Sparco seats, anybody using them, will they fit Options

[mike_the_man]

Hi all,

A friend of mine has a couple of Sparco seats for sale. They're the Speed models, I believe. Sparco Speeds

Does anybody have these seats? Will they fit in a teener? I'm assuming that I'd have to loose the back pad, which is ok.

So, would I need to get a custom bracket, or is there an adaptor that I can get. How can I get these seats in my car?

[SteveSr]

Mike,
I thought about using that same seat,I also would be intersted to know how they fit.
I have a "71" without a moveable passenger seat and thought I would move the drivers seat over to the passenger side and lose the back pad and just carpet the firewall.

SteveSr

[jom]

I had one in my car for a while. I liked it but longer drives were a little tough. As far as fit, I'm 5'-6" so i didn't remove the back pad. the seat interfers with the hand brake. As far as mounting it someone gave me a sparco slider from a honda that I bolted to a steel frame (roughly 2" X 3/8" from home depot). It worked pretty good and didn't move at all. With the sparcos they have to be mounted as low as possible otherwise you lose clearance between bolster and steering wheel. when i mounted it i used the steel plates bolted directly to the stock hinges in the back. upfront i ran a steel L angle across and modified to bolt into the factory height/tilt adjustment. I bought a pair of the pepboy specials when i saw that thread come out before x-mas. I modified a factory track but the seat is way too high and difficult to get in and out of. I still have to work on mount but if i take the roof off getting in and out is easier. I took out the sparco and used my fabricated steel to make the new mounts for the other seats. I like the fit of the sparco better. the shoulder bolsters are slightly wider and more comfortable. I think if you put two seats in access to to the center cushion box might be restricted.

[Downunderman]

I have a Sparco Rev, very similar. The only way you will ever be comfortable in any after market race seat is to cut the original mounts off the floor and bolt the set to the floor with adjustable side plates; unless your 5'3" tall.

[iiibdsiil]

I have sparco juniors in mine, that are mounted to the stock rails some how. I am 5'8" and don't have any problems. I have the back pad still in and have a good amount of room.

[mike_the_man]

Well, it could be a problem then. I'm 6'3, and I have the stock seat all the way back. I'll have to see if I can borrow the seat and do a test fitting. I'm not too worried about the e-brake or center pad interference.

[Rand]

I was just reading a couple of seat articles yesterday at PP. Maybe something helpful here:

Mounting a Racing Seat in a 914

Race Seat and Harness Install

[larryp]

I mounted Sparco Roadsters in mine (the Roadster is very close in size to the OEM seat). I used the original floor brackets and sliders - you have to be creative mounting the sliders to the Sparco seat. I have 3/16 steel strap mounted to the seat, and the sliders mounted to the plate. And the adjustable slider (the one with the handle) is now on the outside of the car, and faces rearward. But they fit fine, are very solid and I have all the room I did previously (I am 6'2" and 235). So it can be done.

[Joe Bob]

Why? The stock 914 seat is perfectly adequate as an occasional race seat...simply pull the stock seat pad out, replace with a thin piece of padding. You now have nice side rails and plenty of room even with a helmet on for the taller driver.

Most race seats have a high side bolster that is a real PITA for a non specific race car/daily driver.

[drew365]

I have the Sparco Rev. I agree with Mike, if it's not a track car the stock seat is your best bet. If you track the car then the Sparco is a good choice. At 6'3" you probably won't be able to mount them on sliders, they'll be too high. I bought the side mounts from Sparco and bolted them to the floor. I'm 6'1" and fit fine. You have 18.5" between the hand brake and center tunnel to fit a seat so check the overall width of any seat you look at. The Rev is for skinny ass's. I'm 170# and it's a tight fit, don't know about the Speed model.

[mike_the_man]

I've sat in the Speed model, and it fits me like a glove. I'm about 200lbs. I agree that I probably don't need the seats for everyday driving, but they look so damn nice. My stock seats are in need of recovering, and they're a tan colour. I was wanting to switch to black interior, and I was thinking that these seats would be pretty sweet.

Although, if I didn't buy them, it would save me some money. Money that I should probably put to other more needed parts.

[campbellcj]

The second Pelican link above was one of my former cars where I installed some Corbeau Forza tubeframe seats using the stock bases and sliders. I'm 5'9 190lbs and pretty much at the "size limit" for this type of installation as well as the narrow race seat models. For me, headroom (w/ helmet) is bigger issue than leg or arm stretch. Anybody >6' probably starts to have both issues to worry about.

In my current 914 I used some really nice Cobra Suzuka kevlar seats and their alloy sidemount brackets, which are bolted directly to the floor. I cut out the floor crossbar and then reinforced the mount points with some additional steel. (I also had no center console or ebrake handle to work around.) Even with my average height I put the brackets at the lowest setting in the rear and one or two holes up in the front to get the right rake/tilt. The headroom and rigidity are both MUCH better with this installation.