Just finished reading Bob's adventure of buying a car sight unseen in TX and driving to SC. I did something similar a few years back with a P210 Van. Flew to Detroit and drove the PV back to Rochester NY the same day. Made it just fine, but boy was it busy on the Canadian X-way with 4.56 gears and no OD.

My reason for this post was mentioned in Bob's adventure--about replacement seats for the PV. Mine is a 67 wagon but the seats didnt change. I was thinking about using classic Saab 900 seats front and rear, to get comfort, leather and heated seats.

I certainly would be interested in other good choices for seats.

Thanks, all.

Bob Tescione

I have always wanted a better seat than stock and usually chose the 1800 ES leather transferred from my summer car. But I went for something more pleasing and comfortable and ....cheap. The width is an issue but I found a Saturn seat was very comfortable and cloth (winter car) and nice to look at in gray. They are also very durable and available These are from a wagon around 1992 and cost $30 for the pair from the bone yard. Sorry about the fish eye lens but it's the picture most easily found.

Christopher

Those are pretty nice seats - and they look like they're about 4"-5" further away from the steering wheel than stock ones would be. Not bad, but not the classic look I like...

I DO like your visor, though!

I saw a 544 at the dealer (like Irv, every service since new at the dealer) that the owner had kitted with Miata seats.
--
'73 142, '75 242, '75 245, '80 245, '86 244, '87 745T

When this topic came up a year or two ago, I grabbed a seat out of my '90 Miata and tried it for fit in my 544 project car. Narrower than the 544 seats, and lots of vertical space for a simple custom platform to go on the 544's built-in seat anchorages, on which to bolt down the Miata seat tracks. Durable construction, and excellent seats for the sitting, my back and rump tell me. Some of them come with speakers in the headrest, accessible by a zipper in the upholstery. I had to take out the 2-inch thick foam pad in the center of the driver's seat back to get enough legroom in the Miata; this improved upper body lateral support by making a deeper bucket around my ribs, and lost me nothing in comfort. It's been 12 years since then. I won't fool with the 544 seats.

Cog

As I mentioned in that thread, I'm really happy with the BMW 300 series Recaros. I'm still flogging myself for not pulling the second set they had in that particular yard, eventhough they were in bad shape. When I went back, everything in the yard had gone to the crusher in response to the current high value of scrap. Saab seats are good, they give good just-behind-the-knees support, unlike some of the ones coming out of Japanese cars. Honda and Toyota seats are generally quite good. Keep your eyes open for a wrecked 2-door Lancia, very rare, but the seats are spectacular, I've read. It's not easy to find good seats that are not too broad for PVs. I've seen 142 seats used, and they seem to work well, requiring a minimum of track modification. With all of them it's a juggling act in a PV to get the right height while still being able to get at the e-brake and seat belt anchor and not ending up even further to the left of the steering wheel. With the Recaros, a fair amount of flat bar and welding was required to get it right. Remember, they have come from a 2-door. Check this Board's archives. There should be more info on the subject there.
Bob S.

I looked for a long time for seats for the PV which were both period and nice seats, width ( or rather lack of it is the major problem )I've now got a set of Alfa Guilia Sprint seats, about 1967 which look exactly right, are nice little supportive buckets and have a good tilt/recline mechanism, of course its an expensive way to, the seats were free but will need restoring and they aren't heated etc, depends what you want, I've also got a set of 72 Alfa junior seats in good cond with headrests which would be cheaper to put in but I think its worth it to get the period look.
Hans
New Zealand

I have some problems with the original PV seats, but I think trying to replace them would make it even worse.

I'm handicapped, and mostly (95%) in a wheelchair. Getting into my PV is a trick even with the stock seats. I have to back in, right foot first, then rotate and drag the other foot inside.

The steering wheel is part of my problem; it's a 15" wheel, and I can barely get my legs underneath it. Of course, without power steering, going to a smaller diameter wheel is out of the question for the time being.

Also, the stock seats don't really go back far enough. That makes me sit awfully close to the steering wheel, and even though I've been down there and made sure the seats were fully in the rearmost position, there's just not enough room.

I know that many of the more modern seats that would fit into the car have rather larger side bolsters, so with them I'd be entirely unable to get into the car.

As they are, my stock seats with the newer upholstery will do just fine, especially as I intend to find the conversion kit that will let me make the interior into a bed (the front seat backs are removed, and the rear seat back bridges the gap between the front and rear seats, making a reasonable bed.)

I suppose I'll upgrade the seats in about ten years, when the upholstery needs re-doing. By then I should have found something that looks right and I can actually use.

I hope to have finished my little matching teardrop camp trailer by then!

Steve,
Perhaps you should investigate Christopher's Saturn seat option. They don't look any higher than the original PV seats. Of course, the seat's side bolsters may cause a problem for you. I don't know how stiff they are on the Saturn. On the Recaros I like so much they are very stiff and quite high, so, probably, not a good option for you.
Bob S.

The t@b trailers look just about right for towing behind a PV.

http://www.tab-rv.com/index.php

I have also read that the PV seats are supposed to be quite nice when rebuilt. OTOH there is a set of Recaro seats in our '82 Avanti. They are _extremely_ comfortable. My better half has a fairly compromised back (six fused vertebrae so far) and she does not have extra problems getting in that car. It may depend on the particular seat model or, as you say, the location of the steering wheel.

Joe M

Google "Teardrop Trailer" and you'll get a whole bunch of variations on that theme. One of the European PV sites - don't recall now if it was the Norwegian, Swedish, or German - has a nice picture of a whole caravan of PVs pulling teardrops.
Bob S.

Mine came out of ~1986 vintage Chevy sports car. They are RED. and electric
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm