Seat Mod's - 59 Bugeye Sprite

[59sprite]

Hi,

1st of all im brand new to these forums so hi to everyone.

I've just bought myself a 59 model Bugeye sprite of a very good friend who rebuilt the car. The only problem is, i'm a bit taller than my friend and i'd like to have the seat position lower and further back in the car.

I read on the net somewhere about reclining the original seats a little... but has anyone found another seat ( for example capachino seats ) that would fit in and be more comfortable??

Thanks
Luke.
Here r some pics of my sprite...
Bugeye

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Luke,
I can't answer your question but I'm sure someone will.
Welcome to the forum. You have a very nice, AND interesting car.
Regards,
D

 

[59sprite]

Thanks Dave,
Yes my best friend who built this car ( he was actually my technic's teacher at school ) did a great job i think. Some people don't like the fact its running a A15 motor, but hey, this bugeye has some poke!!

Great to be a part of these forums! Love your ride - Out of my price range hehe

Luke

 

[GreenHornet]

I was going to suggest a smaller steering wheel before I saw the nice pictures of yer Sprite. I am 6'1'' and have a tough time squeezing into,and out of, my 59 Bugeye. I looked at some seats from a catalog from Summitt Racing. They are one piece units, with not much padding though. If you eliminated the rail and hard mounted them they would sit lower and you might be able to get them to lean back a bit more. Problem I saw was there just is not enough room to really make that much of a difference, to me. I kept my original seats. Once in there is enough room for me to sit quite comfortably. Course that is a subjective thing. Good luck!!

 

[Cottontop]

Luke,

I put MGB seats in my big Healey, but it doesn't look as if you have as much room as I did.

The MGB seats have 3" thick foam back and bottom pads. The bottom foam rides on a "trampoline" sheet of rubber.

These seats are VERY comfortable !

I'll be glad to measure my seats and send you the dimensions.

You can see pictures of my seats in the write-up on my car at

https://ntahc.org/modifiedhealeys/Photos/1Moran/FullStoryAll1.html

Tim

 

[aeronca65t]

Welcome Luke:
That's a nice Bugeye!
Is that a Lenham nose on it?
Obviously your car has had an engine swap...that looks like a Datsun engine (is that what it is?)
Most of us in the US will not be familar with FIAT Cappachino seats since that car is not imported to this country (but there are some Euro, Aussie and NZ members that may have an idea).
Honestly, the problem isn't the seat...it's the bulkhead behind the seat which does not allow the seat to be moved back any further. Bugeye seats are quite thin...the only thing thinner are the one-piece fiberglass racing seats (I have one in my racer, but it would be awful in a street car...my racer also has a lowered floorpan under the seat, but this is also impractical for street use).
I have seen Mazda MX5 (Miata) seats in Sprites, but they are a bit thicker than the standard seat and would push you forward somewhat. The only simple solution may be to put spacer blocks under the front part of the Bugeye seat rails (the mounts). This will incline you back somewhat.
By the way, most of the folks in this Austin Healey Forum are owners of "big" Healeys. If you go to the "Spridgets" forum, you will see more discussion about Sprites and Midgets.
Again, welcome!

 

[healey_100_s]

contact Ray English , he's in country Victoria and considered "Mr Sprite" in Australia. He puts out a quarterly magazine on bugeyes and I do recall he published the article on how to modify standard seats to recline somewhat. He may have other suggestions too.
I dont have his details off hand but im sure if you did a google search on his name or the magazine 'Marque One' , im sure youll find him.

Dimitri

 

[zblu]

I used saas seats with the trampoline bottom webbing as cootontop described, chocked the front of em up and now the drive position is better

 

[59sprite]

THanks guys for posting some ideas for me. I will check out your ideas and get back to you with my results.

There is still so much i have to learn about this car!! Its an amazing machine! Robbo ( my mate and design and tech teacher at school ) who built the car did a fantastic job. The motor is a Nissan A15 with big cam, twin webbers and a very good tune. This bugeye has some punch /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif