body and interior cross country drive, recomend me some seats

[freedo]

driving my 76 from delware to monterey california for the 100 years of bmw in august.  right now im currently running a corbeu passenger seat and a aluminum bucket seat.  not very comfortable for a hour drive, let alone days of driving. color matching the interior doesnt matter.  all i need is for them to be comfy but not look super out of place (ex big bolstered reclining seats).  prefer reclining seats for roadside naps.  also not looking to spend and arm and a leg.  willing to make slightly custom brackets for the seat bottoms to bolt to the factory seat rails as long as it doesnt make the seat sit high (ex porsche 911 seats). let me know your recommendations and hope to see a bunch of you in august!

 

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

 

Untitled by tim wilson, on Flickr

[jgerock]

Are you going to change out that super loud side exit exhaust?  Does your car still have a 4 speed tranny?

 

Someday I'm going to make the cross country drive in my tii.  I made it as far as NW Arkansas in 2010.

[2002Scoob]

Honestly, good condition stockers are pretty damn comfy for road trips. I haven't been able to try my Recaros on super long drives, but can't imagine em being too bad either.

[adawil2002]

I drove cross country last year from Brunswick Maine to Eureka Springs Arkansas for the Mid America '02 Fest 2015 and then out to the Brisbane Marina show in South San Francisco then back to Maine. Took 3 weeks, 2 weeks out due to the show schedule and one week back.

 

Doing the Monterey trip in August in Athena, my 3.0 CSi, yes we are driving the whole way.

 

Regarding seats, stock seats are good if you aren't sitting on springs. Recaros are usually an upgrade, your current seats look wholly uncomfortable for anything other than racing or rally cross.

[freedo]

1 hour ago, jgerock said:

Are you going to change out that super loud side exit exhaust?  Does your car still have a 4 speed tranny?

 

Someday I'm going to make the cross country drive in my tii.  I made it as far as NW Arkansas in 2010.

Still has a 4 spd. Will have a new ansa exhaust on it by then

[freedo]

42 minutes ago, 2002Scoob said:

Honestly, good condition stockers are pretty damn comfy for road trips. I haven't been able to try my Recaros on super long drives, but can't imagine em being too bad either.

My stockers were trashed. Dont want to spend the money to recondition them as i will never use them again. Want something with a bit of bolsters for daily driving. 

[freedo]

12 minutes ago, adawil2002 said:

I drove cross country last year from Brunswick Maine to Eureka Springs Arkansas for the Mid America '02 Fest 2015 and then out to the Brisbane Marina show in South San Francisco then back to Maine. Took 3 weeks, 2 weeks out due to the show schedule and one week back.

 

Doing the Monterey trip in August in Athena, my 3.0 CSi, yes we are driving the whole way.

 

Regarding seats, stock seats are good if you aren't sitting on springs. Recaros are usually an upgrade, your current seats look wholly uncomfortable for anything other than racing or rally cross.

Been daily driving these seats for almost a year. They are bearable for trips under a hour. Atleast thats what i think anyway lol

[SteveJ]

Back in the day I got a set of Flofit seats. They were cheaper Recaro knock-offs. Pretty comfy for doing runs up and down California. 

As was said, good condition stock seats are not bad. I'd recommend putting in a few stretch breaks during the run and not just fuel stops. Get out, breathe the local air, have an ice cream sandwich. Enjoy the trip.

[theNomad]

I put 1st gen Miata seats (reupholstered them) in mine but had to make some simple angle iron brackets. Remove the back support foam and they grip surprisingly well (depending on your body size)

 

$200 ebay seats? They should work for that trip and make a decent "mancave" option afterwards. I sat in some in an e30 I test drove. Stiff padding but decent enough (sit on a pillow?). The reclining mech is weak supposedly but should last. 

 

Or, get honda prelude, or 1st gen integra seats from the wrecker for $50 each. Get a nice hawaiian print seat covers and go!

Edited May 30, 2016 by theNomad

[hynrgee]

I just did a cross country trip in a 4 speed 2002. Wasn't too bad except for the sound. Ear plugs helped. Definitely agree on the 5 speed if you can swing it. When I bought the car the Recaros were ripped in multiple places. The timing of my travel did not allow me to install new seats so I risked $250 at a local upholstery shop. Very glad I did that as the seats were night and day different at a modest cost. If you can locate similar used Recaros between now and August, you may be able to get very good seats at less than $500 total. I found that I needed to fill my fuel tank every 270 to 280 miles. Of course, an extra gallon or two in the trunk is nice security. Regardless, I found that the fuel stops coincided with my body's need to stretch and exercise as well as occasionally eat, though I kept a cooler with sandwiches on the passenger seat. Getting up before dawn to take advantage of all available light also meant I could drive 14 to 16 hour days. I did not want to be on the road at night even with help from fog lights. While I did my best to avoid toll roads, I couldn't escape them. Toll booths in Oklahoma at night are a mystery I never solved. I admit to having driven right through some and am still expecting a photograph and a hefty ticket in the mail as would happen in California. Oh, and try to avoid Mississippi roads. The roads I experienced there were poorly maintained so you'll really appreciate Recaros.

Edited May 30, 2016 by hynrgee

[adawil2002]

Oklahoma was the worst state I traveled through due to the tolls mentioned by hyngree, so carry plenty of change. Fuel is a pain to pump in CA due to the vapor recovery system.

[theNomad]

August will be dead summer heat so if you take the southern route youll be in desert for a looooong time. Better travel with water for the car and a constant drip on your head.

Middle route may be slightly better. Youll go over the rockies so may need to recalibrate the carb on the long haul up. Have good brakes for the way down too!  Beautiful though. 

You can always pick up some high density foam for seat and back for extra when youve got to cruise on crappy roads. I can feel every expansion joint in my car

Good luck!