Skip to main content

Closed12 replies

Seat Bases

FM Former Member
Hello,

I have been pondering the why's and wherefore's of how to mount my seats to the pans now that my body shell is on its way back from the paintshop - I wimped out and paid someone to do it in the end.

My question is how does JPS or VS mount their seats to the sliders and the sliders to the floors? Are they flat on the pans, or are they somehow lifted at the front so there is some rearward slant on the seat?

I was looking at the Fibersteel website and saw the speedster seats and seatframes that he has on there - has anyone ever bought any of them? Or are they like the elusive sidecurtains? They look pretty simple to fabricate out of sheet steel. I am interested to hear if anyone else had atempted to make their own as well.

Cheers,

Jim

PS Chose elfenbein (ivory white) for the colour in the end, should be good with the tan interior and hood.

PPS Was in an auto upholstery fitter today asking about square weave carpet and got an estimate of about $250 for a set. Based on using about 2 to 3 yards of carpet at $60 per yard and 1.5 hours labour to edge stitch at $60 per hour. That's pretty good compared to some other prices I have found on the web. Anybody out there ever cut their own carpet? If so, how much did you need (length and width)?
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

FM Former Member
Hello,

I have been pondering the why's and wherefore's of how to mount my seats to the pans now that my body shell is on its way back from the paintshop - I wimped out and paid someone to do it in the end.

My question is how does JPS or VS mount their seats to the sliders and the sliders to the floors? Are they flat on the pans, or are they somehow lifted at the front so there is some rearward slant on the seat?

I was looking at the Fibersteel website and saw the speedster seats and seatframes that he has on there - has anyone ever bought any of them? Or are they like the elusive sidecurtains? They look pretty simple to fabricate out of sheet steel. I am interested to hear if anyone else had atempted to make their own as well.

Cheers,

Jim

PS Chose elfenbein (ivory white) for the colour in the end, should be good with the tan interior and hood.

PPS Was in an auto upholstery fitter today asking about square weave carpet and got an estimate of about $250 for a set. Based on using about 2 to 3 yards of carpet at $60 per yard and 1.5 hours labour to edge stitch at $60 per hour. That's pretty good compared to some other prices I have found on the web. Anybody out there ever cut their own carpet? If so, how much did you need (length and width)?
FM Former Member
Jim,
To answer your question about mounting to the slide rails and then to the floor, I've seen it done a few different ways. One way is the front of the slider is welded to the stock vw seat mount and the rear is bolted through the floor. The seats are usually mounted to the sliders with carriage bolts. It's a lot easier to do this if you weld the bolt to the slider first then it will stay in place. Another way I've seen the sliders mounted is having them welded on 1"x1" square tubing and the square tubing welded to the floor. If you do it this way make sure you have the square tubing span between the seats for even weight distribution. If you end up using the VS or JPS sliders, make sure you space the seat up from them with washers or you won't be able to move the seat forward and back very easily.
FM Former Member
Thanks for the feedback and answers from everyone.

Spent a couple of hours tonight (in between herding children and dog) trying out an idea I had over the weekend.
I have constructed a sort of frame to raise the seat up from the floorpan.
The next step would be to box this in with fibreglass to end up with something rather tlike the outlaw seats that "Fibersteel" shows on their website (see photo below).

Jim.

PS Doesn't fibreglass dust itch!
Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member
Jim:

I'm running the 914 seat glides, too. Super-easy to mount, except that you have to make a toothed plate for the tilt-back adjuster (or get the one from a 914). I just used two strap hinges at the rear, and the toothed adjuster in the front. Now I can recline a bit (until my tall headrest hits the roll bar, anyway) or just run them flat. The front-back handle is under my left knee, and the tilt adjuster is next to my right hip.

The 914 basic seat looks a lot like those in your photos.

gn
FM Former Member
On my JPS, with speedster replica seats, the fiberglass shell is simply bolted to the adjusting rails with a two 5/16 screw and locknuts per seat. The nuts are a SOB to reach. I've had a loose passenger seat for three years since I can't see how to get a wrench on the nut to tighten it. I have great respect for the assembler. I suspect they attached the seat to the rails out of the car and then installed the rails, but the rails seem to be welded to the chassis. Very peculiar, these kit cars.
FM Former Member
Have changed the design somewhat and am now looking at a solid wooden support underneath the seat. Will post some photos soon.

Have found a set of sliders that look identical to those used by Fibersteel (see photo) for $25 from a sandrail store in AZ.

Does anyone recognise these? Could I buy them from a local store do you think?

Cheers,

Jim.
Post Content
Remove This Ad

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×

Access to this requires a premium membership.

Supporting Member

Please help keep us running!

Supporting members have donated about $4.00 a month ($49.00 US per year) paid annually.

  • Priority support
  • Removal of inter-page (between thread) advertisements.
  • Access to Build Manuals
  • Access to Knowledge Base
  • Access to Supporting Members events.
  • Access to Leveraged Group Buying from site Merchants.

AUTO RENEW: You membership will auto-renew after 12 months. If you prefer not to auto-renew, you can cancel your premium membership at any time and it will remain in effect until the end of the 12 months. To cancel, sign in at SpeedsterOwners.com and navigate to: (Your User Name)  > Premium Membership.

PLEASE NOTE: Your credit card will receive a charge from CROWDSTACK PAY, the payment processor, not SpeedsterOwners.com.

$49.00 per 12 Months (plus tax if applicable)
×