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Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:54 pm

I am leaning towards putting these seats in my buggy. Has anyone used these seats? Do you just drill thru the seats to bolt them down? Does anyone have pics in a buggy?

http://www.appletreeauto.com/product.php?productid=16733&cat=138&page=1

Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:03 pm

you would probably want to mount them to sliders rather than bolting directly to the buggy floor pan. You could use the stock seat sliders by cutting and modifying the seat frames.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:23 pm

What would be negative about bolting them to the floor?

Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:29 pm

You do know that they are amazingly uncomfortable right?

Nothing bad about bolting them to the floor other than there will be no adjustability. That might be fine for you but for re-sale it sucks.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:37 pm

Im trying to find seats that sit as low as possible/sit between the tunnel and body.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:46 pm

m04davis wrote: What would be negative about bolting them to the floor?
driving position/comfort :shock:

Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:10 pm

This is just to expand on what others have said, and possibly add a few additional factors. These are just my opinions; others may not agree.

First, if the seats are bolted directly to the floor, you may end up sitting so low that your visibility may be greatly reduced. Also, if you look at most seats that are installed in various vehicles, the actual "seat" part of the seat (makes sense, doesn't it?) is not parallel with the ground, it is tilted so that the front edge of the seat is higher than the back. Having the seat bolted directly to the floor would be no better than sitting on the floor pan itself, although you would have some sort of back support.

Also, I have a feeling that it would make getting out of your dune buggy much more difficult. You would also be sitting on the bolt heads, which would start talking to you just after you take off for a ride (especially with not seat suspension). Because there is not suspension, you are going to feel every single bump along the way.

If you think about it, the average dune buggy seats (suspension-type seats on seat brackets) sit high enough as to allow your legs to extend out alittle farther, thus making pedal control much easier and comfortable. The pedals are designed to be used by a driver that is sitting higher than floor level.

You could always temporarily put the body back on, and just sit on the pan, while using some sort of temporary back support. That will give you a better idea on how easy it is to operate the pedals, get in and out of your dune buggy, and check out the visibility. As also mentioned earlier, you would have zero seat adjustment.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:10 pm

I understand that they are not going to be the most comfy seats but what i am trying to accomplish is lotus/ go kart style seating were your legs are straight on the floor. do to the current seats i have i am staring directly into the crossbar of the windshield.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:17 pm

I think i posted the wrong seats..

http://www.appletreeauto.com/product.php?productid=17950&cat=156&page=1

these are the seats i was looking at. I think if i would set them on sliders it would push them up to high

Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:35 pm

Much more comfortable seat. If you do not like it bolted to the floor, keep raising it up until you like the position. You can shim them to get a comfortable angle too.

Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:41 pm

Those seats are miserable and after a day playing with those seats your back will be killing you, the lumbar support in those seats hits your back wrong and only cure is a pad behind your butt to get your lower back (butt) away from lumbar support.... GET "full suspension seats" (with internal springs and foam padding). Put them on sliders. Believe me you back will thank you... You can get them in either low back or high back styles...

I have poly seats in race car (high back version - with padding) and it is miserable after about 15 minutes and have to keep rolled up bath towel behind me so lumbar support does not press into my back....... I have full suspension seats (PRP Roadsters) in street car and can ride all day....

Have been campaigning blue car with poly seats since 2007 and hate the seats... The red car I have been driving since 2002 and love the suspension seats...

IF you DO decide to use those seats... Use threaded rod to create "stud" from seat base to penetrate floor, The seats are also miserable to try to insert bolts into from under floor... You can cut "studs" to length after you get enough spacers and shims under seat to get angle right...

Dale

Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:12 am

Sliders only add about 1" or so to the overall height.....

Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:43 am

I disagree with the statement that the seats are uncomfortable. I average 8,000 miles a year on my buggy with 5 to 7 hours trip being the norm and I have no complaints. A couple pieces of 2" thick foam between the covers and the seat is all you need.
Here are pics of my mounting with cutdown stock seat mounts.

I really like the fact that the seats do not stick up and out of the tub.

Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:26 am

"Lost".. Those are not POLY seats and do not have molded in lumbar supports.... You are arguing apples (fiberglass "shells") here when we are discussing oranges (Poly seats) ...

Dale

Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:59 am

Those fiberglass seats where designed to fit the VW seat frame. The veservoir fits the center of the frame. With that, I do not recomened them or any other fiberglass or poly seat. You can really get hurt with them. I am in agreement with Dale. Safety and comfort should be everyone's first concern. Saving a dime now will most definitely cost a million later. This is just from someone who knows. You do not want a back problem.

Jerry, the shape of the fiberglass at the coccyx and lower back position is unnatural to the body. With that and very little padding, all you need is an impact and its all over.

Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:17 am

First, I am almost 6'3" and weigh in around 212 to 220 pounds. for the last 30 years.

I had that high back poly seat in my '64 Chevelle Super Pro drag car and it was so comfortable to me, I would fall alseep in the staging lanes if there was a oil down or breakage in front of me. While I was building the drag car, I used to sit in it for hours watching TV in the living room.

Last year I bought a new set of Race Trim suspension seats and they were so uncomfortable for me to sit in, I sold them before ever mounting them in a car this past Spring in the swap meet at Fast Times at Farmington. At a loss. They gave me no support in the middle bottom and I was sitting on the two outside rails with the edges of my hips. Felt like spreading two 2X4's apart 16 inches and sitting in the gap in between them, like a badly designed outhouse.

My wife's three Mazda Miatas felt the same to me as the Race Trim seats felt. An hour in her car and I was begging for relief, pass or drivers side.

When I go on VW show/race trips with buddies and we pile in my Dodge dually 4 door, anyone else that switches off driving with me has to re-set my lumbar support in the drivers seat to suit them.

I bought a set of 914 seats for my current buggy build and was very apprehensive until I got them in, and sat in them. I got lucky, they fit me like a glove.

If at all possible, I suggest sitting in the seats before purchasing them to see how they fit you. Shim them up in the front a little to give a car slightly reclining position. Every person has a different shaped body.

Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:56 pm

I'll chime in that - beyond the shape of the seat - a person's body structure will make a difference as well in determining relative seat comfort...

I'm 6 feet tall & weigh @ 170-175 - I think the term used around me is 'skinny' - and I've been in the Beard suspension seats, for 3 hours at a stint. With stops every hour. They were as uncomfortable as heck...

I'm in a similar situation to m04davis, as my buggy seating is also currently dropped & 'assuming the Lotus position' in my build. So any seat used has to fit between the center tunnel & side wall of a Manx clone body, but I'd also like side/hip support in whatever seat I use.

bryan

Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:53 pm

Dale M. wrote: "Lost".. Those are not POLY seats and do not have molded in lumbar supports.... You are arguing apples (fiberglass "shells") here when we are discussing oranges (Poly seats) ...

Dale

The link supplied in the first posting is infact a fiberglass shell. I now see further down he has posted another link with the poly seats.
I think the poly seats are still quite comfortable although not as easy to mount as fiberglass shells.

Mon Dec 12, 2011 3:23 pm

kustoms wrote: Those fiberglass seats where designed to fit the VW seat frame. The veservoir fits the center of the frame. With that, I do not recomened them or any other fiberglass or poly seat. You can really get hurt with them. I am in agreement with Dale. Safety and comfort should be everyone's first concern. Saving a dime now will most definitely cost a million later. This is just from someone who knows. You do not want a back problem.

Jerry, the shape of the fiberglass at the coccyx and lower back position is unnatural to the body. With that and very little padding, all you need is an impact and its all over.

I raced offroad for 6 years in fiberglass shell seats with I have rolled, endo'd, been hit broadside and rearended to the point that it broke the trans case in two (6 rib bus). The Funco car did Baja twice and the Berrien Lazer won the National Championship in 2/1600 with fiberglass shells in it, before I bought it and I raced it for 3 years with the same seats. I'm 55 years old and I don't have any back problems other than the ones High School football gave me. Knock on wood :wink:

Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:47 pm

Thanks for all the input. I think I'm going to go with the poly seats but I'm def. Taking joescoolcustoms suggestion and making sure I sit in the seats first.