e30 sport seats into 71 510

[porscha356]

I am attempting to put e30 seats into a 510 without too much hassle, but I do expect some, after all this is another 510 conversion.  They are endless.......  Does anyone out there have some insight as to the best solution?  Seating height, distance from the pedals, attachment to the floor, all are important and need to be considered.

 

I don't want to cut the structural brace (important) that currently is the front mount because a casual placement of the e30 behind it on the floor, at full forward, seemed to allow me plenty of room for pedal adjustment.  I am 5'8" and it looks like I can push further back if the seat is mounted just behind the brace.

 

Ride height behind the brace would most likely affect relationship to the steering wheel, hand position and ability to see the gauges and work the controls.  It would be nice if another person could adjust things to their liking as well.

 

Of course, the seat needs to be securely fastened to the floor.  Can this be done without welding in special mounting towers and the like?  Has someone fabricated anything that would work universally?  

 

Thanks for any input.

 

 

[datzenmike]

Type "240 seats into a 510" into the search engine. It's the first answer that come up. Get used to using the search it is easy and often has the answer or points the way.

[shacks510]

http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?t=24538

[datzenmike]

That too...

 

[flatcat19]

SPOOOOOOOOON!!!

[LenRobertson]

porcha356 - I for one appreciate you posting this question. One of the things I really dislike about my 510 is the worn out stock seats. I have a pair of unknown make buckets to put in, but  some of the seat replacement articles I've read involve cutting and welding. Which I may need to do for these seats, but the link shacks510 posted at least raises the possibility I can get by with just re-drilling holes.

 

As for searching for an answer, using a search engine is one of my least favorite thing to do. And I know it is because I'm inept at using search engines. A least using the Ratsun search doesn't bring up a bunch of hits with companies trying to sell me crap or expired eBay listings like a regular Google search does. But even searching Ratsun usually brings up several pages of everyone's build threads that may or may not be relevant to what I'm looking for. And then I always get distracted reading their entire build thread cause they are doing some cool project. :lol:

 

Anyway,  thanks to your question I'm going to measure the mounting studs on the seats I have and see if I can get them to fit. I'm

 

Len

[porscha356]

In response to Len, I too have read most of the articles posted and most involve welding or fabrication of some sort.  Regarding the post where only holes are drilled into the original mounting brackets and the e30 seats are simply bolted to them.  Well, it's easy, but when you position the seats on the rails they sit up pretty high and it just doesn't look or feel right.

 

I have removed the original brackets, then placed the seats just behind the structural brace.  This looks more original but it seems to me that the position of the seat bottom cushion will be too low to operate the controls effectively.  In the one post where this is addressed, the one with the black e30 seats, it looks as if he fabricated separate bracket towers for each bolt of the bottom rail, 4 in all.  I was wondering if someone has done this without welding brackets into the floor of the car.  Also. whether a general height of the individual brackets was used, something that would accommodate more than one body type rather than simply a single driver.

 

I don't mind drilling holes as anchor points, but a permanent, non removable welded platform might create future problems as this car is very original and hasn't been cut in any way.  I have owned it since 1980 as the second owner.  All the modifications I am doing, from suspension to driveline, are being done with the intention of allowing the car to remain original, at least to the casual observer.  I am retaining all the original bits removed, just in case they are needed down the road.

[Draker]

There are lots of people that have installed these seats in their car. I too do not like to hack up the floors to install seats. Preferably anything installed in the car can be removed and the car will still be very much original. 

 

I would get the seats, remove the rails if they sit too high. Find some other rails that are more low profile that fit your needs then make brackets that bolt to the stock seat risers.

[datzenmike]

 

As for searching for an answer, using a search engine is one of my least favorite thing to do. And I know it is because I'm inept at using search engines. A least using the Ratsun search doesn't bring up a bunch of hits with companies trying to sell me crap or expired eBay listings like a regular Google search does. But even searching Ratsun usually brings up several pages of everyone's build threads that may or may not be relevant to what I'm looking for. And then I always get distracted reading their entire build thread cause they are doing some cool project. :lol:

 

 

I do agree but with use comes confidence and skill. It is easier the more you use it. You can also use Google search but put Ratsun in the title and it searches only ratsun threads. Another trick is to vary the search words or come at it from a different direction. If it's been done or tried we probably have something about it on file.

[GoGoGo]

I can take some pics of my install. Just drilled the stock brackets and trimmed the risers of the E30 seats and filled the gap with the minimal amount of washers so that the seats will still slide forward and backwards. Seats are much much more comfortable that the stocks ones and look very similar to the rear seats. No new holes were drilled in the floor or any other part of the 510. Fit me well and I'm 5-10 and 140lbs. 

[qwik510]

I can take some pics of my install. Just drilled the stock brackets and trimmed the risers of the E30 seats and filled the gap with the minimal amount of washers so that the seats will still slide forward and backwards. Seats are much much more comfortable that the stocks ones and look very similar to the rear seats. No new holes were drilled in the floor or any other part of the 510. Fit me well and I'm 5-10 and 140lbs.

 

Yes. Please post up some pics.