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carl4x4 Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2012 Posts: 679 Location: United Kingdom
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ghia7758 Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2013 Posts: 52 Location: OREGON
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:01 pm Post subject: Seat brackets for non-stock seats |
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Hey all,
I have a 1973 convertible Ghia and bought a set of BMW E36 seats. They are power and heated. I problem that I have is that they are too wide to fit down on the pan. I was thinking of making a bracket that would make the seat fit level with the side of the pan. Has anyone had this problem? How did you fix it? I have a couple ideas but thought you might have a better one. I have read and seen a lot of non-stock seats in Ghias but no pictures of the mounting brackets. Please send me pictures. BTW I do not have the stock side rails. The PO had switched seats and they were bolted though the pan.
Thanks |
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mfitzsimor Samba Member
Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 171 Location: Portland, OR
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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"The PO had switched seats and they were bolted though the pan."
Scary!
Given how little crash protection we have in these cars, I would want to be certain that my seat isn't going anywhere if someone ever hit me. I would make sure that at a minimum there is some serious reinforcement to the pan in the areas where the replacement seats bolt through.
Welding steel bar stock directly to the pan would distribute force to a much larger area of the pan. You could then use that as an anchor point for whatever kind of bracket you fabricate to mount your new seats. _________________ portland, or
69 cypress green ghia coupe
82 vanagon TD
86 quantum syncro |
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ghia7758 Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2013 Posts: 52 Location: OREGON
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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I agree that it would be better to have a steel bar welded to the pan and then attach the seat bracket to it.
Thanks |
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O2COOLED Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2007 Posts: 452 Location: Pac NW
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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mfitzsimor wrote: |
"The PO had switched seats and they were bolted though the pan."
Scary!
Given how little crash protection we have in these cars, I would want to be certain that my seat isn't going anywhere if someone ever hit me. I would make sure that at a minimum there is some serious reinforcement to the pan in the areas where the replacement seats bolt through.
Welding steel bar stock directly to the pan would distribute force to a much larger area of the pan. You could then use that as an anchor point for whatever kind of bracket you fabricate to mount your new seats. |
ghia7758: "I agree that it would be better to have a steel bar welded to the pan and then attach the seat bracket to it."
X2 on these replies.
I put in Porsche seats and what I did was fabricate thick gauge steel bracket adapters and used good size bolts to attach them to the original rails. _________________ "Sometimes people forget they signed up to a HELP & SHARE Forum not a pissing contest"
"At my age time is too short to respond to people with short minds"
Current: '69 Ghia Coupe
VW History:'63 Bug;'70 Bug;'73 412;'83 Rabbit;'86 Golf;'76 Fat Chick; 67 Ghia Coupe; '70 Bug |
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timmer9000 Samba Member
Joined: July 28, 2014 Posts: 1 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:49 am Post subject: 2003 BMW 325 convertable (E46) seats in a '72 ghia |
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Thanks to all the advice on this forum I decided to try putting BMW seats in my '72 ghia. These seats came from a 2003 325 Convertable (E46)
In order to fit into a '72, I had to drill off some unnecessary pieces of metal attached to the BMW rails - that was super easy and took about 20 mins. I then had a body shop (Custom Auto Body in Kearny Mesa/San Diego, CA) remove the inner seat rails on both sides but I left the outer rail in place. I had them carefully remove the inner rails by drilling out the weld points. They then drilled through the pan and bolted the seats down re-enforcing the pan with some large washers. I can relatively easily reverse this modification if I ever want to go back the original seats (I can't imagine wanted to - but I like the option).
The good
- WAY more comfortable, easier to operate
- Power seats are nice
- Safer: Shoulder harness and I believe the seats have some type of integrated roll protection, the seats way a ton and they have what seems to me a large steal piece that extends up to the height of the headrest.
The bad
- Loss of legroom for rear seats (as if it had much to begin with)
- These are heavy seats and you'll notice it in slightly reduced power and harder breaking on steep hills
- It will only work for people 5'11 or shorter (roughly) as you can't move the seats back too far
- You have to move the seat backs forward to operate the convertible top (not a big deal)
Its a super tight fit in every direction. When I next have a need to do some body work I am going to re-enforce the pan further with some small but thick steel plates instead of the large washers.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, it made this upgrade possible for me.
