Seat options and recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Major Nelson]

Trail Tailor is building out a 1985 for my wife. One area that I was hoping to get some people's opinion is for the seating. Right now I have narrowed it down to the following options.
1. Replace the stock front seats with Corbeau seats and have the rear seat reupholstered.
2. Use Scheel Man seats instead of Corbeau...same for back seat
3. Get planted seat bracket and some seats out of another model car/truck. (I currently have a 2016 GTI as my DD and love the seats...they really seem like they'd be a great swap. Manual and no air bag.
4. Get the fronts seats completely rebuilt with a lot more support (I've got a bad back so the stock seats are not an option). Would have to have a lot of support added to them vs stock.

Other factors I was considering was my wife is 5'2" (I say 5'1"...short women round up lol). and I'm 6'. I was hoping some of the seats would be adjustable up and down, not just forward and back) so that she's able to get into a really good spot for visibility. If the GTI seats would work that would be perfect...I don't think either the Corbeau or Scheel seats can be adjusted up or down. I also would like to be able to keep the rear heater under the passenger seat. I have Tor's seat brackets in my 87 with BMW seats and love it...but the brackets don't work in an 85 and require deleting the rear heater.

Hoping people could help me deciding and input on my current options.

Thanks.

 

[GeologistFelix]

I looked for some pictures of the underside of a ~2016 GTI seat....

It's my extremely amateur-expert opinion that this would be _very_ easy to adapt to the 60 rails. You're either close enough in width to just take the 'feet' off the Toyota bracket and bolt/weld to those rails, or it's not, and you could just put some 1/8" channel (or heavier plate) that's wider than the difference between seat rails. Then, bolt/weld the original feet onto that, +/- any other material you wanted to add to change the rail angle/height.

Getting +12v to the motors/heater (or whatever else that plug goes to?) could be the hardest part, unless you're better at feeding wires under carpet than I am.

Hope that helps!

 

[Seth S]

Scheel-mann are probably the best seats you can get short of maybe the recaro ergo seats. both are pricey and I'd only put them in for the fronts unless you are going to be drivng around business executives in the back or something. An alternative seat would be out of the newer sprinter vans. I saw a set for sale on CL the other day for $350. They have arm rests, a lot of adjustment, but might require a different mounting as they might be too tall. I have a Corbeau seat in one of my cars but its a really strange fit given how the back support works....like its designed for a 5'6" tall driver or something.

VW seats as mentioned above from say 2012 on would be a good option. We just bought a new 2020 VW tiquan and though it came with tan fabric that stains the moment you look at it the fit, function, and comfort after several hours is quite good. I'm watching for wrecked Tiguans with the leather seats so i can swap my interior out.

Seat swap database

I just scanned through the FAQ and didn't see a post concerning seat swaps. I ran a search just for "Seats" on the forum just in the FJ60 section and got 10 pages of results. I started to link to the more informative threads. I see a ton of threads that ask about a certain seat but never got...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[FJACS]

Subaru Outback come in cloth or leather and are similar in size to the VW - they also come in manual or automatic depending on the trim level of the car. The ones I like are from the base model Outback’s, these are full manual seats and include an up and down adjustment.

 

[staggrlee]

One thing to consider with the $cheel-Mann seats is that, while they've got a lot of adjustment and provide great support for all sorts of back problems, they are 100% manual and do not adjust for height. If you and your wife switch out driving it can be tedious readjusting each time since there are no detents on the adjusters.

That said I'm not sure that power seats (e.g. BMW 3-series) retain the memory function when swapped over so not sure that even matters. I can say that with SM seats I can drive for hours and get out and actually walk without my sciatica bothering me. Can't say that about the seats in our 100.

If you do go with SM seats ping me for arm rests if you like. I bought four and could only use one (driver's right) due to my Tuffy console. Would have loved to have had one on the left too, but no room on either seat by the doors. With a OE console you could fit two center arm rests. I've got two righthand and one lefthand armrests in black leather.

 

[Max.Powerzz]

uglyoinker at A Rusted Development has put seats from a King Ranch in cruisers, they look suuuuuper comfy. Have to be lucky to find them at a pick and pull. I've got a bad back too and a quality back support cushion has made a big difference for me, though obviously not as nice as new seats.

 

[Major Nelson]

I looked for some pictures of the underside of a ~2016 GTI seat....
View attachment 2551668

It's my extremely amateur-expert opinion that this would be _very_ easy to adapt to the 60 rails. You're either close enough in width to just take the 'feet' off the Toyota bracket and bolt/weld to those rails, or it's not, and you could just put some 1/8" channel (or heavier plate) that's wider than the difference between seat rails. Then, bolt/weld the original feet onto that, +/- any other material you wanted to add to change the rail angle/height.

Getting +12v to the motors/heater (or whatever else that plug goes to?) could be the hardest part, unless you're better at feeding wires under carpet than I am.

Hope that helps!

