MY/Brumby seats

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Cliff R
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MY/Brumby seats

Post by Cliff R » Sun May 31, 2015 2:29 pm

I know there have been a lot of comments over the years on the forum regarding replacement seats for the MY and Brumby.
I started looking into this a couple of years ago and posed the question are there any direct bolt in seat for the MY/Brumby that don't need any major mods.
I am starting to look at this issue again now.

As far as I can recall and find on the forum the alternatives I can think of were-

GK Sigma, Suzuki swift (which years, maybe 2009 ?), early WRX (94/95 ?), KB/KC Laser, MX5

Is this info still current or does anyone have any more up to date advise.

I am still only looking for alternative front seats where the original rail does not need to be repositioned or have to have mods like flat bar/tube fitted to make seats fit.
Obviously, I need a seat that is the right width too.
I can live with drilling out the rail to suit new seat holes (slightly) but I am not looking on modify much more.
Is there any new info I should take into consideration ?
My thoughts right now are to get a set of front seats from a Suzuki Swift but is there a specific year of car I should be looking for ?

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Post by Proton mouse » Sun May 31, 2015 4:51 pm

Im just quietly taking notes on this subject too Cliff, as I am wondering what to put into my GLF5 coupe that are relatively easy to fit.
I have Lib seats in my Brumby which were fitted by someone else, which did require welding and drilling mods.
They are awesome in comparison with std MY seats, but you do sit slightly higher (not a worry for me as I am only a short legged variety lol)
Had a quick search on here which found this...

showthread.php?t=17243&highlight=seat+replacement

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Post by steptoe » Sun May 31, 2015 6:44 pm

Well, if Pillarless Jim can chime in here 1986 mazda 626 almost bolted straight in, think he said ...far cry from the 88 to 90 set that took too much to fit. An important thing to keep in mind if some dude at 5'4" says they fit great and you go sit your 95kg 6'3" frame in and feel the need for a sun roof .......

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Cliff R
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Post by Cliff R » Sun May 31, 2015 7:49 pm

I may be asking the improbable but the ideal would be something more modern than a 626.
I am hearing the comments on seats which sit too high but I am reasoning on a small car like the swift may be more likely to have seats which are sized closer to the MY.
Any other comments and experiences appreciated but I am guessing I will need to go to a wreckers who will let me wander and armed with one of my seat rails have a look for a few hours or so.

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Post by pedroj » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:37 pm

I know this thread is a little old but I find myself with yet another Brumby (92) and it has shot seats. Have spent an evening searching through the forum and not much turns up. I have seen a gumtree advert a while ago for a brumby that had Suzuki SX4 seats in it but not much more info, they looked to be a good fit from what little I could see.

Do others have any recommendations for a semi modern bucket seat that is not collapsing like all the MY ones seem to be 30 years on.

Regards,
Peter.

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Post by El_Freddo » Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:08 pm

I used a set of Integra seats from the early 90s model - DA9 I think is the model code. You need the ones without the seat belt buckle on the rail as these have a curved base to them that doesn't allow you to fit the rails.

From memory two bolt holes were drilled and two used the factory captive nuts on the seat - one on each side. Again from memory I'm sure one captive nut was up front on one side and on the other side the captive nut used was down the back.

Get a good set of those seats and they're a true bucket seat. I reckon you sit a little lower than the factory seat which suits me just fine at 186cm tall ;)

Cheers

Bennie
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BRZ'd it ...

Post by Bantum » Mon Jun 05, 2017 8:10 pm

Been advised that BRZ seats fits with out too much trouble ...

Image

( image taken from FB, so may not work )

Link : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 973&type=3

Cheers, Bantum ...

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Post by El_Freddo » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:47 pm

I know who's brumby that is so should be able to get further details on them.

Those seats look the goods too!

Cheers

Bennie

EDIT: Green-eyed Liberty - that's the member whose brumby these are from ;)
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Post by pedroj » Tue Jun 06, 2017 10:23 am

Well those photos from FB gave me a real rush, not ever seen such up market seats in Brumby... Has anyone sat in a BRZ as it would seem the drivers and passengers seats are markedly different in those photos?

hmmm where to find a wrecked BRZ.

Peter

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Post by pedroj » Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:53 pm

any suggestions on a wrecker to call ? subawreck response was they (BRZ) are too upmarket for them to get... might be a tough find.
Peter

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Post by El_Freddo » Tue Jun 06, 2017 7:57 pm

I'd be scouring brz/ft86 forums - there's got to be one or two sets of seats being swapped out for something a little more racer boy out there!

Cheers

Bennie
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Post by El_Freddo » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:21 pm

pedroj wrote:Well those photos from FB gave me a real rush, not ever seen such up market seats in Brumby...
Well if the seats gave you a rush, this is the beast that the seats reside in:

Image

:twisted: 8)

I'd love my brumby to look half as good as this!

