mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Easier? Maybe
For me, aftermarket adapters weren't particularly readily available, without paying huge amounts for shipping, and without having certainty they would work, so it wasn't gonna happen.
Plus, I'd rather spend $100 making something than $200 on something i can make myself.
If you had certainty an aftermarket seat and aftermarket mounting bracket were going to work together, then yes, it would probably be easier.
I don't like the idea of buying an aftermarket bracket, then adding an adapter plate between it and a seat.
Every bolted connection is a point that can move. If things are offset too much without direct load paths, a seat can put a lot of leverage on brackets and bolts.
I have experienced this with seats I've modified for other vehicles
If you're retrofitting seats from a different vehicle, the seats will have brackets unique to that oem. They may be universal across several models built on the same platform, but aren't likely to just drop in to another vehicle from a different manufacturer.
If you're installing aftermarket seats that are more generic/universal in design, then aftermarket brackets may also be a good option.
Your 80 series has 8 different brackets for the two front seats. The bracket for each corner is unique or asymmetrical. So are seat frames.
When I fitted Audi seats, I found the sliders were similar enough in shape and widtth/ spacing that cutting the 80 series seat brackets off the seat, and trimming them to adjust height before welding them onto the audi seat rails worked well
