Crab Spirits
04-11-2003, 10:07 PM
HOW TO MODIFY THE STOCK BRACKETS TO ACCEPT A BOTTOM-MOUNT SEAT
The first tip I would give you is to buy recaro's sliders. Making them yourself is a serious PITA, and you better be good at welding and fabricating. The only reason I did it was to insure that the seat was mounted as low on the floor as possible. Also, the sliders are expensive! If you want to try it, plan on spending a day on the first seat and 3/4 day on the second. If you can pull this off, you are a fabrication genius in my book.
First off, you will notice the recaros bolt through the bottom, not the side like the stock ones. Remove the stock seat and brackets and put a recaro in there so you can eyeball what you need to do. You will notice that the floor where the brackets mount to is not even. The inner floor sits higher, and if you put the bracket under the seat here (even shaved down) the seat will be so high that your legs will be crushed under the steering wheel. Separate the brackets from the stock seats. Modify like this:
INNER BRACKET
Get a section of 2"x2" 1/8" thick angle iron (L bracket). Drill holes and cut to size so you can bolt it to the recaro with a section going upwards along the side of the seat. It should mount as tight to the side of the seat as possible, yet still run parellel to the bolt holes since the cushiion is wider in the front (you should have a gap at the rear of the seat).
Now take the bracket and use a sawzall to trim the entire sliding part down so it only sticks out 1/4" from the black section. Separate the "feet" (parts that bolt to the floor) from the bracket by drilling the rivets and cutting the welds that hold them on. Now, take the feet you cut off and bolt them to the floor. Take the seat with the "L" bracket attached and set it in place right on top of the feet. Now you are asking yourself, "where am I going to stick this bracket?". Up against the tunnel of course, but turned 90degrees so the slider is pointed towards the seat.. Weld the "L" to your slider. Make some extensions from 2" flat 1/8" thick stock to run down from the black section of the bracket to the feet. Keep in mind that you have to mimic the angle the bracket used to sit at or it won't slide properly. It should run at the same angle as the outer bracket. The extensions should run along the curve of the tunnel and attach to the inner side of each foot. Once you have that sorted out you can weld on the extensions. Note that the "L" bracket on the seat just grazes the top of the front foot. You can't possibly get the seat any lower than this unless you modify the floor.
OUTER BRACKET
This one is easier. Put the seat in with the inner bracket you just made attached and bolted to floor. Try to put the outer bracket in place so you can see how much fat to trim off the slider with the sawzall (should be about the same height as when you did the inner bracket). Make it so the seat is level. You may cut off pieces holding the release handle to the bracket, so find a means to weld these sections back on without interfering. Take some flat 1/8" stock and weld it to the slider as an extension going towards the door to the bolt holes in the seat. You will need to make slots for the seat bolts since there isn't enough room to thread the bolts straght in.
RELEASE MECHANISM
If you got this far, then this step will be a piece of cake. With the seat out and the brackets installed you see some little arms that come off a rod. You will need to cut off the one for the inner bracket (If you haven't already and reweld it in a new position so the wire between the brackets can actuate it. Bend the arm for the outer bracket slightly so it will clear the seat.
NOTES
1.Drill the seat bolt holes bigger than they need to be, it will help later when you align the brackets so the seat can slide easier.
2.Don't weld brackets with the brackets attached to the seat. Duh.
3.Put a blanket on the floor so you don't dirty the seat up when you remove and install to check your work 1341 times.
4.Avoid excessively heating the brackets or hammering on them. If you damage them and they can't slide, then there is no point to this.
5.Paint your brackets, Especially the inner one that is now visable when sitting in the car.
6.Take your time eyeballing things, cutting stuff you just welded sucks.
7.If you're putting in 2 seats, the brackets are essentially the same, just a mirror image. Just make mirrored duplicates of the brackets you made for the first one.
The first tip I would give you is to buy recaro's sliders. Making them yourself is a serious PITA, and you better be good at welding and fabricating. The only reason I did it was to insure that the seat was mounted as low on the floor as possible. Also, the sliders are expensive! If you want to try it, plan on spending a day on the first seat and 3/4 day on the second. If you can pull this off, you are a fabrication genius in my book.
First off, you will notice the recaros bolt through the bottom, not the side like the stock ones. Remove the stock seat and brackets and put a recaro in there so you can eyeball what you need to do. You will notice that the floor where the brackets mount to is not even. The inner floor sits higher, and if you put the bracket under the seat here (even shaved down) the seat will be so high that your legs will be crushed under the steering wheel. Separate the brackets from the stock seats. Modify like this:
INNER BRACKET
Get a section of 2"x2" 1/8" thick angle iron (L bracket). Drill holes and cut to size so you can bolt it to the recaro with a section going upwards along the side of the seat. It should mount as tight to the side of the seat as possible, yet still run parellel to the bolt holes since the cushiion is wider in the front (you should have a gap at the rear of the seat).
Now take the bracket and use a sawzall to trim the entire sliding part down so it only sticks out 1/4" from the black section. Separate the "feet" (parts that bolt to the floor) from the bracket by drilling the rivets and cutting the welds that hold them on. Now, take the feet you cut off and bolt them to the floor. Take the seat with the "L" bracket attached and set it in place right on top of the feet. Now you are asking yourself, "where am I going to stick this bracket?". Up against the tunnel of course, but turned 90degrees so the slider is pointed towards the seat.. Weld the "L" to your slider. Make some extensions from 2" flat 1/8" thick stock to run down from the black section of the bracket to the feet. Keep in mind that you have to mimic the angle the bracket used to sit at or it won't slide properly. It should run at the same angle as the outer bracket. The extensions should run along the curve of the tunnel and attach to the inner side of each foot. Once you have that sorted out you can weld on the extensions. Note that the "L" bracket on the seat just grazes the top of the front foot. You can't possibly get the seat any lower than this unless you modify the floor.
OUTER BRACKET
This one is easier. Put the seat in with the inner bracket you just made attached and bolted to floor. Try to put the outer bracket in place so you can see how much fat to trim off the slider with the sawzall (should be about the same height as when you did the inner bracket). Make it so the seat is level. You may cut off pieces holding the release handle to the bracket, so find a means to weld these sections back on without interfering. Take some flat 1/8" stock and weld it to the slider as an extension going towards the door to the bolt holes in the seat. You will need to make slots for the seat bolts since there isn't enough room to thread the bolts straght in.
RELEASE MECHANISM
If you got this far, then this step will be a piece of cake. With the seat out and the brackets installed you see some little arms that come off a rod. You will need to cut off the one for the inner bracket (If you haven't already and reweld it in a new position so the wire between the brackets can actuate it. Bend the arm for the outer bracket slightly so it will clear the seat.
NOTES
1.Drill the seat bolt holes bigger than they need to be, it will help later when you align the brackets so the seat can slide easier.
2.Don't weld brackets with the brackets attached to the seat. Duh.
3.Put a blanket on the floor so you don't dirty the seat up when you remove and install to check your work 1341 times.
4.Avoid excessively heating the brackets or hammering on them. If you damage them and they can't slide, then there is no point to this.
5.Paint your brackets, Especially the inner one that is now visable when sitting in the car.
6.Take your time eyeballing things, cutting stuff you just welded sucks.
7.If you're putting in 2 seats, the brackets are essentially the same, just a mirror image. Just make mirrored duplicates of the brackets you made for the first one.