New seats for the 12

[S12_Lifer]

I have always been wanting to upgrade my stock seats with a high performance but comfortable race seat.  As most of you know, I have the SR20DET which really causes my legs and upper torso to roll from left to right, especially hitting those tight turns.   There are no places in San Diego where you can just walk into a store to sit and sample a number of race seats.  I finally found a place in Huntington Beach where they had at least 12 different seats that you can sit and test for comfort.  I decided to go with the Cobra Misano 30th Anniversary Sport Seat.  This seat is not only comfortable but fully reclines, looks great and most importantly, you really feel planted in the seat.  No more rolling from right to left.  My intention was to just buy the driver side but wifey asked, "what about me?"  She also liked the Cobra seat and was willing to pay for both!  She even payed for the Planted Bracket specifically for the S12 and the sliders!  What a gal!



My (our) new seats with bracket and sliders.



Locating and cutting the holes to bolt on sliders.









Ready for installation.



These restored seats will be going in my son's car.





As you can see, the Planted Bracket is a perfect fit for the S12.



Bolting the slider on to the bracket.





Bolting entire unit on to the floor board.



Looks good but big problem.  When I sat in the seat, my head was hitting the headliner and my feet could not reach the pedals!  The seat was completely forward and fully reclined upright.  I was completely flabbergasted!  I was even thinking perhaps this design was not meant for a 5'5" person (me).  After pondering on this problem for quite some time, I came to the conclusion the I need to use the original S12 sliders so my feet can reach the pedals and have a custom bracket made to lower the seat.  Time to see my upholstery guy.



Original S12 sliders with the Cobra frame. 



Welding the Cobra frame on to the fabricated bracket.



The finished product which has just been painted.



Perfect fit!  The original S12 sliders now allow me to slide the seat fully forward to easily reach the pedals.  The new bracket has dropped the seat a few inches providing me with a commanding view. 



The passenger seat was also fitted with the custom bracket and original S12 sliders.





Even though the height of the seat is perfect for me, I wanted to increase my visibility.  I decided to remove my five panel rear view mirror and go with the stock mirror as well as the sun visors.





Going back to the original rear view mirror and sun visors has given me the best view since purchasing my MK2.



I decided to go with the Schroth Rallye 4 point harness.



After removing all the stock seat belts, I mounted the harness using the same bolts and holes.





View from the rear seat.









Mission accomplished!  What a difference these seats make!  Not only do they look great, but they are comfortable and really keep you planted in the seat without rolling left to right.  Unfortunately, I could not use the Planted Bracket designed specifically for the S12 or the sliders.  There is another member of the Forum who also mentioned to me that he had the same problem with height issues when using the Planted Bracket.  Nevertheless, it all worked out using the original S12 sliders and fabricating a bracket to correct the issues.  Since my beloved San Diego Chargers moved to LA, they now use the stadiums parking lot as a track where one can race for time.  I plan to give these seats the ultimate test by driving their course.  S12 for Life!



 

[weitrhino]

Totally cool. It's far better to have a pair of seats rather than just the one, so good on your wife for suggesting it.

[JonB]

Nice seats!

I was about to ask what the s12 to cobra seat brackets cost, then - figures. The cat bump in the floor throws everything off, and I doubt any custom seat would go without fabrication.

Time for a main hoop with a shoulder bar;).  I miss having a 4pt harness in my car - I love a car that hugs me. Good luck getting to the glove box with the harness on, and I hope you have power windows. Also you'll need to unsnap the harness or learn to reverse with the mirrors only.

Good job!

[kelso840]

Another inspiring post by Lifer. These look really good.

Love your whole interior. What's going on with that digital cluster??

[sideways_s12]

Nice work brother looks good! You should get a broadway mirror for your rearview they are bigger but not to the point it i will cause a distraction. they come in different sizes. I have one and love it I'll never go back to the stock unit lol

[Wonderingraven]

Nice a similar method was worked in my krikey seat

[86forever]

 I loved them seat J! so jealous!

[Cajun1guy]

As usual, Jay stuns us with his beautiful cars and works of utter quality! Great pictures! Sure wish I was closer to your neck of the woods...

[zilvia_brothers]

Thanks for sharing jay! I might have to go the same route as you with the custom bracket and sliders. For everyone that goes eith planted be careful. Im 6'0 and with my recaros fully foward its barely perfect and i have to recline the seat back so my head would not touch  the headliner i would even have to slouch making awkward and uncomfortable. I had the seats on my car for about a year until i went back to my stock seats.

[Skeeter]

Outstanding work and write-up!

This makes me miss my S15 seats I had in my last S13, which I got hosed on.