replacement seat experience anybody?

[timspider]

I've read through a thread on seats and got some decent info to research.
I'm looking for firm but comfortable for a long drive, and hopefully something that comes in a light tan color.
My main question is has anybody found a good seat that simply bolts in to the spider mounts without the need for an adapter?
I have not seen anything like that and am wondering if it exists.
thanks

[speedracer]

I've read that Miata seats are a good fit, although they can sit higher than a stock Fiat seat.

Just a thought though - I think even the worst stock seats can be brought back to life and it would be easier than trying to find a different car seat that fits. A good interior man could straighten, strengthen, re-cushion and recover your stock seats for a decent price, and then you don't have to worry about the fit or looks of a different seat. A newly reconditioned Fiat seat is pretty comfortable IMO...

[timspider]

that gives me something to think about. I don't hate these seats, and color wise, they match the door panels and package seat, which I like. My drivers seat is starting to develop a tiny lean to the left, and some of the piping on the upholstery ripped off when I was getting it out for carpet and heater core work.
I'm guessing a good body shop would have an interior guy?
Or is it a specialty kind of thing?
Seems like a pretty simple seat- maybe I could do it? Or does it require special tools and expertise?
thanks much for weighing in

[mpollock]

They're not cheap, but Spider-point.com now has NEW fiat seats. For my car I'm going to go the route of updating the originals. I'm not against updating the car when it makes sense, but I haven't seen any replacement seats that look right in the Spider. I'm going to remove the upholstery, fix the torn metal, weld in steel tubing to stiffen the structure, and then cover with good quality upholstery that's available as standard items from a number of Fiat vendors and upholstery shops.

[timspider]

cool, thanks for that.
anyone know of any seat vendors in the US?

[SunnySideUp]

This outfit has some nice looking seats - not sure if any would fit a Spider and they are a bit pricey: http://www.classiccarseats.com/index.php

[81SPIDERMATT]

This outfit has some nice looking seats - not sure if any would fit a Spider and they are a bit pricey: http://www.classiccarseats.com/index.php

wow ... pricey is right ... 5601 monte carlo black leather are my favorite .... more than I paid for the car though ... dare to dream

another vote for redoing stock seats

[speedracer]

I'm guessing a good body shop would have an interior guy?
Or is it a specialty kind of thing?
Seems like a pretty simple seat- maybe I could do it? Or does it require special tools and expertise?
thanks much for weighing in

I'd take it to a interior specialist. They would have the know how, tools and materials that it would take to fix the seat properly and make it look nice to.

I guess you could try it yourself. You probably can't make it worse, and if you can't fix it, you can bring it to a specialist then...

[JEEPER]

that gives me something to think about. I don't hate these seats, and color wise, they match the door panels and package seat, which I like. My drivers seat is starting to develop a tiny lean to the left, and some of the piping on the upholstery ripped off when I was getting it out for carpet and heater core work.
I'm guessing a good body shop would have an interior guy?
Or is it a specialty kind of thing?
Seems like a pretty simple seat- maybe I could do it? Or does it require special tools and expertise?
thanks much for weighing in

It wasn't cheap. $250.00 to take my drivers seat apart and weld the structure back together and add new steel. The guy said the pan is sheet metal and it was cracked in 5 places. I had about a 3" lean from putting my but on the far side and sliding into the car. It is a 79 that I bought new with 20,000 miles on. It feels like a new seat.

[mpollock]

Another replacement option I have seen is the Scat Pro 90 available at JC Whitney. They look like they are about the right size, but I have not seen them installed in a car. Anyone out there have these?


http://www.jcwhitney.com/scat-pro-90-co ... 7d2181u0j1

[spidernut]

I can tell by the depth of the seat and the angle of the seat that it would not work in the Spider. The floor rails where the seats mount on the Spider are already at a sharp angle. This seat bottom would also be too thick and put your legs too close to the steering wheel.

You can get a seat upholstery kit from http://www.worlduph.com for a fairly reasonable price. They have a less expensive front seat kit (no back seats) if that is all you need. Many, including me, have purchased from them and are happy with their purchase.

It can be installed by a do-it-yourselfer, but you will have to remove the seat upholstery you have now looking at how it went together, then install the new upholstery. It isn't terribly difficult. You might be able to find an upholstery shop that would install them for you, but most don't like installing other people's upholstery kits.

If you take the time to uninstall your existing upholstery yourself, the welding job to fix the seat will be less expensive as will the upholstery work. If you're not the mechanical type you should pay to have the seat fixed at an upholstery shop not a body shop.

[timspider]

excellent stuff- thanks guys- I had seen the JC Whitney site as well, but wasn't sure what might fit the spider. I'm good with breathing life back into mine. I'm really good at destruction so if that can save me a few bucks with the upholsterer, so much the better.
thanks again

[fiat124v8]

I have seen Acura Integra front seats mounted in a 124 Coupe - they looked very good there and were designed by Recaro. Not sure how they would look in the Spider though - unless perhaps the headrest were changed / customized as Spider (and Coupe) seats are so short and a little rounded like the Spider body itself.

I have used upholstery dye - about $12 - $15 per can with excellent success on both vinyl and leather. Cloth materials tend to soak it up, so I do not recommend it on that.

"Late Model" '79-85 Spiders are said to have slightly sturdier frames and they do have more backrest contour and support.

John / Kansas City, MO

[ClarkTheShark]

Im in the market for seats too. I saw a post on here with a guy installing corbeau seats. I really like these:

http://www.amazon.com/Corbeau-100%25-Bl ... ts+corbeau

And they make a seat that's very similar to the stock seats:

http://www.amazon.com/Corbeau-Sport-Bla ... beau+sport


Anyone had any experience with these? This is last thing I need for my 79.

[v6spider]

I'm using the black pineapple cloth seats out of an 89 firebird. I removed the stock fiat seat rails from the floorboard. Then modified the firebird seat rails to get the height and tilt angle I wanted.

Rob