seating options revisited

So the car now runs, which means it is time to find something else to waste money on.

Being the sturdy chap that I am, and having benefited from an American diet for the last several years, I'm finding the stock seats a little compact and bijou.

Or to put it another way - I've gotten so lardy that they aren't giving me enough lumbar and upper back support.

The options for replacement that I've heard about are:

1. Miata seats
2. The CJ seats that someone on LI posted pics of a while back
3. Early Porsche seats
4. BMW E30 seats (istr) fit too.

Does anyone who has any of these care to point out the pros and cons.

TIA, Alan

Early Miata seats had speakers in the headrests...

Miata seats are the only way to go. Mine do not have speakers in them but they are available.
The seats look natural in the car, wip lash protection, VERY comfortable. If you are "thick" you will find they sit up about an inch and can affect thigh room. I went to a 14" steering whell and all is good, but stock is 15"
Look in the archives there is a bunch on the forum about this subject.
The biggest drawback is you need to make brackets for the seats or buy from a ebay UK vendor named simonabh.

I have a 14.
I'm seriously considering a 13.

You forgot your 5th option. Keep the original seats and start walking.

Alan,

I went down this road and actually acquired and tested Miata, Fiero, BMW M3 E30 Recarros, Porsche 911SC, Porsche 914, Porsche 930, Porsche Boxter/996, Corbeau Classic & Corbeau Clubman.

My conclusions were the BMW E30 seats were the most comfortable but definitely a high seating position, the Porsche 930 were the nicest quality but were not as narrow as it tapered up the back and would potentially cause a problem with my cage (Boxter/996 too high off the floor),the 914 seats pivot/tilt and really wasn't impressed, the Fiero just didn't feel right, the Corbeau Clubmans probably great on the track but not as a daily driver, the Corbeau Classics the best looking and reasonably comfortable and finally the Miata (I have leather M-Sport seats) were quite honestly the best trade-off of comfort, support, quality and ease of mounting.

I have modified the conventional mounting brackets slightly by reducing the height of the front allowing the seat to still clear the floor and get it a little lower. Still higher than I would like but with a 14" wheel it poses no problems for my height/build. I am still looking for a discontinued set of Cobeau GT8's to try as they may be the answer. But for now, I'm completely satisfied with the Miata install and they are Safety Harness compatible.

Oh, I also looked into seats from https://www.classiccarseats.com/ which makes very nice replica racing seats from Porsches of the past. They looked great and could certainly be made to work but quite honestly they were priced higher than I liked. No matter what I was buying, it was needing to be reskinned in matching leather to the rest of my interior.

Dave

Thanks Dave, that was exactly what I was looking for.
How's the conversion going?

Alan,

Mechanically it's all dialed in. Just got it back yesterday from the guy who fab'd my roll cage and I finally get to pick up all the bolt ons (fenders, hood, trunk, doors) from the paint shop next week. I should have her on the road by the end of March.

I've been pulling in all my owed favors on this project to keep the costs in line but it has totally screwed my timing. I truthfully planned on having it on the road last spring. I still don't have a definitive time when my interior gal (does my airplane stuff) is going to be able to squeeze it in but I'll still be drivin' it sans the soft stuff.

The only thing left to figure out is how and where to place the snaps on the rear shelf lip for the top. I converted it over to an early TR4 top that stores in the trunk rather than having the big assembly sitting behind me. I thought I'd modify some of the TR4 bright trim that was used but it really wasn't going to work out. I've got a guy that thinks he can make a stainless surround bent to follow the curvature to cover the area (lip) on the TR6 and rivet the snaps to but he needs the car for a week or so to try and I haven't been able to get it over. I'm also going to modify the TR4 bows to split apart in the middle and slide into receivers on the side panels rather than having them bolted in. Much like a Bugeye or TR3. Don't ever plan to be out in the weather but want some type of minimalist protection if it happens.

Dave

Paul Tegler,

www.teglerizer.com actually removes part of the Miata seat so they can go all the way back, and drops the seat bottom an inch.

https://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/miataseats/index.html

I am going the Miata route as well.

Steve

71 MKIV "Jehu"