Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: TurboFource on Wednesday,May 08, 2024, 12:08:11 PM
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As I want to drive TCST instead of heading down the path of major rusty seat rebuilding, is anyone running aftermarket seats? If so, what are they and how are they?
The original seats may go on a shelf for future me to deal with.
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I have never seen anyone here find one that fit and could slide all the way back (in case you are a taller sort).
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I am “Chapman” sized …. But would still like the seat to be able to slide all the way back….
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The seats from the Elise might work but you'd have to make/modify custom seat runners to fit. They are narrow and basically just a fibreglass shell with minimal padding and, IMO, far too expensive for what they are ! I'd expect it would be cheaper to restore the Europa originals than buy s/h Elise seats.
I have seen similar shells sold as kit car/competition seats which would probably work, something like this;
https://www.kitcardirect.co.uk/products/fibreglass-low-side-high-back-seat-shell-grp (https://www.kitcardirect.co.uk/products/fibreglass-low-side-high-back-seat-shell-grp)
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Summit Racing seems to have a wide variety of seats available: https://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=seats
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Hi
Personally I think the original Europa seats suit the car so well that it would be a shame to use anything else. I have no issues with custom trimming. Its not like Elans and in my case +2's where I refuse to use the standard seats because (at least on UK cars) there are no head restraints, and for me that is a total no-no. So both my +2's have aftermarket seats.
All the best
Berni
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Are drawings with dimensions available?
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I thought you had a rusty seat frame. Did I misremember?
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I do ... really rusty ....
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I would think your could make your own measurements though you may need to extrapolate a bit.
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I will probably “wing” it …thought a drawing would be helpful :confused:
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The Elise seats will definitely fit in the Europa with plenty of room. While I had the seats out of my Elise, I decided to do a fit test of the seats in the Europa. As can be seen in the photo, the Elise seats are a little bit narrower, quite a bit taller and a bit less reclined. Somehow they don't quite look right in the Europa. As Brian stated, they ain't cheap. All the ones I've seen for sale were asking close to $1000/ pair. If you can find a pair really cheap locally, might be worth looking into.
I have a pair of TC seats sitting on my storage shelf that I will sell but shipping costs may be a bit more than what you may want to spend. The other option is a bolt together TC seat system that someone was selling a few years back. I don't plan on using it and may put it up for sale. RDEnt was selling the same seats a couple of years ago, no longer on their website.
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Wasn't someone selling the Europa seat parts in a "flat" kit, where the pieces were pre-cut but needed welding?
I see R.D. has seat tracks.
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That's a good set of comparison shots, I didn't realise how much narrower the Elise seats are compared with the OEM Europa ones. And the Elise seats you have are the ones with extra padding, the S1 seats are even thinner on your backside !
I've never tried mine in the Europa and you're right, being much taller they do look out of place unless of course you're going for the competition/track car look.
Brian
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Intatrim has seats that fit. They have the basket weave too. Empi has a lowback that would work ok. I was close to buying some Intatrim but recovered mine last summer.
An old thread on seats when I was looking.
https://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=3998.msg42502#msg42502
GT40 Intatrim
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I will probably “wing” it …thought a drawing would be helpful :confused:
I have this stolen pic from my hoard.
I don't know if the dimensions are valid but it might be possible to check against yours.
It's for an S2 and I also don't know all the differences compared to a TCS seat - probably the recline angle and the seat cushion 'webbing' on the later cars?
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Random eBay search turned up these https://www.ebay.com/itm/402259486316?itmmeta=01HXEXAGREHPJ1Z7CJEF9K5BQF&hash=item5da888a66c:g:7SIAAOSwhjNeuftl
Has other styles as well: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=jdmwerks13&store_cat=0&store_name=jdmwerks13&_oac=1&_nkw=seats
Need to pay shipping from CA, but the quotes are not too bad.
Ron
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Hi
That Intrim GT40 seat looks really quite good!
https://intatrim.co.uk/products/gt-40/#
All the best
Berni
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To do again, I would buy the GT40's they have. I spent so much time fixing rust, weld edges back on, replacing bad foam and then the cost of vinyl and time to put in on wasn't worth the effort.
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Hi
I think these retrimmed seats look really great. Does this look like leather or vinyl, anyone know? If I find a good and reasonably priced trimmer in the UK I shall have mine done in this style. I also like the headrest treatment. The headrest area on the original seats always seem to look like a bit of an afterthought to me. Pictures and link to car below.
https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1972-lotus-europa-twin-cam-8xaweg#&gid=1&pid=34
Berni
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That's a very nice TC!
I don't think you can tell whether the seats are vinyl or leather. Since they don't say leather in the description, I'd assume they are vinyl.
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I'd say they were vinyl, looking closely. Not quite the same, but very similar to these - no connection but the guy still seems to be doing upholstery, UK based.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?id=100057388190889&story_fbid=2562754893751352
Apologies to Turbofource for the thread drift :newhere:
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Hi Chguava
Thank you for the link. Funnily enough I had messaged him about them a month or so ago, but you jogged my memory so I gave him a call. He's quite heavily booked up and also having a medical procedure soon, and will be out for a couple of months before getting back to his diary. His work is bespoke so he's the right man if you want any modifications done also.
So I will stay in touch with him and investigate other options.
Tks again
Berni
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I used these, came with the slides. Had to raise the fronts about 2” to get the correct lean . The stock bobbins are too wide so made new. Cut down the seat pad so I would fit better, I’m 6’ tall. I can send pictures if you want.
https://www.retroseats.com/products/retro-classic-vintage-racing-bucket-seats-pvc-microsuede-inserts-with-sliders-pair
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Heads up, measure very carefully.
So I bought new seats in the 90's and the project stalled. Now restarted.
I decided to go with new seats to get some control of the rake (my back does not like the stock rake) and to allow easy access to storage behind the seat. Pluss the originals needed a rebuild. I wanted a comfortable (non race) seat. I carefully measured and the seats fit in the car great but .....
I did not account for some of the details of the Lotus seat design and the cushioning. The Lotus seat uses 2" cushion. Typical practice is 3 to 4" with spring suspension. The Lotus bottom is a recessed pan that effectively puts the bottom cushion on the floor, nearly at the same level of the bottom of the sliders.
So while the seat fits I lost about 2" of vertical and 2" of horizontal seating space. I've taken the springs out of the seat bottom and regained about an inch, I may drive for a while and see if the new foam compresses another inch. If not I'll replace with a thinner piece. This actually feels better, making the seat bucket deeper. For length, I plan to cut into the slanted wall behind the seat (leaving a 1" fiber glass cross beam at floor level) to allow the seat to roll back another inch. I think that will get back to the comfortable situation I had before (I'm 5'8" and 170lb).
Sadly I can not recall the seat vendor.
Ron
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In my original driver seat, I cut the bottom cushion in half horizontal-wise to get enough room for my 6'3" head. That worked. The newly recovered seats haven't been installed yet. So I don't know if the upholsterer noticed and made thin seat cushions.
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Have you considered a bead seat? If you don't need the front to rear adjustment, just make your own. Then cover with the material provided. I have made my own seats in every race car I have had except my Ligier which had a great seat and adjustable forward and backward pedals.
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In my original driver seat, I cut the bottom cushion in half horizontal-wise to get enough room for my 6'3" head.
I’m not quite as tall as you are (probably 6’ 1” but I used to be 6’ 2” :) ). I considered lowering the floor in toward the rear but I thought the firewall would need some adjustment which would also entail modifying the seat/shoulder belt braces so instead, I put a bubble in the roof.
I think your solution is better though because it lowers your head so your visibility is probably a bit better.