer and felt great doin it.

Mike

Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:27 am

How much headroom did you lose with this mod?

The Eurovan seat bottom cushion looks taller than the Vanagon. I'd like to know by exactly how much.

Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:14 am

Eurovan seats are 1/2" taller from what I remember. Not noticeable at all.

Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:35 am

Are the armrest the same legnth as the adjustables from a vanagon?

Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:26 am

I am 6'2" and have no problems. Room to spare...

I believe arm lengths are the same. Definitley not shorter...they do adjust like the later vanagon ones do with the little dial/knob.

Mike

Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:01 pm

Eurovan seats in a Vanagon Westy?

This is an inspiring thread. I found a pair of Eurovan seats locally that match the ones syncrodoka used, and look much like his; nearly perfect passenger seat but driver's seat a bit dirtier and more worn. $100 for the pair, though I was hoping to find them for less. These will replace stock '87 Westy seats which my bride and I feel have cushions that provide almost no thigh support. They're just too short front-to-back to be comfortable for too long.

Two questions: 1) Other than trimming the Eurovan seat rails per the photo, will there be problems fitting to the swivel bases? 2) How much trouble is it to fix a floppy armrest? The driver's right armrest drops straight down and, while not loose, won't stop at a given angle.

Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:16 pm

I thank everyone for contribution to this thread!

Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:56 pm

just curious why you didnt just bolt the rails from the stock seats on the new seats?

Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:56 am

My weekend project:

I still need to do the driver’s side but I’m really excited about this mod.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bike2vcu/_seatTransplant?authkey=0inUs01c7cI#

"just curious why you didnt just bolt the rails from the stock seats on the new seats?"

The rails appear to be integral with the hinge, and that appears to be different on the Westy from the one on the Eurovan. That's what it looked like yesterday when I was doing my install.

Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:12 pm

They are silly nice compared to the stock seat comfort. Enjoy

Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:11 pm

"They are silly nice compared to the stock seat comfort. Enjoy"

We both will. I can't wait to try driving it with the new seat! When I got the first one done I just sat in it and listened to the radio until it was too late to do the other one. Thank you for the information and inspiration, syncrodoka. This install was a breeze, in case anyone is giving it some thought.

Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:11 pm

I spent a couple of hours replacing the driver’s seat today and then, fairly popping with anticipation, took it out for a spin. Oh, yeah. No appreciable difference in height and nothing exceptional at all. Just normal. Not comfortable-for-a-Westy-seat normal, just plain old normal. And this seat came from a van with twice the miles of my Westy. Recaros they ain’t, but for 1/37th of the price per pair I’m satisfied.

Sun Mar 01, 2009 8:00 pm

Vintageyacht wrote: just curious why you didnt just bolt the rails from the stock seats on the new seats?

I believe the bottom rails on the eurovan seat are part of the structure that supports the back, so are not really removeable.