Cheers

Bennie
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Green_eyed_liberty
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Post by Green_eyed_liberty » Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:10 pm

haha cheers guy, yes these are GTS 86 seats. almost direct bolt on to factory MY rails. drivers seat retains the height adjustment, and ranges from lower than the passanger seat to head out of the roof! also being GTS seats they have the seat warmers in them.

im assuming BRZ seats will be the same, but they have BRZ stiched in them. the 86 seats dont.

i dealt with a Toyota wrecker in Sydney, he overnighted the seats up to me for like $40.

last i checked Benny (Mecanical Stig) at Bennys Customs (in syd) had a set for sale cheap. very comfy, very easy, very rewarding :-)

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Cliff R
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Post by Cliff R » Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:15 pm

Just to keep this issue bubbling along, I understand L series seats fit straight into an MY but like the MY seats they are getting old so probably not much point in this direction.
What I would like to know though, is do the L series seat rails bolt straight into an MY or is it only the L series seats which bolt up to the MY rails.
Reason I am asking is, my MY seat rails are a bit ordinary now so I am looking to replace the rails before replacing the seats.
For the time being I would look to retain the MY seats but replace the rails with L series if they fit.
The seats would be changed over when alternative seats can be found.
Anyone know ?

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Post by Silverbullet » Tue Jun 06, 2017 10:09 pm

Cliff R wrote: What I would like to know though, is do the L series seat rails bolt straight into an MY or is it only the L series seats which bolt up to the MY rails.

Anyone know ?
Only the L series seats bolt up to the MY rails :( When I did it a few years ago, had to re-use the MY rails and also put a 25mm square bar as spacer in between the seat and rail as it seemed way too low otherwise. The original MY rails becoming crusty and old is a more and more common problem! Glad I went to the effort of customizing the mounts on the Outback seats to put them in my wagon, not an option for everyone though.

Btw, those 86/BRZ seats in a Brum is an amazing find! Who would have thought they'd go in so easily :cool:
Will it ever end!?
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Post by mattw » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:10 pm

A topic I have been coming back to recently also.
From memory, Brumby seat to rail bolt holes are 16 inches in width. FIIK why it is not a straight metric width.
I spent some time in U-Pull-It measuring up some options a while back. i'm not that OCD that I measured all of them.
Some options I've seen or measured up for the easiest fit. Everything I have read still uses the original MY rails though, or questionable mods to the seat rail mounting.

2008 Suzuki Swift - apparently straight bolt on to original rails. Not confirmed myself
1998 Mazda Astina - bolts are within 5mm width-wise. There is some nice well bolstered sporty seats to choose from. My partner owned one for years, great seats.
Early 00's Commodore (yuck!)
Early Lib and Impr (non-height adjustable) - rail bolt position is 1/2 inch wider (yes imperial) so need to make a plate adaptor for one of the outside rail, and reposition rear bolts length-wise. Lib seat base is longer than the Brumby rails
Early Lib, later Lib, OB etc height adjustable. Can't easily modify the seat for the original rail, so (illegal) mods to the Lib rail legs to align with the Brumby mount points or floor.
Forester seats are nice, but sadly too high.

But after all that, I'm excited to see the 86/BRZ seats. Easy as, and awesome!

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Post by pedroj » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:14 am

Have contacted Benny in Sydney and he has some seats there, Leather, Suede and Cloth. I have 1st dibs on the pair of cloth seats at a not to frightening price and he is happy to freight them, seems like a nice person to deal with.

ben@bennyscustomworks.com

call / text : 0415 522 512

So looks like my Red 92 will be getting an upmarket touch of class in the seat department anyway, now just need to replace a rear wheel bearing, windscreen and exhaust... Oh and new brake pads all around (long pedal travel)

Peter

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Post by majordad1 » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:57 pm

I have just taken out a the Brumby a pair of Liberty seats and replaced them with RX Turbo seats, the chequered variety. Both required a deal of modification to fit the Brumbies mount points. Majordad

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Post by dfoyl » Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:19 pm

I took the plunge on a set of GTS86 seats yesterday, and it is definitely not just a drop-in solution. The 86 seat rails are mounted on a thinner gauge base with 3 to 4 studs per rail (3 on each except one side of the drivers seat has 4). These studs are extremely difficult to remove (on the drivers side, the passenger side is pretty easy), I ended up drilling 2 out - this may be unique to the GTS with the adjustable height, not sure if the standard GT is the same. Once the studs are out, the entire bottom frame can be removed and the holes slotted in the chair base (I milled the front hole about 4mm back). I re-used the factory (86) studs, but only 8 of the 13 - not really happy with that solution but I can't see a way to fit additional studs without reducing chair travel (possibly welding threaded bar to the MY rails so it doesn't interfere with the channel). I have spot welded the 4 studs. I could have used standard bolts but wanted to stick with the factory design where possible.

The seats are now in - sort of. The plastic shroud around the bottom of the seats interferes with the plastic door frame trim. On the drivers side it clears but rubs, so sliding the (newly greased) MY rails isn't smooth but does work. On the passenger side I can't get the back outer bolt to go through. Haven't decided whether to grind back the plastic to clear or trim the Subaru plastic.

All that said, from the drivers seat it is much better than the factory seats in terms of support. A little tight around the waist and I don't think there is any gain or loss in terms of space. I haven't refitted the centre console (fitting an MY touring wagon console, which will house the heated seat buttons in place of the electric window switches), but I think it will be fine for width.
1989 Brumby - Shiny new red paint, stroked EJ20 phase 2 SOHC with Darton sleeves bored to EJ22, Wiseco high-compression pistons, Delta 2000 grind cams , EJ/XT6 5 stud with WRX 4/2 pots, 5-speed, 86 GTS seats and so much more.
Contact me for reproduction XT6 hubs...and EA82 rear discs.

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Cliff R
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Post by Cliff R » Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:32 pm

Also seem to recall someone stating in the forum that Ford Laser seats (KF model) may be an option for the MY's.
Anyone confirm this ?

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