Zzzzzz......buz......snort.....Wha? Somebody wake me up?
OK, Speedstah seats 101:
Most of the "Speedster Seats" delivered in these cars from builders won't fit a slightly "mature" American male frame (read that.....Big Butt) and almost all of them aren't especially comfortable after 30 minutes or so (sound familiar?).
If the car is pan-based, you are limited to precisely 17" of seat-well space to fit the seat into. On the VW pan, there is a depression beneath the seat and the rails sit on a shelf on each side of the depression. If you have a Beck or Intermeccanica (and, to some extent, a "Thunder Ranch) you might have 18" to play with, but that's it. The space also tapers slightly inward as you go rearward, making it just that much more difficult.
So what's a tender-butt to do? Well, here are the alternatives that have come up on here over the years:
1. Chuck the bottom cushion on the seats you have and replace them with the thicker cushion from Vintage Speedsters or get a Porsche 914 bottom cushion. All you'll replace is the cushion, al la Jack Crosby. Instant comfort upgrade from 30 mins to about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. If color is an issue, you can get the new pad re-upholstered locally for short money.
2. Chuck the seats you have and replace them with Porsche 914 seats and make sure you get the glider/recliner seat base to go with them (they are left and right). They are designed to fit a VW pan so they fit right in. Instant comfort upgrade from 30 mins to about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The only color options available in these seats probably won't match what you have in the car interior, to you'll either have to cover them or get them re-upholstered. Plan on $400 per seat for that, depending on your local shops.
3. Replace your seats with those from a Mazda Miata. They, too, will fit right in, although the head rest will top out at around 34" above the deck. Same issues apply to color options, but Mazda has a much wider choice, depending on your local salvage yard or eBay.
4. Replace your seats with a totally different make/model from 'Murica. This is the toughest, as most American seats are 19" wide at the base, so you'll have to modify the seat base structure (cutting and welding) to taper the base structure to fit, and then do some magic tapering to the inboard mount of seatback to seat base. Very do-able, not especially easy.
YES! My seats came from a '92 Chrysler LeBaron GT (the little sporty car, not the boxy "K-Car" body), were a PERFECT color match right in the junk yard and had to be modified as in #4 to fit the space. Took a couple of days per seat, but I already had the welder, decent fabricating skills and infinite patience. They are 27" to the top of the seatback from the floor, and 34" to the top of the headrests. They fit the 'Murican male tush very well, provide decent side bolster support but seem just a tad too wide for my 5'6" 150 pound body. (Gives me room to move my wallet out of the way a bit.) They are good for 2 - 3 hours at a whack on the road but the mods are not for everyone. They were "Road Approved" by my Junior Pit Crew.
