Scheel-Mann Seat Install (1 Viewer)

[jomelo]

Back in time I saw @overlandtailor thread-BTW John’s build is among the best I have ever seen-and I took it as a reference. The Schell-Mann seats got my attention in particular
The OEM seats, even after replacing the foam, were giving me low back pain after driving couple of hours. They were OK, sure, but my wife’s GX seats were significantly more comfortable for long trips and fatigue free.
I’m 5-11”, around 185 lbs and, so far (touch wood), in good shape for my mid 60’s mileage. All and all, it would seem however my trusted 80 series is managing the pass of time much better than this old fart. So I decided to eat the bullet.
I talked to Toby at Schell-Mann USA (outstanding customer service and support!) whom after some questions suggested the Vario F as the best option for my needs. Besides the orthopedic seating, I knew I wanted a subdue appearance, a close match to OEM colors and leather to better deal with the stupendous amounts of dog hair we choose to live with (anyone sharing close spaces with a GSD would surely know what I’m talking about)
The entire process of dealing with Schell-Mann, Toby in particular, has been superb: great service, attention to detail, informative and caring.
Last week I finally got the seats (the lead time was strictly respected). The packaging is first-class. The quality and fit and finish of the product is top notch-special mention to the Planted brackets, a true bolt-on. The instructions are clear and concise.
After a few hundred miles and some hours of driving, I must say these seats have surpassed my expectations. Really happy with my decision-my chiropractor would disagree
Attaching some pics
Cheers!

View attachment 2798594

View attachment 2798595

View attachment 2798596

View attachment 2798597

View attachment 2798599

I like the idea of matching the original seats. I think it would be really nice to have a pair in the light tan color combo that somewhat matches the original tan leather. Maybe a pair with tan leather and tan alcantara/suede. Looks great how you did it.

 

[fj80pb]

I like the idea of matching the original seats. I think it would be really nice to have a pair in the light tan color combo that somewhat matches the original tan leather. Maybe a pair with tan leather and tan alcantara/suede. Looks great how you did it.

Thanks!. Toby sent me the leather color palette to decide what will match better. I ended up with the Camel and Braun combo. The end result is that you can barely notice the difference with the OEM-albeit they are not the same. Just very, very similar
Cheers!

 

[jomelo]

Thanks!. Toby sent me the leather color palette to decide what will match better. I ended up with the Camel and Braun combo. The end result is that you can barely notice the difference with the OEM-albeit they are not the same. Just very, very similar
Cheers!

Yea so mine are the dark color with a different accent in the center. My leather color may be braun as it’s almost identical to the dark interior leather. I covered my rear seat in this color as well to match. Now I’m considering going back though to the light leather that was originally in the truck.

 

[fj80pb]

Yea so mine are the dark color with a different accent in the center. My leather color may be braun as it’s almost identical to the dark interior leather. I covered my rear seat in this color as well to match. Now I’m considering going back though to the light leather that was originally in the truck.

View attachment 2798648

Looks good!
My truck is a 97, 40th edition, the closest color to the light brown was the "camel" (oak in Toyota's parlance ,I think). Toby will help you out for sure
Cheers!

 

[sxp]

@jomelo, is the center material a custom option? I haven't seen it offered anywhere.

 

[jomelo]

@jomelo, is the center material a custom option? I haven't seen it offered anywhere.

Yes. The material was obtained independent of Scheelmann.

 

[ToyosandHam]

Back in time I saw @overlandtailor thread-BTW John’s build is among the best I have ever seen-and I took it as a reference. The Schell-Mann seats got my attention in particular
The OEM seats, even after replacing the foam, were giving me low back pain after driving couple of hours. They were OK, sure, but my wife’s GX seats were significantly more comfortable for long trips and fatigue free.
I’m 5-11”, around 185 lbs and, so far (touch wood), in good shape for my mid 60’s mileage. All and all, it would seem however my trusted 80 series is managing the pass of time much better than this old fart. So I decided to eat the bullet.
I talked to Toby at Schell-Mann USA (outstanding customer service and support!) whom after some questions suggested the Vario F as the best option for my needs. Besides the orthopedic seating, I knew I wanted a subdue appearance, a close match to OEM colors and leather to better deal with the stupendous amounts of dog hair we choose to live with (anyone sharing close spaces with a GSD would surely know what I’m talking about)
The entire process of dealing with Schell-Mann, Toby in particular, has been superb: great service, attention to detail, informative and caring.
Last week I finally got the seats (the lead time was strictly respected). The packaging is first-class. The quality and fit and finish of the product is top notch-special mention to the Planted brackets, a true bolt-on. The instructions are clear and concise.
After a few hundred miles and some hours of driving, I must say these seats have surpassed my expectations. Really happy with my decision-my chiropractor would disagree
Attaching some pics
Cheers!

