Styling Seat upgrade

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Styling Seat upgrade

Pete145

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Hi everyone,

A quick question relating to a possible seat upgrade that I'm considering in over the winter.

I've noticed from various photos (in 500 club magazines and so on) that a small number of owners have upgraded their seats to something a little more..... racy/comfortable.

I'm not a lightweight guy (at 85kilos) and although I like the look of the original seats I do kind of swamp them, even though I fit in the car perfectly well.

Can anyone recommend a direction with retrofit seats? I'm not looking for a track style bucket seat, but something a little sturdier is certainly an option.

Pete
 
I've fitting "period" style bucket seats and the subframe was a bugger to sort out.
Their is an Italian supplier that sells subframes ONLY if you buy his seats.
I ended up buying replacement standard Fiat sliding mechanisms and bolting them to a custom fabrication.
I know not of an easier solution...unless you don't want to tilt the new seats forward in which case you can bolt them to a aftermarket subframe.
 
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Peter;
Look at the Axel Gerstle site--go onto 'seats', then 'sports seats' and look at part number:- C13701. I have very similar seats to these in my 500 (came with them already fitted)--they fit straight onto the 500 runners AND still tilt forward AND the back-rest is adjustable.
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They were well out of my budget.....?
You can get UK supplied seat for £200 for a pair......it's the mounting that proved tricky
 
That's fine Andrew, but look at the problems you had getting your 'cheep 'n cheerful' seats to fit--and I reckon that there is a fair chance that you can't adjust the back-squab, and can you fold them forward (thus gaining access to the rear of the car) as per the originals?----you get what you pay for!
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I fitted seats out of a Suzuki carry, the high back version, they are an ideal fit in the limited space between the tunnel and inner sill. The only problem, I had to fabricate a subframe to take the standard runners. It is very comfy.

Ralph
 
Oh I didn't buy cheap n cheerful - I bought period items - they are fixed back because they are bucket style. The fun was mating the seat base mounting to a 500
I was just offering an alternative to a £550 pair thats all.....
 
Thanks everyone.

Hobbler, I think this is partly your fault as it was a picture of your car on the enthusiasts website that got me drooling!

Will look at the seats on the AG site, as the pound plummets in the wake of the post Brexit economic apocalypse they'll be easily affordable before Xmas!!

Pete
 
Curious as to where this ended up?

I confess to pondering another 500, or at least thinking about it as I drift off to sleep (a 650 gearbox and engine have almost fallen into my lap, so I need a car to put them in).

One of the cars I've seen has hopeless seats and even a good original seat is a bit uncomfortable. And if you have a 650 engine you need faster seats?

Anyway, to keep the thread informative, has anyone got any experience with the BB classic bucket seats fitting in a 500? They really do look quite comfortable, and fast.

Vintage%20R3.jpg



Reportedly they include runners that it looks like slide and tilt AND can be mounted direct to the floor, avoiding subframe messiness


IMG_0756[1]%20(2)%20copy.jpg



Any thoughts and experiences?

Of course the problem then is what you do with the back seat.....
 
Hi everyone,

A quick question relating to a possible seat upgrade that I'm considering in over the winter.

I've noticed from various photos (in 500 club magazines and so on) that a small number of owners have upgraded their seats to something a little more..... racy/comfortable.

I'm not a lightweight guy (at 85kilos) and although I like the look of the original seats I do kind of swamp them, even though I fit in the car perfectly well.

Can anyone recommend a direction with retrofit seats? I'm not looking for a track style bucket seat, but something a little sturdier is certainly an option.

Pete

Hello Pete,

My car seating has come complete from a 126 BIS, the front seats are a tight fit on the floor rails but they do fit. The front seats tilt forward with a simple catch at the side of each. The integral head rest / protection can be adjusted up and down to suit and the backrest is adjustable too. hope this helps.

Ian.
 

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The 500 and126 seat runners are the same which makes for an easy front seat upgrade especially if you are recovering the seats front and back. Being in Oz if that 650 running gear came from a Nikki then you might also get the front seat frames. No help to you but I do have some spare 126 Bis seats here :)
 
Ah v kind, it seems all the good 500 stuff is on the other side of the planet!

There aren't many complete (affordable) Nikis around, but someone has the gear so I started pondering. Awaiting a response from the BB seats folk re the runners and seats, will post back if they have any thoughts
 
Hi Pete

I went for these covers on the original seats which give a sporty look and are more padded.

Tim
 

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They are super cool - where did you get them / do they come in other colours?

It was a while ago and I thought it was either Van Der Laan or Ricambio but I can't find them on those sites now.

However, Mr Fiat has them in more colour options than I've seen before. A bit more expensive I think. Try here:http://mrfiat.com/italian/fiat/fiat-500/upholstery.html
 
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