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I have some glass fiber replica seats in my Apal, that I think are made by Beck.  I like them, but the tan vinyl doesn't fit with our intended colour scheme, and having them re-upholstered locally is going to cost over £1200 which is about double what the seats cost the former owner of the car!  I'm also worried about driving the car without head restraints, so I'm thinking about changing the seats to get the colour I want and head restraints at the same time.  The Apal isn't a VW floorpan, but the dimensions are similar.  Does anyone know of seats that may come up on eBay in the UK that would fit, and in red?

Audi TT TDI 2009

Previously: 986 Boxster S, 911 (964) C4,  a few ordinary cars...

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Jem:  Be on the lookout for a pair of Mazda Miata (MX-5) seats.  They fit pan based cars like they belong there, look similar to Speedster seats, have headrests and recline AND should be available through online auctions and at salvage yards near you for cheap money.

Good luck with your search.

PS:  Here are mine, from an early 90's Chrysler GTS - They match the door panel and carpet colour perfectly.

new no-flash

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In it's defense, it was almost always easy to fix stuff, but parts were Porsche-level expensive, there was this amazing mix of technologies from around 1938 to present day and that air-ride rear suspension was simply too expensive to fix once it inevitably died.  Still, I noticed that she wasn't especially upset when it skidded on ice, hit a pole and was totaled (she and her son were both strapped in and fine) and she immediately replaced it with a Subaru which has been in the shop exactly never.

Did you know that the Omni/Horizon(Chrysler's answer to the VW Rabbit) originally used VW short-blocks? They were 1.7 litre. The Chrysler 2.2 wasn't ready in time for production. I believe the first year they used VW transmissions as well.

Another interesting fact: the 2.2 aluminum cylinder head was designed and initially manufactured by Fiat.

Last edited by DannyP

In it's defense, it was almost always easy to fix stuff, but parts were Porsche-level expensive, there was this amazing mix of technologies from around 1938 to present day and that air-ride rear suspension was simply too expensive to fix once it inevitably died.  Still, I noticed that she wasn't especially upset when it skidded on ice, hit a pole and was totaled (she and her son were both strapped in and fine) and she immediately replaced it with a Subaru which has been in the shop exactly never.

I had a Sprinter work van once. It during the Daimler/Chrysler years, and was branded as a Dodge Ram but came from the MB plant in South Carolina. The truck spent more time in the (special, Sprinter certified) shop than it did on the job. It started rusting within a month of purchase. It cost nearly $40K almost 20 years ago.

I put 80,000 trouble-filled miles on it before totaling it. Similar used Sprinters were available all over for $13K +/-. I got almost $25K for it from the insurance company. It was by far the best possible outcome for me.

Pity I had to almost kill myself to get out from under owning the thing.

I'm bidding on a set of Jaguar (possibly XJS) leather seats on eBay, that I think will fit width wise, and although higher than the Beck seats, there is a lot of room to lower the seat rails, so I'm hopeful I can make them work as Jaguar leather is really nice and they have headrests.  They also have electric adjustments, which may be fun to get working!

Not going to bid very high on them as they may not work...

Managed to get my two red Jaguar seats for £40 the pair, and (thankfully) the electrics all work (had to fit three new switches).  I've stripped off all the unnecessary plastic mouldings, someone had moved the switches to the front already and I cut off the mounting bracket for the switch assembly.  The seats are then 510mm wide at their widest point, and the gap between central and side tunnels (my car is an Apal with its own chassis) is 515mm so fitting will need to be rather precise.

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