Recaro mounting on stock sliders - adjuster handle interference

Otter74 · 06-30-2020, 05:38 PM

I got a pair of Recaros to put in my car - my research had told me that the stock sliders would bolt to the seats, so I didn't give any further thought to it until I started taking stuff out this evening. The bolt hole spacing is correct and the inside slider bolts right on, but the outside slider won't bolt on because the release mechanism for the handle interferes with the bottom of the seat (my seats are not these LSes but the underside of the cushion has the same protruding inner section as those shown at the top of this thread, sans the separate thigh bolster section:

Will these Recaro seats work in an SC?

I did look at flipping the adjusting slider over or using it on the opposite side with the handle facing out, but that won't work because it will hit either the body or the shifter.

I need about an inch of space before the slider will bolt on. It seems I can get a set of Recaro double-locking sliders, get an adapter/spacer (a square-section rail) to bolt the sliders to, or just get longer bolts and put spacers in.

If I follow the latter route (apparently seen in the fitment shown at the bottom of the above thread) do I need to space up the whole seat, or is it sufficient just to space up the front?

Among the adapter options (e.g. Wedge, etc.) do any markedly stand out for the better?

pampadori · pampadori's Garage

can you add some spacers under the front two mounting bolts to lift the seat and gain more clearance? What about modifying the adjuster so that it comes out further? might require welding to extend the adjuster but could be an option.

kbken62 · kbken62's Garage

I went to Ace Hardware and got some spacers. I’d recommend a 1/4” less spacer in the back to give the seat a slight more rake. I used 1/2” spacer and worked, but tight.

I will be changing the drivers side to double locking even though the stock ones work. The seat can move a little on the non-locking side and feels a little unstable.

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lelix · 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter74

I got a pair of Recaros to put in my car - my research had told me that the stock sliders would bolt to the seats, so I didn't give any further thought to it until I started taking stuff out this evening. The bolt hole spacing is correct and the inside slider bolts right on, but the outside slider won't bolt on because the release mechanism for the handle interferes with the bottom of the seat (my seats are not these LSes but the underside of the cushion has the same protruding inner section as those shown at the top of this thread, sans the separate thigh bolster section:

Will these Recaro seats work in an SC?

I did look at flipping the adjusting slider over or using it on the opposite side with the handle facing out, but that won't work because it will hit either the body or the shifter.

I need about an inch of space before the slider will bolt on. It seems I can get a set of Recaro double-locking sliders, get an adapter/spacer (a square-section rail) to bolt the sliders to, or just get longer bolts and put spacers in.

If I follow the latter route (apparently seen in the fitment shown at the bottom of the above thread) do I need to space up the whole seat, or is it sufficient just to space up the front?

Among the adapter options (e.g. Wedge, etc.) do any markedly stand out for the better?

You can swap sides and rotate the adjuster 180*(it will face the rear of the car) which will make it clear the seat. So drivers front will have the adjuster handle in the right rear corner of the seat with the lever facing "in" from the tunnel. It may seem like an awkward place for it but it works rather well...at least until you decide on the final position of the seat.

Otter74 · 06-30-2020, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbken62

I went to Ace Hardware and got some spacers. I’d recommend a 1/4” less spacer in the back to give the seat a slight more rake. I used 1/2” spacer and worked, but tight.

Thanks - sounds easy enough, and good tip on the tilt. I'll stop by the hardware store tomorrow and see what I can find.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lelix

You can swap sides and rotate the adjuster 180*(it will face the rear of the car) which will make it clear the seat. So drivers front will have the adjuster handle in the right rear corner of the seat with the lever facing "in" from the tunnel. It may seem like an awkward place for it but it works rather well...at least until you decide on the final position of the seat.

OK, I gotta admit that's the one swap/rotation I *didn't* think of. But the pan of the seat is symmetrical, so the locking mechanism is going to interfere with the pan in any position as long as the handle is pointed in.

lelix · 06-30-2020, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter74

Thanks - sounds easy enough, and good tip on the tilt. I'll stop by the hardware store tomorrow and see what I can find.

OK, I gotta admit that's the one swap/rotation I *didn't* think of. But the pan of the seat is symmetrical, so the locking mechanism is going to interfere with the pan in any position as long as the handle is pointed in.

Do you have a picture of your seats?

I've confirmed this to work with the LX-C/Specialist bases as well as with the D base(in picture). Installed in a 1980 SC.

kbken62 · kbken62's Garage

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MARISOL78sc · 07-01-2020, 02:52 AM

I had the same problem with clearance in my 1978 SC. I used Weltmeister (NLA) seat risers to fill the gap so the sliders would mount flush.

