Hi my apologies as I know this has probably been covered before - but I can't find the thread
We are looking for some new (to us) front seats.
What types fit? - we are on a very limited budget but ours need replacing as from Monday Martin will be using the van as his daily drive.
Currently we have Ford Galaxy (?) seats in ours but the previous owner has butchered the van by putting them in - he has cut part of the front floor out and welded a box shape for the drivers side - the passenger seat is too high - at 5ft2 my head touches the roof and my feet swing in mid air like a small child!!! Neither seats are adjustable and we are seeking comfort for our wider than average bottoms!!!!
Laura & Martin - "Bert" 1985 1.9 Watercooled work in progress!!!!
I was thinking about Saab seats as they are often quoted as a good replacement, (our camper will be coming back soon after a major body resto and the seats are a little shabby).
As I am a tad over 6 foot tall, perhaps this was not such a good idea then and that timely comment might have saved me a waste of time and money
porsche seats are the best or recaros the original seats and the caravelle ones the foam is way to soft theres no support its like sitting in a armchair what gives you back ache and numbs your bum after a long journey
faggie wrote: the original seats and the caravelle ones, the foam is way to soft there's no support - gives you back ache and numbs your bum after a long journey
porsche seats not expensive , they are usually the 924/944 type usually £40-£100 pair
comfortable but usually come in various shades of browns or very expensive if leather!
BUT i have yet to find a set of porsche seats that dont need recovering- for some reason the porsche cloth rips very easily.
standard caravelle armrested seats in velour NOT the coach retrimmed copies are the best to get , comfortable /hard wearing and come in various standard interior colours , but expect to pay £150-£400 set
its possible to fit almost any seat in your van but nothing is a straight fit if its not a t25 seat , just depends how good a job you want and how it will work.
seats comfortability can vary person to person depending on a weight , height and health ect like if you are short and 10 stone thats a different view to a 50 year old 6ft person with back problems!
to be honest i have found that good condition standard cloth seats do the job just fine , i drove probably 40,000 miles in my first van with standard seat , mostly hours at a time an always felt ok afterwards
now because i can i have captain seats and i regularly drive 4 hours and dont have any problems
interesting to see how much modifications have been done on your van to fit current seats as this may effect which seats you fit like your original runners may have been removed?
it sounds like your seats could have been fitted much better , sometimes you have to modify the seat base rater than modify the van for it to fit!
there is no reason why your present seats are not good enough, i had a friend who had a galaxy , hes 20+ stone and 6ft with back problems and always commented how comfortable it was to drive !
cheap set of porsche seats near me , prob £40 pair but again need recovering!
Have you had any experience with Saab 900 seats, like how much higher is the seat squab ? (of course answers from other than billy739 will be accepted )
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billy739 wrote:thats a different view to a 50 year old 6ft person with back problems
I was thinking about Saab seats as they are often quoted as a good replacement, (our camper will be coming back soon after a major body resto and the seats are a little shabby).
As I am a tad over 6 foot tall, perhaps this was not such a good idea then and that timely comment might have saved me a waste of time and money
I'm 6'2", have Saab 9000 leathers fitted and no problems.
They ARE a good bit higher. My field of vision is now centred a hand's breadth higher than previously, but legs and arms wise everything is grand. If you have really hefty thighs you might need a smaller diameter steering wheel also.
But the seats are so comfortable, supportive and relatively easy to fit. The only alteration you need is to drill one hole per seat rail and you can always refit the original seats should you not be happy
Hi, just my humble opinion about this matter,
I have installed some mazda 626 seats from "87. mazda, and I'm pretty happy with it.
Much more comfortable than usual t3 seats, not too high (I'm 178 cm) and fully adjustable
Almost straight fit, as rails are just 15 mm (or so) wider than standard van rails.
I forgot how to put picture here, but I can sent some to you on your e-mail if you like.
I ground off the SAAB driver seat height adjuster as per the wiki
But after 4 years I got fed up that my legs were far too close to the steering wheel and I'm a normal sized 6ft person.
In even a mild shunt the steering wheel would have made a nice bruise on my legs whilst everyone else walked away unscathed.
The missus is 5ft 8 and with the saab seats on the swivel base she could not touch the cab floor. Poor thing put up with that for 4 years before I replaced them with early captains seats I got for a steal off a kind brickie. I no longer get backache. I can shuffle seat positions whilst driving without hitting my legs on the steering wheel and I no longer tw*t my head on the wind deflector when I stick my head out of the window when parking
Horses for course and personal opinions
Last edited by Cruz on 11 Nov 2011, 10:35, edited 1 time in total.
My mate has a Saab 900 that is currently Sorned, so I think I will ask him if I can borrow his seats, just to try out He has owed me £100 for over a year, so the "try out" might be longer term if I like them
Hey cruz, I know what you meant, but this line made me smile
Cruz wrote:after 4 years I found that my legs were far too close to the steering wheel
= Aren't they rare and expensive ?
He has owed me £100 for over a year, so the "try out" might be longer term if I like them 