Now I just need to find some seats that aren't attached to a car.....thanks for the pic! I'm going to measure the rail width in my GTI vs the stock 60 seats. Love that they're manual adjustment and very comfortable/supportive.

 

[klinetime574]

I’m curious to hear some feedback on Corbeau seats if anyone has them. I’ve been considering going that route or installing SOR seat bottom foams in my stock seats.

 

[Ironclad]

Others have stated this before, but I’ll add that the SOR seat foam is a perfect 1:1 replacement for old foam on a stock seat.

BUUUUUT....it is extremely stiff and extremely tall in comparison to old, compressed foam, so much so that my head almost hits the headliner after installing new foam. I definitely can’t wear a hat now while driving. No room.

I’m only 5’11”, but I’ve got a fairly long torso.

I’m hoping that stuff compresses a bit soon...

 

[iCruiser]

I only cried once. Yes a significant expenditure but great investment in my back health. Previousl I installed new OEM foam in both buckets. That was ok but not on long hauls. Last 13 hour road trip with the Scheels to Jimmy's Barn felt great the entire round trip. It is as close to an "adjustment" you can get with a seat as to seem to put my spine in perfect alignment. True you can't adjust height but they setup perfect for me. It was hard to pull that trigger but zero regrets.

 

[dbleon]

Seats are probably the single most #1 best mod I’ve done on my cruiser. I used es300 power heated leather seats adapted using the stock seat rails. They sit a bit higher but I like that. I’m 6’ and it’s just about right IMO

 

[Seth S]

Saab 9-5 seats had the option to come in tan or black leather and with heating and some had ventilated fans as well. They were power with memory. The later 9-5’s were even nicer but the early ones of found in good shape are a nice seat too.

 

[Major Nelson]

Seats are probably the single most #1 best mod I’ve done on my cruiser. I used es300 power heated leather seats adapted using the stock seat rails. They sit a bit higher but I like that. I’m 6’ and it’s just about right IMO

Do you have pics of the seats....and more importantly the rails? What year were your seats? GTI seats are no longer an option....wife hates them and this is her FJ60

 

[MiyamotoMusashi]

Scheel Man seats are worth it.

 

[dbleon]

Do you have pics of the seats....and more importantly the rails? What year were your seats? GTI seats are no longer an option....wife hates them and this is her FJ60

Brackets are drilled out from the stock chairs and welded onto a piece of flat stock that spans across and is welded into the es300 rails don’t have any pics of that ATM

 

[ntdb]

I only cried once. Yes a significant expenditure but great investment in my back health. Previousl I installed new OEM foam in both buckets. That was ok but not on long hauls. Last 13 hour road trip with the Scheels to Jimmy's Barn felt great the entire round trip. It is as close to an "adjustment" you can get with a seat as to seem to put my spine in perfect alignment. True you can't adjust height but they setup perfect for me. It was hard to pull that trigger but zero regrets.

View attachment 2554491

Scheel Man seats are worth it.

View attachment 2555111

Looking for more data points... do you both have pre-85 60s? Did you use the Planted brackets with your SM seats? Do they sit higher or lower than the worn-down OEM seats/foam? Was there any cutting required (floor or seat supports)? Thanks!

 

[MiyamotoMusashi]

Looking for more data points... do you both have pre-85 60s? Did you use the Planted brackets with your SM seats? Do they sit higher or lower than the worn-down OEM seats/foam? Was there any cutting required (floor or seat supports)? Thanks!

I have a 1990 62. Planted seat brackets. Mine sit a little lower. The seats were plug and play with the Planted seat brackets.

 

[poptart]

Scheel Man seats are worth it.

View attachment 2555111

I only cried once. Yes a significant expenditure but great investment in my back health. Previousl I installed new OEM foam in both buckets. That was ok but not on long hauls. Last 13 hour road trip with the Scheels to Jimmy's Barn felt great the entire round trip. It is as close to an "adjustment" you can get with a seat as to seem to put my spine in perfect alignment. True you can't adjust height but they setup perfect for me. It was hard to pull that trigger but zero regrets.

View attachment 2554491

@iCruiser & @MiyamotoMusashi what models did you go with and where did you order them from? How was mounting accomplished and if you don't mind me asking ballpark price for the pair? Was looking at getting some corbeau's but those scheel-mann's look gucci af.

 

[NearJetties]

What’d you use for brackets for the scheel-manns?

 

[MiyamotoMusashi]

@poptart I have the Traveler F series with drivers side arm rest. I was looking at the Vario F but really didn't feel like I needed it. The difference is that the Vario allows adjustments of the seat position to support your thighs better. The Traveler works well for me. The 'F' means shorter bolsters. Makes it easier to get in and out of the vehicle.
Mine are mounted on Planted Seat Brackets. They're plug and play.
I'm lucky because there is a Scheel-Man dealer in Portland Oregon which made it a lot easier to make the decision to buy them. I got to sit in them and try different models.

The price...well it's a lot. But I'm taking it on a cross country trip real soon and I'm really glad I have them