Mixed76 · 07-01-2020, 09:11 AM

I took a set of 25mm risers out of a 993 and was surprised to see the bolts only engaged with the mounting points about 2 turns. Not a good choice of bolt length.

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Otter74 · 07-02-2020, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lelix

Do you have a picture of your seats?

I've confirmed this to work with the LX-C/Specialist bases as well as with the D base(in picture). Installed in a 1980 SC.

Here’s a few pictures of my seats. Second photo shows the finger’s worth of difference between the plane of the mounting locations and the plans of the bottom of the seat pan.

MARISOL78sc · 07-02-2020, 09:35 AM

Otter74- that was exactly my problem. I bolted the seat risers to the seat to fill the gap and than the seat sliders to the bottom of the risers so they sat flush with the factory mounting points on the tub.

MARISOL78sc · 07-02-2020, 09:52 AM

Otter74. Here is a picture that shows seat, riser, and lastly slider mounted to the factory mounting points on the tub.

Otter74 · 07-02-2020, 11:01 AM

Thanks, Marisol. Where did you get your risers? I'm going to try to find something at a hardware store today. I'd love, love, love to get them in this weekend.

MARISOL78sc · 07-02-2020, 11:27 AM

I bought mine here on Pelican when they were still available. Someone posted a link on this forum of somebody who reproduces and sells on
Samba

damienb · damienb's Garage

I have Recaro LS's in my 1983 SC. They have the same base frame profile which caused all sorts of head-scratching with my stock sliders.

I didn't want to put in a riser as I like the seat as low as possible. I mounted the stock sliders so that the locking mechanism is outboard of the drivers seat. That means, for a LHD car, you use the passenger locking slider on the drivers seat.

There are two issues you will need to resolve if going down this path:
* By doing so the handle will foul the tunnel near the handbrake. I cut the handle and re-welded so that it points inwards. (To release, it now turns down instead of pulling up). Because my seats have the adjustable thigh support, I also had to add about an inch of length in the release rod so that the handle extended just far enough.
* The locking teeth are now visible outside of the seat. I covered these with a plastic sheath to tidy it up - same as what Recaro supply with their double locking 'outside' sliders - eg. https://www.maperformance.com/products/recaro-double-locking-slider-w-outside-release-bar-0-76-3

The cover doesn't quite fit perfectly. It's tapered and gets too narrow towards the rear so had to cut the last couple of inches off. I'm sure you can fab a neater solution than the plastic Recaro part. Or just leave it off but be careful the mechanism isn't catching on the carpet.

I actually tried the Recaro sliders linked above. Didn't quite work. I couldn't get full rearward movement due to the shape of the tunnel. Made it really difficult to access the front bolts.

I'm happy with the result. My key objective was to not introduce additional height into the mount and I've achieved that.

Otter74 · 07-03-2020, 11:30 AM

Damien, Thanks for that. I looked at mounting the rail backwards on the outside, and it hits the sill. It sort of fits on the inside, but I'd have to take the console out and it still may hit the shift tower. If I had a welder I could do what you did, but I don't think I could find someone to weld it on short notice.

Otter74 · 07-09-2020, 04:01 PM

Found a local Recaro dealer that stocked sliders, and could also make a bracket if needed. Decided to just get Recaro sliders and be done with it. Picked up a pair of inside-arm mounts after work today and....same problem. D'oh!! I should have known, or taken another look at the seat before I left for work this morning. Still need a spacer, or else a set of outside-arm mounts. Oops!

damienb · damienb's Garage

Pretty sure inside and outside mount sliders are identical. Just swap them over. You will just need the wider release bar.

Otter74 · 07-18-2020, 04:40 PM

Finally got the seat in. I kept the Recaro inside sliders I'd already gotten, and used 3x5mm washers and a longer bolt at each corner between the seat bottom and the slider, picked up at McMaster-Carr. The rearmost of the two mounting holes at the rear of each slider needs to be used, and when I lined the rails up on the floorpan the rear of the slider interfered with a weld at the rear of the seat mount, so I used a 5mm washer under the slider at each corner. No holes needed to be hogged out, but getting the first seat in was fiddly. The second one will go much more quickly. Sorry the photo is kind of crappy, but the lighting isn't very good in my garage. The seat puts your butt a bit lower than in the stock seats, which suits me fine.