View attachment 2798594

View attachment 2798595

View attachment 2798596

View attachment 2798597

View attachment 2798599

This is awesome to hear @fj80pb. I'm 5'8" 175 and early 50s. I ordered the Vario Fs from Toby a few months back and also the planted brackets. And yes excellent service from Toby as well. Going in an HZJ73 that I'm overhauling. For now they are sitting in the garage but we are close to the end of our overhaul journey and then I will be putting the interior together. I'll be sure to submit some pics to this thread.

 

[jomelo]

This is awesome to hear @fj80pb. I'm 5'8" 175 and early 50s. I ordered the Vario Fs from Toby a few months back and also the planted brackets. And yes excellent service from Toby as well. Going in an HZJ73 that I'm overhauling. For now they are sitting in the garage but we are close to the end of our overhaul journey and then I will be putting the interior together. I'll be sure to submit some pics to this thread.

Have you tried those brackets to confirm they will work in the HZJ73? I recently did this in a 77 series and the Planted brackets did not work because they originally utilized a Troopy for their pattern and it’s a different floor plan altogether. I got someone to take a non-Troopy 70 series to the Planted shop and get scanned for mine. Not sure if Planted ever updated their website with this info.

 

[ToyosandHam]

Have you tried those brackets to confirm they will work in the HZJ73? I recently did this in a 77 series and the Planted brackets did not work because they originally utilized a Troopy for their pattern and it’s a different floor plan altogether. I got someone to take a non-Troopy 70 series to the Planted shop and get scanned for mine. Not sure if Planted ever updated their website with this info.

We set everything in place and it matched up fine. I have not mounted anything as the interior is completely gutted at this point.

Just to expand a little as this may help with your question: Toby told me to call Planted and talk to Jeff Reiss. I talked to Jeff and sent him this specific thread as well as a few others for reference. I pointed out my concern about the LHD 73. He said no problem. He had me order the 77 brackets but when I ordered them he flagged the order as for a 73 and they had a different bolt pattern that they drilled out after the order specifically to fit the 73.

So again just setting everything in place it looks to fit fine. But I will follow up with this thread as soon as I do the install.

 

[jomelo]

We set everything in place and it matched up fine. I have not mounted anything as the interior is completely gutted at this point.

Just to expand a little as this may help with your question: Toby told me to call Planted and talk to Jeff Reiss. I talked to Jeff and sent him this specific thread as well as a few others for reference. I pointed out my concern about the LHD 73. He said no problem. He had me order the 77 brackets but when I ordered them he flagged the order as for a 73 and they had a different bolt pattern that they drilled out after the order specifically to fit the 73.

So again just setting everything in place it looks to fit fine. But I will follow up with this thread as soon as I do the install.

I was just curious if they sent you the Troopy brackets or the ones they worked up for my truck. I understand your answer.

 

[ToyosandHam]

I was just curious if they sent you the Troopy brackets or the ones they worked up for my truck. I understand your answer.

Sorry @jomelo if that came across wrong. We went with the below:

SB351DR Toyota Land Cruiser 77 Series (1984-1999) - Driver
SB351PA Toyota Land Cruiser 77 Series (1984-1999) - Passenger T

 

[fj80pb]

This is awesome to hear @fj80pb. I'm 5'8" 175 and early 50s. I ordered the Vario Fs from Toby a few months back and also the planted brackets. And yes excellent service from Toby as well. Going in an HZJ73 that I'm overhauling. For now they are sitting in the garage but we are close to the end of our overhaul journey and then I will be putting the interior together. I'll be sure to submit some pics to this thread.

Good luck with your project! Looking forward to see pics of it!
Cheers

 

[BillyGoatMTB]

These look like an excellent alternative to new cushions, leather, and seat heater kit.

Subscribed

 

[Brandon98]

I've had my Vario-F XXL driver's seat for a shade over a year and just installed the passenger seat after being tortured in the OEM passenger seat when my wife drove for a couple of hours.

