Has anybody replaced/built new seat rails?

[JustinB]

In case you're thinking about the brackets, I am referring to the bits that are welded to the floor in the car.

Mine are essentially shit. I almost wouldn't feel right making them "right", so I'm asking any of you if there is any experience here in either transplanting rails from another car by cutting the spot welds and swapping, or entirely removing (or building within) them to form to another cars bracket dimensions (Perhaps an E30's)?

If nobody has any experience, are there any suggestions help ease the process of welding in/fabricating new ones?

[ToddK]

I've never done them in an 02, but I've fitted several in race cars. It's not very hard. Find a set of sliders that are for a car with a flat floor, with very lows seats. 914's and TR7's work great. Fieros are probably good as well. Build up the floor of the car so the mounting points are level. Weld cross pieces to the sliders, and drill holes where the seat bolts need to be. It's one of those deals where you have to look at it a while and it will come to you. Some times you will need to narrow the slider mechanism in order to get the seat bolts on the outside of the rails. The cars with original slider floor mounts that are at different heights can be a real PITA. VW Golf comes to mind. That is why it is easier to built risers on the floor to make everything level.

[JustinB]

E30's are floor mount too...and EVERYWHERE. Its even better that I can measure height off my own daily driver. Basically you're saying I might as well yank out the stock brackets, and make a box, or at least weld in two rectangular tubes cut to the floors shape on the bottom, and put in different floor mount sliders all the way up to the seat?

Though I'm sure you don't need the explanation, this is what I mean by not a solid box from the front to rear. Built stout enough it would probably be just as HD or more than a solid rise in the floor -

I hope he doesnt mind, but this picture is where I got the idea originally of completely nixing the original mounts, and borrowed (and hosted elsewhere) from Al Canucks site.

The one problem I can see by doing something like that, would be that my carpet would then not fit perfectly, as it's obviously cut how it should be stock. =(

[ryanOC]

i have been driving my car around (daily driver) since last december without a passenger seat after having cut out the stock seat risers/mounts

i have a pair of e30 sport seats to put in, but yeah it looks like a pain in the balls job

the job in the pic looks pretty good, but the brackets are still uneven... using spacers on the rears or what?

i've considered cutting out the lifted section of the floor and making it all flat, also taking out a section of the tunnel where the inside mount is welded to

i think any major cutting like that will require some kind of serious structural support before just popping the brackets on top of the new flat floor

still not sure what i want to do...... need ideas!

[JustinB]

[On Edit - I went into the archives and snooped around a little to see any more info about this and found one of your old threads earlier this year. BarryA replied and mentioned something about emailing him to get pictures of what he modified to let the E30 sport seats fit properly. I just emailed him now, and if he had to hack the floor, I guess half of what I say below this is useless. Either way I am trying to gather all the options and apparently you still are too. Do you use AIM? "binthef"]

Well, I'm halfway glad we're in the same boat here. I don't know that removing the whole bump would help, as its not THAT tall anyway, the e30 mounting holes would most likely straddle the hump and something very short could be built off the front and back of it with some small square tubing. Major floor reconstruction would really be a last resort unless there is no way to get the seat as low as it has to go without that modification. I certainly wouldn't see it as a good solution for a first attempt. If you try it first and it doesn't work with simple additions to the floor, then you can cut it out anyway to make the floor completely flat front to rear. I think that would be MUCH harder than it has to be though. The car in the picture above just is an example of two rails welded to the existing floor instead of creating a box. Upon further inspection I can tell that the front and rear are at a much different height. I wasn't implying that that car was set up for an E30 seat bracket.

Assuming you're up to it, is there a chance you could take a picture of the pass side of your 02 without the brackets, then one of the e30 seat sitting on top of the bump, and measure from the furthest front top leading edge of the seat to the floor? How much different is that from the stock 02 seat height? I have no idea, I really do wonder and my e30 seats are, you guessed it, in my e30, and the rails are still welded in my car. That might be a little hard for me to do without estimating everything.

It may be too high still, but I don't think the whole bump still would have to go, just maybe shave off a little from the top, down to just past where the bottom of the grooves are.

An e30's seats may not be the best application for this while retaining the bump, but it would be good to find the measurements and see how far off they really would be. Then if the bump were still there, how low a seat would have to sit above the bottom of its rails/(JUST over the) top of the bump for it to stay at a similar height as another seat in a normal 2002's setup.

Oh, by the way. Why would you be taking out a chunk of the transmission tunnel? Does it get too narrow? Or do you just mean that while cutting out the bump, it would make a short wide U, partially going up the side of the tunnel where it previously was?

