Replacement Seat Options and Mounting Ideas for 80-Series

[SNLC]

This is a valid concern though, I doubt anyone wants to feel like they're driving Harry and the Hendersons style out the sunroof.

As I said earlier in the thread, that is my much preferred seating position. Up high. Gives a better field of vision and for me is most comfortable. I like to sit in a position where my legs are not stretched out in front of me, like it would be driving a bus. Or when we were in grade school and the desks made you sit upright and not slouch. A buddy just drove my truck yesterday, he last drove it when it had the stock seat in it. He is fairly tall, about 6ft 3". His head is not into the roof and first thing he said when he sat in it was, I really like the high seating position. I had an 04 Taco for years, drove it to Panama and back twice. Absolutely hated the seats and low seating position. Super uncomfortable for me. That was one of the main reasons I sold it and got into a Cruiser.

If you have not tried a high seating position, you should. It is nice and in my opinion the best for posture.

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Subscribed...Interior redo is high on our list for our new '93 even though the current interior is pretty clean. This is gonna end up being our long trip vehicle and seating is very important to me.

See my post above. Like I say, I had an 04 Tacoma. Drove it to Panama and back twice. That is a lot of driving folks. Done that trip 2x straight through (one way) only stopping for fuel and sleep. 10 days straight with a short day being 10hrs and a long one being 18hrs. Last trip made me get rid of the Taco because it was so uncomfortable. And at only 130,000 miles the seat was collapsing. Recently did a trip to Baja in my Cruiser with the new Procar seat. Long day driving was 18hrs. HUGE friggin difference over the Taco. Fatigue does not set in like it did in the Taco. I contribute the majority of that to being in a more correct seating position with good posture.

If you are a long distance driver in your Cruiser I think seats, comfort and correct posture are very important.

Cheers

 

[diamondfj]

What model number are those recaro's?

The Recaros are Style Topline. Apparently, the Style XL Topline is the current model. There are standard and topline versions of the seats; the difference is the heater, ventilation, and power options.

I want a seat that has integrated heating and cooling. If I can find those, and they look good, then I'll cut and weld whatever I need to to get them in.

The Recaros have integrated heating and ventilation fan (but not HVAC). Can't you just aim the lower vent (under the steering column) where it needs to go for the driver?

 

[NLXTACY]

The Recaros have integrated heating and ventilation fan (but not HVAC). Can't you just aim the lower vent (under the steering column) where it needs to go for the driver?

The Lincoln navigator had the best AC seats I've ever experienced.

 

[Traakon]

See my post above. Like I say, I had an 04 Tacoma. Drove it to Panama and back twice. That is a lot of driving folks. Done that trip 2x straight through (one way) only stopping for fuel and sleep. 10 days straight with a short day being 10hrs and a long one being 18hrs. Last trip made me get rid of the Taco because it was so uncomfortable. And at only 130,000 miles the seat was collapsing. Recently did a trip to Baja in my Cruiser with the new Procar seat. Long day driving was 18hrs. HUGE friggin difference over the Taco. Fatigue does not set in like it did in the Taco. I contribute the majority of that to being in a more correct seating position with good posture.

If you are a long distance driver in your Cruiser I think seats, comfort and correct posture are very important.

Cheers

I agree. I have a wife who likes to meet me at the door with packed bags and say "Hey, lets drive to Park City or Monetary or Telluride" so 12-14 hour straight drives are pretty normal. I hate the straight legged seating position and with a broken disk in my lower back getting in a bent knee comfortable position keeps the nerves from sending lightening through my legs on long drives.

I love the Recaro's but at 2K+ per seat...not happening for me when there are other things the new addition to the garage needs more.

I thought about testing the seats I installed in the Bronco, mid 90's Mazda MX6 buckets. Need to pull one from the Bronco and see how they fit the program. It's difficult, the interior, especially the seats in our '93 are so immaculate I hate to change things but the foam in the drivers seat is broken down and I fear once I skin it to replace the foam the age of the cloth will not like the tugging and pulling.

Looking forward to seeing what options y'all come up with 'cause I know one will strike my fancy.

 

[Traakon]

OK, here is the rabbit hole I am going down now...
Found that you can order the Procar Elite Lumbar 1200 from Summit sans upholstery ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sca-80-1200-99l/recommendedparts ) for $310 each but the Procar only work with Procar brackets and they don't list a base/bracket for the FZJ so I have contacted them about proper brackets and they are looking into it. (I don't have an extra set of seats around to cut the brackets off of as etarasoff did)

I am going to have the headliner done and the rear seat and door panels done so the "Naked" seats will let me match everything nicely and not have to pay for new upholstery on the seats twice or have front seats that don't match the rear. Can also get the seats done with leather outer and a more breathable inner section.

Like i said, this is the current rabbit hole...a couple more threads read and...squirrel....and then who knows.

