Seat swap database

[86aggie]

I spent about 6 months trying to find BMW 3 series locally/regionally. Then I came across LKQ.com . They have yards all over the country. You can search by mftr and model - drilling down, or broader searches, if you play with their search engine. I got two 2008 335 all power, heated seats, with both sides of the harness, delivered, for a little over $400. Shipping is a flat rate, whether the parts come across the country or across town. No, you can't pick up yourself. You can see pictures of the seats and they will verify condition before you commit.

 

[Bonac FJ60]

I put the smittybilt sport contour seats in my 60. They have holes in the bottom that line up perfectly with the 60 rails. Mine was built 4/‘86 so not sure of any model year differences. You need to secure them to the rails with a bolt & nut which is a little tricky, but very doable. The seats are very comfortable and semi-waterproof, and clean up easily with just a damp rag.
They are a bit pricey, but if you watch them on amazon like I did, you can usually buy one at a time for cheap. They retail for $278.99 and I got one of them for $150 because it has been returned and the box was damaged. I think I paid $170 for the other one as a single. Still cheaper than buying new foams and fabric and recovering the 60 seats, to still be left with a seat that’s going to give you a numb ass after 20 min.
Go to the link and read reviews for pics in my truck
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CF1WNG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_EAzvCbGEEPND8

 

[87CRUSR]

Having invested significant time, materials and $$$ redoing the stock seats, some custom brackets allowing more legroom adjustment would be a great improvement.
Wonder if any of our forum mod designers have this as a potential future project or wish list item?
@TRAIL TAILOR @NLXTACY

 

[NLXTACY]

Having invested significant time, materials and $$$ redoing the stock seats, some custom brackets allowing more legroom adjustment would be a great improvement.
Wonder if any of our forum mod designers have this as a potential future project or wish list item?
@TRAIL TAILOR @NLXTACY

It’s been on my list for 18 months. Demand would be super small so motivation hasn’t been much

 

[Seth S]

I have zero interest in doing anything with my stock seats other than leaving them stock and replacing them with something better.

 

[joebattle1]

Corbeau Sport seats... they’re ok... about $1k and they bolt right in. They aren’t going to hold up to the sun for long though. Already starting to see some sun discoloring and they are only a year old. I also have a sweet pair of bimmer seats that I’ve been working on. I was going to sell them but now I’m thinking about keeping them. I found a new switch at the pick and pull last week for one of them and I’m going to weld up my own brackets for them. Who knows maybe after I get them all done up right I’ll sell them as a complete bolt in ready pair.

The bmw seats i'm working on that I may end up just selling...

 

[Beams37]

Corbeau Sport seats... they’re ok... about $1k and they bolt right in. They aren’t going to hold up to the sun for long though. Already starting to see some sun discoloring and they are only a year old. I also have a sweet pair of bimmer seats that I’ve been working on. I was going to sell them but now I’m thinking about keeping them. I found a new switch at the pick and pull last week for one of them and I’m going to weld up my own brackets for them. Who knows maybe after I get them all done up right I’ll sell them as a complete bolt in ready pair.

View attachment 1894959

View attachment 1894960

View attachment 1894961

I am looking at these same seats. I'm less worried about sun, as mine stays inside. Are they comfortable? Sit too high?

 

[dpr64]

I have PT cruiser seats and love them. I felt the initial install was easy, The height is an issue also though. I have some new brackets made and just need some time to mess with it.

For the current height, were the 60 sliders used only or were the PT Cruiser sliders utilized? What type of new brackets, etc. do you have made up for lowering them?

 

[joebattle1]

I am looking at these same seats. I'm less worried about sun, as mine stays inside. Are they comfortable? Sit too high?

I have yet to take a road trip in them as my rig has been down for more than a year. They are a welcome relief from the OEM seats. Those were killing my lower back. I'm only 5'10" so I don't have any clearance issues personally. They do sit a smidge taller than stock. So far I'm mostly happy with them. I think they look really good as well and the price isn't bad in my opinion.

 

[cruiser enthuiser]

Anyone know what these are? Jonathan Ward seems to use them in most of his Ikon builds (custom upholstered of course). They seem to fit the various FJ models quite well.

View attachment 1621688

View attachment 1621693

These look very similar to the Procar Elite's.

Those seats TLC uses look a lot like these Bestop Trailmax 2 seats I just picked up.

I posted info about them in my build thread but I’ll add it here too in case someone is interested in them.

Very easy to mount using the FJ60 sliding hardware and some simple homemade brackets.

Love the seats. Much more comfortable than the 3 series BMW seats I had previously. I’m planning to have them recovered and add seat heaters.

Cheers!
-Ed

 

[Seth S]

A good measurement to take on yourself is to sit on a flat surface with your back to a wall and measure from the flat surface to the top of your shoulders. I have a very tall torso and this distance on me is like 29” iirc maybe 30”. So that’s a good 4” longer than the average person and probably 6” more than the average Japanese driver that the fj60 seats seem to be designed for. So things like headrests, lumbar, and shoulder support in many seats is entirely in the wrong position.

