seat rails.

What sets your Spider apart from the rest?
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larsen

seat rails.

Post by larsen »

but... my mom who happens to be only 5'4'' doesnt really reach the pedals comfortabley even when the seat is at the end of its tracks. since she is going to be using this car as a daily driver (id hardly call her driving "daily" though) i would like to somehow move the rails forward. i havent looked at it yet, but is it simple enough that i can just remove the seat unbolt the reails and drill new holes closer?
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spidernut
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Post by spidernut »

The seat rails are held on with bolts that use an allen wrench. Look at the front and back of each seat rail track and you'll see the bolts inside the track itself. I'm not sure you can move the track forward. If you mount it further toward the front of the vehicle, the bolt will still be in the way of the seat mechanism (I believe...can't check it because my car is 8,000 miles from me in the U.S.A.). You might want to check the mounts to the seat. They may be able to be moved, but you'll need to ensure you can move the seat far enough back for you too.

Another option is to switch it with Honda CRX seats. I hear that works quite nicely.
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
mbouse

Post by mbouse »

my kids' mom (MY WIFE) is only 5' tall when she wears three pair of wool socks.

her '78 Spider seat travels far enough forward to allow her to reach the pedals just fine. in fact, she has full travel in this seat as the factory intended.

i offer that the existing rails for your driver's seat are dirty, and the grease that a previous owner used has caked to a near glue state. the rails no longer fully extend to the extreme forward position because of the accumulated gunk.

take the seat/rail off the car as described above, remove the rails from the seat, and soak them for about a day in mineral spirits. then get an old tooth brush and scrub the 20+ years of accumulated gunk out of the rails.

dry thoroughly, then apply some oil and reassemble.

then, happy motoring MOM!!
mdrburchette
Posts: 5754
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:49 am
Your car is a: 1972 Fiat 124 Sport
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Post by mdrburchette »

Ditto what Mike said. I'm slightly on the short side and have no problem. :D
larsen

Post by larsen »

thanks, ill go look at that soon. it seemed like it should move futher forward.
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