Fox What seats should I get?

[Mustang5L5]

BTW, it is in my humble opinion that Ford totally ripped off Recaro when they decided to move away from Recaro seating and have Lear Automotive design the seats.

Recaro seat (82 trans am)

87 GT seat (by Lear Automotive)

Exchange the halos for the solid headrest (which is tilt and extend on both models) and it's visually similiar

 

[Mustang5L5]

I see.
Do you think that I could just scramble through a junkyard and find a set? The LSB looks perfect to me.

I doubt it. Those cars were really enthusiast cars. A VW sitting in a junkyard with a set of Recaros in it would be like finding a fox in a boneyard with a T-5 still in it. First Mustang enthusiast to see it is pulling it out.

I'd start feelers on CL as well as local facebook groups to see what's out there. There's a few groups, and I've even found some great deals in www.vwvortex.com in the for sale forums for complete seats for sale locally for a few hundred bucks.

 

[79 Fox]

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.

I'm in a fairly low population area, and most of the yards allow people to go through them. I don't know if they will let me do so, though. I'm only 15. I am willing to bet that they require you to be at least 18.

 

[Willybill32]

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

I’m reading this thread for the first time, and have an ‘86 GT. I know my GT seats bear some resemblance to Recaros, but does this specific post say they ARE Recaros?

 

[General karthief]

The 86 gt had sport seats, a small amount of side bolster and a pull out knee pad. I find them comfy.
svo cars had recaro seats, some others too like saleen and mclarens I think.

 

[revhead347]

I've heard Focus ST seats work well. Prices vary on them, but not too bad.

Kurt

 

[Mustang5L5]

I’m reading this thread for the first time, and have an ‘86 GT. I know my GT seats bear some resemblance to Recaros, but does this specific post say they ARE Recaros?

No. Ford put Recaros in the 79-82 Mustangs in some models but then cut their partnership with Recaro and contracted out Lear Seating to make some seats that look like total ripoffs of the Recaro LXC.

these are actual recaro seats. They look like 87-89 GT sport seats don’t they?

 

[General karthief]

Why yes, yes they do! The adjustment handle is different.

 

[revhead347]

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.

We are on our second set of TMI foam inserts on the Cobra. Over $2500 invested in those seats so far. I've packed them, 2 different upholstery professionals have packed them, foam has been trimmed and trimmed again. The seats are still so far off I don't know what to say. All original except for the TMI foam. I am 5' 7" tall, and my head is rubbing on the head liner. We've actually purchased used New Edge seats to put in the car, and taken them back out to get the factory original seats back in. TMI is currently the only company producing foam for these seats, and I have had a terrible experience trying to make this work over the last 5 years. I can't recommend using factory seats with the expectation that they can be restored.

Kurt

 

[revhead347]

I'm actually looking to put a ProCar Evolution seat in my car. It's the only seat I have found that both reclines, and has a provision for a 5th/6th point harness. My factory leather seats are wearing out, and I want to replace them with a tight bolster seat.

Kurt

 

[Mstng93SSP]

The TMI foam and upholstery I put in my 93 is garbage. I hit my head on the roof where I never did before. And after a month or so of use....yeah, this is quality stuff right here...

Chris

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I should have a problem recommending Corbeau considering my driver side seat failed in less than a year, and I barely have driven it.

But I'm gonna say factory defect instead of poor overall quality.

For 750.00 you get a cloth pair new, not in need of a total rebuild. When ordering, you can stip that the bottom foam be trimmed to lower your seat height. ( Something I should've done, instead I had to cut and lower the mount bracket/ sliders really low)
For all practical purposes, they look like a recaro. They are heavily bolstered...you wont slide around in these seats.
Nor will you have to worry about blood stains on your new seats from the ass raping you'll get when you buy and restore an actual set of Recaros.

 

[Willybill32]

No. Ford put Recaros in the 79-82 Mustangs in some models but then cut their partnership with Recaro and contracted out Lear Seating to make some seats that look like total ripoffs of the Recaro LXC.

these are actual recaro seats. They look like 87-89 GT sport seats don’t they?

Mustang5L5, thanks for the clarification. My original seats are in really good shape except for some fading, and I find them comfortable. I have new TMI upholstery for them, but will wait to install that after I get the car painted.

 

[revhead347]

I should have a problem recommending Corbeau considering my driver side seat failed in less than a year, and I barely have driven it.

But I'm gonna say factory defect instead of poor overall quality.

For 750.00 you get a cloth pair new, not in need of a total rebuild. When ordering, you can stip that the bottom foam be trimmed to lower your seat height. ( Something I should've done, instead I had to cut and lower the mount bracket/ sliders really low)
For all practical purposes, they look like a recaro. They are heavily bolstered...you wont slide around in these seats.
Nor will you have to worry about blood stains on your new seats from the ass raping you'll get when you buy and restore an actual set of Recaros.

My buddy bought those same seats. They faded quickly, and he was not impressed.

Kurt

 

[elarm1]

I have Corbeau GTII's and I like them. Seating position is good and they look good initially. After 4 years of use the driver side leg bolster is soft, the seats are a bit faded, and a buddy poked a hole with his keys on the passenger side. That said, everyone who sees them don't even notice their flaws. I have a set of 90s GT seats that I thought about recovering but the TMI stories scare me...

 

[Essn95]

I have some focus st seats that I was going to put in my sn. They'll take some custom bracketry but should work. I am just not comfortable with welding to make them work. They came out of a 19' in the jy with 5k miles. Foam is perfect and its a good candidate to reupholster because the side airbags deployed. They're comfy as anything.

 

[Essn95]

 

[tim4698]

Just finished putting 2015 Mustang Cloth seats in my 93. Not a difficult task if you have basic fabrication skills. Driver is power with lumbar and passenger is only basic power. I am 6’4 and 220 and they fit me great. They do sit slightly higher but probably wouldn’t notice if you were 6’0 or less. They can be had for cheap locally. I picked up mine for $250 for both. Cloth seats are easy to wire with only a power and ground wire for each seat. I was searching for aftermarket seats and were considering Corbeaus but am glad I got these. The bolstering is really nice and would feel great on a track. I took a pic of the frame rails. I removed the stock frame brackets with a cutoff wheel and welded 1/8 inch steel plates to the frame rails using the factory seat brackets as a jig.

-Tim

 

[Ryuk]

Just finished putting 2015 Mustang Cloth seats in my 93. Not a difficult task if you have basic fabrication skills. Driver is power with lumbar and passenger is only basic power. I am 6’4 and 220 and they fit me great. They do sit slightly higher but probably wouldn’t notice if you were 6’0 or less. They can be had for cheap locally. I picked up mine for $250 for both. Cloth seats are easy to wire with only a power and ground wire for each seat. I was searching for aftermarket seats and were considering Corbeaus but am glad I got these. The bolstering is really nice and would feel great on a track. I took a pic of the frame rails. I removed the stock frame brackets with a cutoff wheel and welded 1/8 inch steel plates to the frame rails using the factory seat brackets as a jig.

-Tim

Those newer seats are much easier to reupholster and if you keep your eye out on ebay, you can get stock leather seat covers from Roush as a take off.

 

[2000xp8]

Not sure if it's the angle of the pic, but those newer seats look gigantic compared to fox seats.
Maybe i'm just picky, but I still just don't feel visually most newer seats just don't look right right in an 80's car.