Recaro Seats (1 Viewer)

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swamprunner

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Looking at getting a pair of Recaro seats for my 79 series. I know I've seen a thread with a Troopy in OZ with recaros that bolted in with proper brackets. I've searched and searched but can't find it.

Wondering what others thoughts are on which model recaro to go with or even a different brand. My back isn't getting any better with age. New Recaros are expensive but if it helps my back at the end of the day its worth it.

Any input is greatly appreciated.
 
Man, how many troopies are in the Portland /Bend area now? Seems like more everyday. What year is yours? Mine is a newer 79 so the pattern is going to be different than yours most likely. I have the older 70 rails that I made adapters/extensions for so they would work in my truck.

I've looked at Scheel Man seats on the internet but couldn't find a pricing in the US. Would you mind sending me a pm on which model you got and the cost. Would be nice to compare the two brands.
 
I know you asked about Recaros, but apparently Procar seats bolt onto 60 rails. If that's the case, and 60 seats fit in 70s, that may be an easy option. They're super comfortable (the Procar Elite Lumbars at least are) and not too expensive. That's the route I'm planning on going.

Just for added info.
 
swamprunner said:
Man, how many troopies are in the Portland /Bend area now? Seems like more everyday. What year is yours?
Click to expand...

By my count it is 6. Soon to be 7. Thats not even counting Bend/Eastern Oregon!

Rodney speaks the truth, the Scheel-Mann seats are the creme de la creme, Recaro's in the right lumbar support are excellent, and the Procar suggestion is accurate...those seem to be the choice for the J**P crowd. All can be made to work fairly painlessly. Note that the Recaros in late 90's VW's (GTi's, etc) are nearly identical to the factory JDM Recaros in HJ61's and the like and often found somewhat cheaper.
 
Thanks for the input guys.
I have a jdm 61 as my dailt driver. The seats are pretty nice for 30 yrs old. Have searched for the old VW recaros but gave up bc I couldn't find a pair in good shape.
Will give the Procars a look.

Wish there was a local dealer. It'd be nice to stick the seat in the cab and figure out which one is the best fit/feel. I have the newer 79 cab butl there still isn't much room in there.
 
Actually I live on the coast of NC.
Travel as much as I can in the off season. I try to make it to OZ regularly.
Read some of your thread on the troopy project. Sounds like we have a similar project. I put 79 series on an 80 frame. Mine has been an ongoing back burner project for at least 5 yrs
 
Nope a basically live in a marsh/swamp. So that's where the brine comes from. Where are you in Utah? Just got back from out west last month. My family has a small cabin in Idaho not far from Yellowstone/Tetons
 
Yeah its between Recaro and Scheel Mann. Wish there was a dealer somewhat close to me so I could try before I buy. Will look up GMP even though there about 6 hours from me. Shipping might be cheaper from them.
 
The other thing I've looked at is Audi seats. Not sure about the newer models but I know the older ones were made by Recaro. They are all over the place on Ebay. They look nice but I really don't want leather and electric controls. Anyone have an A8. Those seats see like they'd be the best fit
 
swamprunner said:
The other thing I've looked at is Audi seats. Not sure about the newer models but I know the older ones were made by Recaro. They are all over the place on Ebay. They look nice but I really don't want leather and electric controls. Anyone have an A8. Those seats see like they'd be the best fit
Click to expand...

Be careful with some of the German electrically controlled seats...some of them need ECUs to make them work. We did a Porsche retrofit and getting the seats to work was really tedious. There was some reason we couldn't direct wire to the motors. Wish I could remember why it was so challenging.

I bought a REALLY cool set of seats for my RV project...made in South Korea....can't recall the name. They were heated, cooled, had air suspension, air lumbar, arm rests, all kinds of adjustments......and they were leather. Big rig truck seats but their compressed height was low...similar to a normal seat and I think they could be modded to be even lower. They were like $1000 shipped. Gorgeous seats.

I've done a lot of Recaros over the years....find one of the larger dealers and you will get pretty decent pricing...they're usually always drop shipped too. Recaro aftermarket(only aftermarket) is not the most consumer friendly part of the company. Kind of a struggle to get info(at least my sales rep always had a tough time getting info). I'm not so sure the aftermarket is a big deal for Recaro compared to their OEM/industrial/etc. part of their business. The Recaro Cross Sportster CS is a really nice seat with low bottom bolsters. Thin padding but super comfortable. Heat is an option. Really simple seat but works well. Pricey as I recall. They do have a vinyl version which is really nice. Usually my go-to seat unless I'm dealing with a larger customer...then we look into some of their larger seats.

My new build is getting Scheel Mann.....they're the bees knees. Going to do a really cool fabric on them. Can't wait to get them ordered up.
 
I had the same problem about the J7 original seats. You do not even have to be that tall to sit uncomfortably in it. I personally have 3 problems with the original J7 seats:
1. You cannot push back your seat, enough to have your legs in a fairly normal position. If you're taller than 1,80 m (5,90 ft), you have to drive with your legs semi-flexed which for longer distances is terrible.
2. The position of the seat is too high. If you look underneath the seat, there are lot's of brackets on the floor and than the seat has it's own brackets that bring it even higher. You have under the seat a lot of wasted space. This means your head is significantly higher than your steering wheel, and you are always looking down, which is quite bad for your cervical vertebrae.
3. The seat itself is s**t. The sitting pad is too short to support your knees and the pad itself is very uncomfortable.
I remember very well driving for more than 2-3 hours and walking like an old man after getting off the car.

So if you try to adapt something to the original mounting brackets, you still have the problem of not enough push back and too high driving position. But, if you cut off the floor mounting brackets and fabricate new ones, you can mount your seat lower and you are no longer depending on the producer of the seat to have adaptors for the J7. Actually with that you can adapt virtually anything you like, also inexpensive seats that you may buy from parting out shops. I personally adapted VW Passat (or Jetta) seats for which I paid less than 100 EUR. They come with manual height adjustment and drawers under the front end, so really useful features.

You can check how I did it here: Rejuvenation Treatment for Old Girl LJ73 / build
First page, the 16th or 17th post you can see the brackets I've fabricated by myself, and the third page how the seats looked like as soon as I remade the upholstery.
 
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I found a pair of Audi seats on that are semi local. I may go look at them next time I'm out that way see if they are comfortable and what's involved with the electronics. Definitely need to be able to wire to the motor directly.

The only seats I like from the 70 series are the JDM 77 and the 76 series. My cab was bare when I got it. I bought some floor bracket from a 75 and extended them to work in my 79 cab. I used a pair of 4runner seats bc they fit ok and I had them in my shop. They have served there purpose but its time for and upgrade.

So if I buy new ones its between the Recarco specialist or expert. If I went Scheel Mann I have to decide between traveler or touring?

Anybody have any input on these models? Which model are you getting for yours Chris?
 
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I'm not sure why Toyota feels the rest of the world doesn't deserve all the JDM upgrades they get. I still want an 81 VX soley for the center console fridge/ice maker. Might be my favorite factory option ever.

The seats in my 61 are the most comfortable factory Toyota seats I've ever sat in. Should just find a set an put them in the 79
 
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