 

[madvr6]

I put the smittybilt sport contour seats in my 60. They have holes in the bottom that line up perfectly with the 60 rails. Mine was built 4/‘86 so not sure of any model year differences. You need to secure them to the rails with a bolt & nut which is a little tricky, but very doable. The seats are very comfortable and semi-waterproof, and clean up easily with just a damp rag.
They are a bit pricey, but if you watch them on amazon like I did, you can usually buy one at a time for cheap. They retail for $278.99 and I got one of them for $150 because it has been returned and the box was damaged. I think I paid $170 for the other one as a single. Still cheaper than buying new foams and fabric and recovering the 60 seats, to still be left with a seat that’s going to give you a numb ass after 20 min.
Go to the link and read reviews for pics in my truck
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CF1WNG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_EAzvCbGEEPND8

How long ago did you buy them? I spent a bunch of time emailing a guy a smittybilt. I gathered from my conversations with him and pics and drawings he sent of the seat bottom, that they don’t bolt in as easily anymore. He said they changed the bolt hole layout on the bottom of the seat.He could have quit possibly been wrong however. I ended up not getting them because he said they wouldn’t work.

 

[Bonac FJ60]

@madvr6 I bought one in August and the second one around Christmas 2018. They probably told you they won’t fit because there are two sets of threaded holes on the bottom of the seat. Those do not line up with the 60 tracks. There is a third set of holes that are not theaded, that line up perfectly. You need to go to the hardware store and get some bolts about 1” long, washers, and nuts. The hard part is getting a wrench in to hold the nut while you tighten it down. I think I ended up taping the nut in the end of a gear wrench and wedging the wrench under the seat springs to hold it. A 3rd hand is helpful. I Thought I took pics of the installation but I can’t find them

 

[Bonac FJ60]

I found one pic from when I took one out of the box. Hard to tell but I tried to point out the holes to use. For the record these are SmittyBilt 49511 in Denim Gray which I think matches the Gray interior just fine

 

[cruisermatt]

I scored a pair of Subaru seats (Forrester/WRX/Impresa) for $40 each. They are super comfy and have fairly aggressive bolsters that really grip you in place that I’m sure will be nice for off-carver situations off road. However they were not even close to being bolt in, I was able to use one of the four original mounts per seat and had to build the other three. This did let me mount the seat about 2” taller then stock, and I like the taller seating position (I’m 5’8”). They also have a very large amount of travel, and I mounted them angled sort of down so my taller friends can fit because the seats lower when extended back.

However you won’t fit in these if you are fat

 

[ff347]

For the current height, were the 60 sliders used only or were the PT Cruiser sliders utilized? What type of new brackets, etc. do you have made up for lowering them?

I used the 60 sliders, have yet to come up with the final solution. The brackets I made were ok, but I still want the PT seats lower.
@cruisermatt
I think those look amazing.

 

[IslandJ]

I put the smittybilt sport contour seats in my 60. They have holes in the bottom that line up perfectly with the 60 rails. Mine was built 4/‘86 so not sure of any model year differences. You need to secure them to the rails with a bolt & nut which is a little tricky, but very doable. The seats are very comfortable and semi-waterproof, and clean up easily with just a damp rag.
They are a bit pricey, but if you watch them on amazon like I did, you can usually buy one at a time for cheap. They retail for $278.99 and I got one of them for $150 because it has been returned and the box was damaged. I think I paid $170 for the other one as a single. Still cheaper than buying new foams and fabric and recovering the 60 seats, to still be left with a seat that’s going to give you a numb ass after 20 min.
Go to the link and read reviews for pics in my truck
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CF1WNG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_EAzvCbGEEPND8

Would you mind taking close up shots of how the seat bolts in? I have a 9/85' but suspect the seat mounts changed between 85' and 86'.

 

[madvr6]

I found one pic from when I took one out of the box. Hard to tell but I tried to point out the holes to use. For the record these are SmittyBilt 49511 in Denim Gray which I think matches the Gray interior just fine

View attachment 1895940

Thanks, that is the part number I was talking to him with and looks like the seat bottom pic he sent me. I guess he just was referring to the threaded holes.
Any chance you can measure the height of the front of the seat with it all the way back for reference? I found a set of PT cruiser seats that pretty much just bolted in, but the upper back support is pretty weak. They are lower than the previous unknown seats I had in there, but still a bit high for me.

 

[madvr6]

Would you mind taking close up shots of how the seat bolts in? I have a 9/85' but suspect the seat mounts changed between 85' and 86'.

There is an “early floor”. Which I have.
I am 10/85 Manf. I think the brackets change from early floor to late floor, but seats stayed the same. If you have stock seats, you should be able to use the brackets on the smittybilt seats. This is the understanding that I got when searching for new seats, but I’m not 100% this is correct!

 

[cruisermatt]

I used the 60 sliders, have yet to come up with the final solution. The brackets I made were ok, but I still want the PT seats lower.
@cruisermatt
I think those look amazing.

Thanks. They come in a grey color that would match really nice but I can’t beg AND choose