Lots of questions, I know Sorry. Lets figure this out.

[albawhore]

Hey Justin,

This is off topic, but I too am a Justin B (Bell) in Norcal.

I was wondering what your last name is and where you are located.

JB

[VaderDave]

My '02 has Momo seats in it. The mechanic who put them in for me fabricated new rails for them out of angle iron. The new installation looks good and works just great. It looked to be a very straightforward job for anyone who has decent welding skills.

[JustinB]

Hey Justin, my last name is Bresee. I see you're in San Jose, I live up in Sonoma County. Petaluma to be exact. I do have a few friends that live down on that side of the bay though. Cool

Anybody who has done anything like this, pictures would be of great help to give me some different ideas if you have, or can get some. Trying to put together some options first before I do anything drastic, ya know.

[albawhore]

Justin in norcal.

Justin in norcal calling.

Have you noticed how many Justin's there are in our sickness.

My E-mail is spaarke at yahoo . com

Give me a jingle next time you are down so we can burn some oil together.

JB

P.S. I used to live in the Monte Rio/ Duncans Mills area.

[ryanOC]

[On Edit - I went into the archives and snooped around a little to see any more info about this and found one of your old threads earlier this year. BarryA replied and mentioned something about emailing him to get pictures of what he modified to let the E30 sport seats fit properly. I just emailed him now, and if he had to hack the floor, I guess half of what I say below this is useless. Either way I am trying to gather all the options and apparently you still are too. Do you use AIM? "binthef"]

removed

Well, I'm halfway glad we're in the same boat here. I don't know that removing the whole bump would help, as its not THAT tall anyway, the e30 mounting holes would most likely straddle the hump and something very short could be built off the front and back of it with some small square tubing. Major floor reconstruction would really be a last resort unless there is no way to get the seat as low as it has to go without that modification. I certainly wouldn't see it as a good solution for a first attempt. If you try it first and it doesn't work with simple additions to the floor, then you can cut it out anyway to make the floor completely flat front to rear. I think that would be MUCH harder than it has to be though. The car in the picture above just is an example of two rails welded to the existing floor instead of creating a box. Upon further inspection I can tell that the front and rear are at a much different height. I wasn't implying that that car was set up for an E30 seat bracket.

I agree, re-doing the floor would be a lot of work and more than is necessary.

I've made a real poor quality bracket using angle iron to get started for the e30 seat, and have bolted the seat to it so I could see where the seat would lie once it's in the car. The height of the seat on just the bracket on the hump of the floor is actually quite decent. If I recall correct, I think it did seem a bit lower than a stock seat, but I could be wrong. It did seem like the height would be very good though.

Assuming you're up to it, is there a chance you could take a picture of the pass side of your 02 without the brackets, then one of the e30 seat sitting on top of the bump, and measure from the furthest front top leading edge of the seat to the floor? How much different is that from the stock 02 seat height? I have no idea, I really do wonder and my e30 seats are, you guessed it, in my e30, and the rails are still welded in my car. That might be a little hard for me to do without estimating everything.

Yeah I'll try to get around to doing this sometime soon. I need to get going with this project so I can have a passenger seat...

It may be too high still, but I don't think the whole bump still would have to go, just maybe shave off a little from the top, down to just past where the bottom of the grooves are.

An e30's seats may not be the best application for this while retaining the bump, but it would be good to find the measurements and see how far off they really would be. Then if the bump were still there, how low a seat would have to sit above the bottom of its rails/(JUST over the) top of the bump for it to stay at a similar height as another seat in a normal 2002's setup.

Oh, by the way. Why would you be taking out a chunk of the transmission tunnel? Does it get too narrow? Or do you just mean that while cutting out the bump, it would make a short wide U, partially going up the side of the tunnel where it previously was?

Lots of questions, I know Sorry. Lets figure this out.

Well I was thinking, if I DID take out the floor and make something flat, I'd probably build a support from angle iron under where the seat would be bolted to. It seems like a really difficult job, because then there's the task of making a proper bracket that also lifts the seat off the floor.

About the tranny tunnel..... seems like the side plastic covers on the lower back part of the e30 seats touch those humps that come out from the tunnel for the stock mounts.

If I ended up cutting out that stuff TOO, I'd end up having to re-position the center support bearing mounts, as it appears that's whats on the other side of the humps on the tunnel. Rats!

If someone comes up with an easy and satisfactory way to doing this job, I'd be greatful, but the chances seem bleak...