Fox What seats should I get?

79 Fox

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May 21, 2019
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A van down by the river
Hello! I have been doing some testing with my mustang. It is a great car to drive, but when taking a sharp turn, I slide all over. I want aftermarket seats, but I want to have them upholstered with the same material and pattern as my original seats. I'd imagine that It would make the most sense to buy a shell, and have it upholstered, instead of having someone reupholster a brand new seat.

The car will be mostly street driven, and occasionally autocross and maybe track race. I want something with a fair amount of support, but also not too
"race car seat" looking. Something that looks like a modern sports car seat. The seat's weight doesn't matter too much to me, as the difference would be very minor. I am looking to buy 2 seats total. Nothing insanely expensive. Maybe a max of $250 per bare seat.
 
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I put in new foam. Nice stiff sides helped alot Then new upholstery $200 for one seat foam $500 for same red cloth. Feels good , or better around corners. Fun to do because it looks so good. That includes rear . Get it at LMR. I dont know how you could get a shell and cover it the same.
 
I put in new foam. Nice stiff sides helped alot Then new upholstery $200 for one seat foam $500 for same red cloth. Feels good , or better around corners. Fun to do because it looks so good. That includes rear . Get it at LMR. I dont know how you could get a shell and cover it the same.
Unfortunately, they don't offer foam for my seats. I just checked. Also, I am looking for seats for tight, high speed turns, as my car handles like it's on rails, and the stock seats will never be enough.

As far as having a shell covered the same, I can bring the shells and the original seats to an upholsterer, and work up a few concept sketches. It wouldn't be identical, more like a tribute.
 
There's an awful lot of factory mustang seats to pick from that are very good for what you say you want out of them. I have an '88 and I have some 2005 seats going in at some point. This allows me to use TMI replacement foam and upholstery if I need to. And you could go up to some seats from the new mustang if you need more support. I'm not opposed to seats from something else unless they are almost impossible to get replacement upholstery for.
 
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how about factory 85/86 Recaros fairly easy to come by cheap. Or some SVO seats from the same years or i believe they were 84-86 iirc you could also buy the tmi seat foams for both of those and the covers
 
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There are plenty of seat options that fit the era of the fox.
Just remember that wedge brackets and sliders cost $400+ for a set (enough to do 2 seats).
No offense to anyone, but I really hate newer seats in foxbody's. They look all kinds of wrong in most cases. Yeah, they may be more comfortable, but they just aren't era correct.
$250 for seats, $400 for sliders and I think $900 to have them redone:
WP_20150627_17_25_03_Pro.jpg WP_20150807_19_46_33_Pro.jpg
I have since had the rears done to match for $650
 
My $200 VW Recaros. $400 in sliders and brackets. Gray inserts are original, but I bought new black vinyl trim from someone for $150. I need to work on making the rear seat match next.

Seats.jpg



Previously, I ran 99-04 seats. They sat high. I hate to say it, but part of me liked them better than the recaros for cruising around. Just more practical and comfortable on long drives. They don't hold you at all.

However, direct bolt in and you can usually get a pair for $200 or so. Rear seat can be had for $50 and made to work easily. I still have the seats but doubt i'll ever put them back in
IMG_9518.JPG
 
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My $200 VW Recaros. $400 in sliders and brackets. Gray inserts are original, but I bought new black vinyl trim from someone for $150. I need to work on making the rear seat match next.

Seats.jpg



Previously, I ran 99-04 seats. They sat high. I hate to say it, but part of me liked them better than the recaros for cruising around. Just more practical and comfortable on long drives. They don't hold you at all.

However, direct bolt in and you can usually get a pair for $200 or so. Rear seat can be had for $50 and made to work easily. I still have the seats but doubt i'll ever put them back in
IMG_9518.JPG
the VW Recaros seem perfect for my application! The design isn't too overdone, and if I had an upholsterer redo them in the amazing red vinyl already in my car with a similar stitch pattern and perforations, they would look stunning! They look big enough for me too! Where would I get the sliders and brackets?

Also, can you give me a year and model range that had these seats?

Would you recommend that I go snoop around a junkyard, or find a set on craigslist?
 
All the recaros of this style are based on a combination of upper and lower halves.
They came in many cars, even buses and police cars.
Mine came out of a recaro edition transam.

They have gotten more popular, so price is up on them from in general.
The other issue that in better shape, they typically cost more, but if you are going to redo them condition doesn't matter.
Dave at aardvark racing did mine (he has a guy that does them for him), cushion repair is included at no charge (mine were a mess).
Wedge engineering makes the brackets and sliders.

I believe 79's had netted headrests, so i'd take a set of those first and foremost.
 
Also, can you give me a year and model range that had these seats?

Mine were from an 88-92 VW Jetta GTI/GLI. GTI versions have the flip forward feature to allow backseat access in 2 door cars.

They are the LS-B model of Recaro, which came in a lot of OE cars (mostly in Europe and available in the aftermarket). It has been replaced by the Recaro Specialist today

They looked like these when I bought them for $200 on craigslist.
FullSizeRenderddde.jpg



Some of the foam was trashed, and cig burns in the carpet. Restoring them (myself) was a winter project. I sold off some of the old material and plastic and bought new foams and restored several other foams. Details of my work are buried in my project thread from this past winter. Was a fun project.

Seat brackets were from wedge engineering, and the sliders are recaro sliders (p/n 0.70.9NT). These items aren't cheap. $570ish for these alone if you buy new.
 
All the recaros of this style are based on a combination of upper and lower halves.
They came in many cars, even buses and police cars.
Mine came out of a recaro edition transam.

They have gotten more popular, so price is up on them from in general.
The other issue that in better shape, they typically cost more, but if you are going to redo them condition doesn't matter.
Dave at aardvark racing did mine (he has a guy that does them for him), cushion repair is included at no charge (mine were a mess).
Wedge engineering makes the brackets and sliders.

I believe 79's had netted headrests, so i'd take a set of those first and foremost.
79's do indeed have netted headrests, but I don't exactly like the headrests, and those are very expensive.
 
Yeah, I assumed mine were C's.
But the reality is, I would have taken any of them.
At a glance, they are all similar enough for me, I was mostly after the netted headrest top.
Fortunately from idea to purchase was nearly no time for me. Came up with the idea sitting in front of the computer, found a set within seconds on craigs and it was all over.

The junkyard question may be more related to your local area.
I live in densely populated NJ and typically they don't let you scavenge through junkyards and our yards get picked over quickly.
In a less populated area you could probably find them. By me, I doubt it.