Pics are here. You can see the outer rail is still in place:
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TwinkyZulu Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2011 Posts: 129 Location: Texas
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 8:43 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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I have no idea what these seats are out of, neither did the guy i bought them from.
But they seem to fit well, really low, so headroom won't be an issue.
If anyone knows what they are out of, tell me.
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Shameless70 Samba Member
Joined: March 15, 2017 Posts: 3 Location: 209
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 10:09 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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Those are Honda S2000 seats |
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acidjzaz Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2004 Posts: 25 Location: NorCal
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 5:31 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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those seats look great in your Ghia!!
How low do they really sit though .. I am slightly over 6ft .. I sat in a friend's Ghia with after market seats and I was just way to high . well my sight line was direct to the top of the windshield. and I my head was just about touching the roof
So i am trying to get some advice on the lowest of the low seats to maximize headroom
well so that I can sit in it with even a helmet.
TwinkyZulu wrote: |
I have no idea what these seats are out of, neither did the guy i bought them from.
But they seem to fit well, really low, so headroom won't be an issue.
If anyone knows what they are out of, tell me.
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TwinkyZulu Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2011 Posts: 129 Location: Texas
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:32 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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acidjzaz wrote: |
those seats look great in your Ghia!!
How low do they really sit though .. I am slightly over 6ft .. I sat in a friend's Ghia with after market seats and I was just way to high . well my sight line was direct to the top of the windshield. and I my head was just about touching the roof
So i am trying to get some advice on the lowest of the low seats to maximize headroom
well so that I can sit in it with even a helmet. |
The Honda S2000 seats seam to be about two inches narrower than the original sets that came out of the 56 ghia.
the seat tracks on the seat fit right in between the original ones on the floor.
That leaves a little more room in between the seats for perhaps a nice armrest / console.
As of right now the seats are just sitting on the floor. I have not made any brackets for them yet.
I am 6 foot 2, and right now and the seats are even a bit low for me.
so there shouldn't be any problems building a nice seat bracket to bolt the seat down to, and also raise up the seat an inch or two.
In my opinion the Mk1 Honda S2000 seats with the hollow mesh headrests fit the car the best out of any other seats I've seen.
.....Dare i say... Perfect.
Last edited by TwinkyZulu on Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Figment Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2016 Posts: 218 Location: Connecticut, USA
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:56 am Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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This thread is immensely valuable.
Do the S2000 seats fold forward? _________________ '71 Ghia coupe |
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TwinkyZulu Samba Member
Joined: September 10, 2011 Posts: 129 Location: Texas
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:31 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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They do fold forward, but not as much as id like them to.
You could probably squeeze someone in the back seat of a coupe if you slid the seat forward and folded the seat. However I believe it would be easier in a convertible.
...Or just use the Ghia like the two seater sports cars it was inspired by! |
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jeffrey8164 Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2018 Posts: 3804 Location: Georgia
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 6:47 am Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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These are 1992 Mazda 323 seats
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Evil_Fiz Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2011 Posts: 1031 Location: Jacksonville, FL
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 8:10 am Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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^^^ Loving the color scheme. The seats look almost OE.
What is the exterior color make and name? it looks like a dark purple(ish) in your gallery pics. Totally self serving questions _________________ “…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68
See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted |
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jeffrey8164 Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2018 Posts: 3804 Location: Georgia
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 4:22 pm Post subject: Re: What non KG seats have people used |
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It’s called “Black Rose Metallic”. It was on 92-96 Corvettes. Color Code: U9885.
I just bought some more as I’m refreshing the car and I have to touch up some places in the engine compartment, the door sills and the trunk. I also got some Gas Burner wheels that I want to add the car color to on the outer rim. Not on the polished part but just so it is visible and disappears to the inside of the wheel. I’m toying with doing something with the engine tin but I would want to have that be a contrasting color. I may not. It won’t be a dedicated show car so it all depends on my motivation at the time.
Edit:
That’s Robert Allen fabric for those in the Design biz.
The darker fabric is Sunbrella. I was going to put a sliding ragtop on her but the kit was s#!t so I used the fabric for the upholstery.
The dash pad is headliner material. (TMI) |
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jeffrey8164 Samba Member
Joined: January 06, 2018 Posts: 3804 Location: Georgia
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2018 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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carl4x4 wrote: |
Fitted MX5 seats recovered in leather, and the rear seat done to match,
very happy with the result.
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Good job |
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