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Late Model VW seats in a Roadster?

3K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  jrhopkins 
#1 ·
Okay, I'm going to sound perhaps like a bit of a heretic for just a minute but hear me out. Both front seats in our '80 450SL are in fair shape but could use some work and/or replacement. They are original black leather. I am rather tall at 6' 8" and the flattened down driver's seat works quite well for me. I fear if the seats are returned to new condition, I may not fit in the car anymore. I am looking at replacing them. One idea I had was to get Recaro seats custom fit, but that priced out at around $2k a seat and the work had to be done in Seattle. All last winter I test drove new model VW cars - Golf, Golf GTI, Jetta, Passat, Hybrid, EV, etc., and found the seats to be quite comfortable. Also, they are not real "puffy", so I sat low and fit the seats and the cars quite well. Question: Has anyone fitted late model VW seats into their Roadster? Any other mods in this area that have been found to work well? BTW, we also drove brand new Bentley Continentals & GTCs. 600+ hp W-12 engines. Now that was fun..., but another story! Thanks for your help.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Some info here: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r-c107-sl-slc-class/2143953-seat-swaps.html

I am fairly tall but not as tall as you. The problem you will run into is that the seat installation height is dictated by the frame crossmember under it. You are right that an as-new standard seat will steal precious headroom because of its thickness. The Recaro-type seats I installed look low-profile but I had to delete the slider mechanism to gain some headroom.

Another problem is that most modern seats have power adjustments, that will require complicated electrical mods to adapt to the 107.
 
#5 ·
I am a mere 6'6" and I thought I had it bad. If I have my hard top on, I have to drive with my head canted to one side. I wouldn't mind swapping out my seats also, but I'm not sure that there is any extra space to gain regardless of the seat type. Since I am the only person who drives my car (and I have no plans to part with it), I thought about eliminating the slider mechanism altogether and mounting the seats directly to the floor. Might gain a little?
 
#19 ·
yeh, I basically just made some flat plates ( 1/4" steel) that mounted to the same holes as the original seat brackets. I didn't want to modify the original seat brackets or drill holes in the frame without knowing what was on the backside. I made them wide so as to allow plenty of room for the Saab seat brackets to be mounted.
used some heavy cardboard to make mock ups first and then used them for patterns. the rear mount is high on the inside to attach the armrest to. the front one extends over the frame cross member to attach to the mounting holes in the frame.
 

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#22 ·
got the idea after seeing your seats. :wink. turned out pretty good IMO. it took a while to find some seats. not many Saabs being parted out and scrap yards want a lot for them. picked up the 2 seats for $100.
can't make it to AZ. that's a 2 day drive for me :frown. if you ever go to Seattle that's a closer drive:grin.
 
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