A few tips:
-the NUT for the seat belt buckle is 7/16 fine thread, grade 8. You'll have a "does not compute" moment when you find a 14mm head on a SAE bolt but it all comes down to old DOT regulations for hardware specifications. So metric head on SAE fine pitch bolt. The Grade 8 nylock nut is about $1.50 at your local Ace

-There are two different Planted brackets. One is a bolt in for the Scheel-Manns, the other require holes drilled in the sliders. Order as a package deal through Toby at Scheel-Mann or through one of their dealers (I used Delta VS) and you'l get the right ones from the get-go.

-Get a thread restorer kit (M10 x 1.25) (NOT A TAP) to clean out the weld nuts from decades of schmutz, cool ranch Dorito bits, corrosion, and old thread locker. I swore I was cross-threading on the passenger side and stopped after a few turns but using the restorer with Tap-Magic cutting fluid did the trick. New bolts are $4.76 at a Lexus dealer and for under $20 per seat, it seemed a good investment in safety. Note the currently sold bolts for a 96 Lexus LX450 do not have the tapered locating ends. Why Lexus bolts? Because their parts man is polite whereas the local Toyota dealer rubs me the wrong way.

-The passenger seat Planted base is a bit of a bastard to get located due to angles and tolerance stacking. You'll be tempted to file and wallow out hte holes but proper sequence will do the trick. Recommended order of bolt installation (loose first, of course) is back inside, back outside, then fronts. A few love taps from a soft faced mallet may be needed to get the last hole aligned properly with the carpet, padding, etc all compressing.

Note that the passenger side has the Wit's End ( @NLXTACY ) fire extinguisher mount installed. It's not part of the Planted bracket.

 

[MrMikeyG]

@Brandon98 this is good info. I had my planted brackets already from a Flo-fit seat experiment. For my Scheel-manns, I only needed to drill 2 new holes in the planted brackets.
I actually bolted my seats to the brackets and then installed the whole thing. I also agree with the above notes on bolt sequence for the Planted brackets.
Yes, these seats probably seem stupid expensive. For a comparison I did "shop" a custom set of recaro specialist s model seats in a grey cloth. Those would have only been about 200 cheaper per seat. (basic off-the-shelf black Recaros would have been $400 cheaper each)
new Toyota seat foam pads look to be around $350 per seat right now (without shipping)
I'm not sure who the current "best" leather kit comes from but they were pushing $600 for a set if I remember correctly. I definitely think doing a seat "refresh" with OEM foam and new leather kit is a ton more work than bolting new seats right in. if I had a consistently dry space to work in, I would have tried one more round of mild fabrication and a budget seat swap prior to the expensive seats, but I don't. As others have said, Toby in Portland is great to work with. I'm sure @SNLC is awesome as well, but Portland is closer to me than Boise.

 

[Outsane]

I joined the club... ordered through @Delta VS

But I only purchased one and had it ceramic coated. By Big Basin Property detailing

 

[Brandon98]

@Outsane You're gonna get spoiled and the first significant ride in the passenger seat is going have you pulling out a credit card......

Toby at Scheel-Mann anecdotally has a lot of "follow up" orders from folks who order just one seat initially.

 

[Outsane]

@Brandon98

I have no doubts that a second order will happen..

 

[Spdstr280Z]

Awww, it's like we're all joining the same cult club ! Thanks for the info in the WIts End mounts, I was wondering if they fit with the Scheel-Mann slide handle. I will also throw out there that these things aren't cheap, but they ooze quality, as do the Planted brackets, I worked with Toby at Scheel-Mann USA, and he was great, even though I told him I was in above my pay grade from the beginning. Unfortunately now I can't convince myself to put the battered passenger seat back in temporarily, and I have just enough OCD that the seats need to match, so.... I do kind of wish there was a Traveler XXL, as I got a Vario XXL, want the seats to match, but wouldn't mind saving a few bucks on the adjustability for a seat that will be unoccupied 90% of the time.....

Jason

 

[desmocruiser]

These look like an excellent alternative to new cushions, leather, and seat heater kit.

Subscribed

Exactly, that was my rationale!

I just finished the interior restoration of a very nice 97’ 118k mile California Desert Dune CE, it needs to remain stock. It is certainly nicer than my adventure 80 that has the Scheel Manns, but far less comfortable!

Here is my cost for comparison:
Front seat Leather (through Mosley motors if you want good ones) $1000
Seat cushions are $200 each* I only did drivers bottom but to compare to New SM’s $800
Professional Install for seat covers $400
Heat for both seats $400
Seat gears $75

$2675, a little more than half of new SM’s, but the price of comfort for a truck designed and built for 12 hour days plus you have an armrest, far greater adjustability, etc. Easily makes the additional cost of the SM's Worth it for me!