New seats (aka: Thanks Ross!)

[Blown353]

I've been looking for better seats for quite a long time. While my factory buckets looked great they offered absolutely no lateral support in turns which made the car very akward to drive hard. I had my mind set on Recaro Sports in 2-tone (suede bolsters with black/grey seating surfaces) but thanks to a timely visit to the For Sale section here I snagged some new in box Recaro SRD's from Ross (hapevo on the board here.) Ross, you're the man.

After some modifications to the Wedge Engineering seat brackets (I had to move a couple tabs and added some additional gusseting, I wasn't happy with the flex in them) they're now installed along with a new set of Morris Classic 3 point retractables.

Hands down, this is without a doubt one of the best mods I've ever done to the car. The seats are very supportive (almost restrictive actually) and extremely comfortable. No more sliding around on the stock buckets in hard turns, in fact, now that I'm held in firmly I have a much, much better feel for the car during corners and I'm shocked just how communicative the car feels now that I'm relaxed and not hanging on for dear life as I was in the stock buckets. The Morris seatbelts are nice pieces too, unlike the factory fixed 3-points I can actually lean forward now to change the A/C or use the stereo!

They look nice too. :)

Only drawback: without a tilt column (or removeable steering wheel) it's somewhat of a contortion act to get in and out of the driver's seat without dragging myself all over the bolsters. I can do it but it's an akward balancing act performed on the heel of my right foot and my left hand rested on the door sill. I'm considering what to do for this little issue, leaning towards the quick-release wheel as the stock straight column is perfect for me and I don't like the extra "stuff" to wear in a tilt column. Anyone have suggestions for a GOOD steering wheel release?

http://home.comcast.net/~swedish_chef/stuff/ForumStuff/seat1small.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~swedish_chef/stuff/ForumStuff/seat2small.jpg

I think I'm going to go out driving again and find some hard turns. :)

[CarlC]

I have a similar problem getting in/out of the car. This works best for me:

1) Lean into the cabin and place your right hand on the passenger seatback bolster. Grab the steering wheel with your left. You should now be bent at the waist and looking down at the drivers seat.

2) With your chest facing toward the steering wheel, start bending your right knee to almost a 90* angle while slipping your leg under the steering wheel. Your left foot should be close to the car and will carry most of your weight.

3) As your right foot starts to go for the throttle pedal, swing your hips over the seat bolster and drop into the seat.

Try it a few times, it works very well for me. I have a very hard time getting into the car any other way.

You can do the same to get out. It too is much easier than the normal way.