 

[hamishpotter]

will be following your posts - I'm leaning towards the Procar Elites, not as worried about matchy interior, but want more comfort for long drives

 

[half k cruiser]

Seems like some of this is being made more difficult then it needs to be. If $$$$ is not a concern then buy some really nice sparco's or recaro's, get the brackets and bolt everything together. Its really that simple. If $$$$ is a concern then your next best bet for a good quality seat is going with OEM from another vehicle. In this case you will need some basic fabricating ability. Access to a drill press and a welder are going to almost be a must.

 

[hamishpotter]

Any suggestions on stock (used) seat options? WRX? GTI? Audi uses beautiful Recaros for their S cars but they're hard to find and often pricey (and usually black or really pale grey).

If anyone finds the right used seat, fairly cheap, fits an 80, comfortable and widely available, it would be a great mod. I will continue to search..

 

[Traakon]

Seems like some of this is being made more difficult then it needs to be. If $$$$ is not a concern then buy some really nice sparco's or recaro's, get the brackets and bolt everything together. Its really that simple. If $$$$ is a concern then your next best bet for a good quality seat is going with OEM from another vehicle. In this case you will need some basic fabricating ability. Access to a drill press and a welder are going to almost be a must.

Hell, if money was no object I would have bought a Range Rover...Open hood and pour in bank account

The point of hashing this out completely is that spending good money only to learn you missed the mark "by that much" is as bad as just pouring money down a hole. I learned by trial and error when I added seats to my '76 Bronco and the '78 CJ-5 and taking my '65 F-100 from bench to buckets. Now we have a community of minds and experiences to toss about and find solutions to problems we haven't come across yet personally.

I know I will probably spend as much "sprucing up" this 80 as I paid for it so I would rather not waste a dime if I can learn something from this great community of minds and experience.

On another note, I met with "Joe" (really Jose' but he likes Joe) my upholstery go to guy and he said that buying the "Naked" seats would be less money on the seat than the vinyl one (about 40 bucks less) but he would have to make patterns to do the upholstery and that time would more than eat up any savings. Having the vinyl to take apart and use as the pattern is time/labor saving in the end which equates to saving money and better results.

 

[Big Rudy]

Traakon, I like the Procar option too, but I'm confused(easily), when you say they only fit on their(Procar) brackets. I followed the link above on the Wedge brackets, and they list their brackets working in 80's, and when you scroll through their seat compatibility options Procar is listed. What am I missing?

 

[Traakon]

Procar's site states "Procar seats only work with Procar brackets" so before I went and started cross pollinating the field I wanted to see if Procar indeed had a bracket for the 80.

The Wedge bracket is the next step if Procar does not have a direct match for the 80. Then slide down the chain to full fabing things if I have to (had to build full brackets when I put the MX6 buckets in the Bronco) Hope that takes a kink out of my line of thinking.

Now the wife added another kink today..."Hey, what if we did the Procar for front and second row?"....Squirrel!!!

 

[etarasoff]

I was corresponding with a guy from SCAT (parent of Procar). They do not make a bracket for the 80. Wedge says they have one...that is, at least it’s on the website.

 

[half k cruiser]

Any suggestions on stock (used) seat options? WRX? GTI? Audi uses beautiful Recaros for their S cars but they're hard to find and often pricey (and usually black or really pale grey).

If anyone finds the right used seat, fairly cheap, fits an 80, comfortable and widely available, it would be a great mod. I will continue to search..

Take your butt down to the local pick and pull and start putting it in seats. Whatever feels most comfortable to you and looks good. You can usually get seats for a great price at these places. But your on the right track with Subaru, Audi, BMW. The WRX seats are exceptionally comfortable but generally expensive and also require you to get up over the bolster. If you have sliders then the bolster thing will be a non issue.

 

[VETTE60]

I was corresponding with a guy from SCAT (parent of Procar). They do not make a bracket for the 80. Wedge says they have one...that is, at least it’s on the website.

The IPOR site lists the part number for the bracket for the 80 series which the Scat site says is for the 91-96 4 runner. So are the mounts the same? Who has the procar seats with mounts in their 80 and an confirm?

 

[VETTE60]

From IPOR site:

1991-1997 FJ80 Driver: SCA-81988;Passenger: SCA-81989

http://ironpigoffroad.com/Interior/Seats/SCA-801100

 

[richxd87]

I recently installed the Procar Elite Lumbar seats in my 97 lx450. Scat does makes brackets for them but it took 6 weeks to get them, so I made up some brackets on my own.

 

[hamishpotter]

View attachment 1057135 I recently installed the Procar Elite Lumbar seats in my 97 lx450. Scat does makes brackets for them but it took 6 weeks to get them, so I made up some brackets on my own.

How long have they been in and how are they?

 

[richxd87]

They've been in about a month and I think they're great. The side bolsters seem to be a bit higher if you get the seats with lumbar support but that was a requirement for me so I'll deal with it. Made the 12 hour drive in them a few weeks ago and I don't think I would've survived with my stock seats. I got them from summitracing with free shipping

 

[ccslider]

Rich, do the procar seats sit higher? I am 6'5" and almost bumping my head in stock seats.