Modern Seats?

Try lotus elise seats

Here are some I saw on an immaculate car in AZ a few years back. I believe the owner said they were Ferrari seats (maybe 308), and they had controls where the seat slid on rails electronically as well. The most comfortable and functional seats I have ever sat in and I think they had the right look as well.

Pantera floors are fairly narrow. I once mounted a set of Ferrari 512 Boxer seats in a '73 and while they were pretty and comfortable in the end, it was FAR more work than any adaption I'd ever done- including engine swaps. The seat rails mount too close to the seat bottoms to easily get even an end wrench on the rail attach nuts, the fore/aft adjust levers were steel (broken) & needed repair, contouring and new knobs, the seat cushions are too wide unless you remove the stock seatbelt plates in the floors & fabricate thinner covers with countersunk flathead attach bolts & hand-contour bevels on the large diameter plastic rake adjust knobs, & then you must use aftermarket seat belts, the rail-sliders are polyethylene strips and bind up unless greased regularly- which then catch dust and dirt & bind up again....there are more interferences but I blocked most of this nightmare out of my mind. It probably would've been easier to replace the whole FLOOR & console with Ferrari sheet metal. Do yourself and any shop workers a favor and measure VERY carefully, & reject any seats that are not the same size or smaller than a stock Pantera seat.

I removed my seat bolts, then drove around from vendor to vendor, dropping in and trying out seat after seat. With no satisfactory results, I found what I think is the best solution. I looked around for an OE seat I liked. It turned out that the most comfortable and modern looking seat for me was one from my son's Volvo. I took pics and measurements then found an upholsterer to duplicate it, USING MY STOCK SEATS.

So, using my pans, rails and hardware we created the perfect modern seat. Same rails. Same mounts. Same perfect fit.

See more at:

DavidB, I've seen your 'after' photos before but had no idea they were Volvo inspired. That is fantastic. They look perfect in the car.

Far as the Ferrari seats, I'd say those came from a 348, though 308/328 seats would probably fit better since the backrest is thinner.

Below are C4 seats done in leather in the Pantera pattern. Well pleased with these.

And installed...

David,
Your seats like the rest of the interior. are gorgeous! The interior is a perfect rendition of what a modern Pantera would have. Everything just looks right.

As for Adams seats. They look like something that should be in a C4 Vette. Oh I forgot they are from a C4 Vette.
And this from someone who is always worried about originality!

Jeff

I'm seriously considering Viper seats with custom leather covers on them (out of the latest Vipers). I've got the seats and they do fit in the car, but just like most seats, are a little too thick, or the rails need to be taken off and bolted directly to the floor. I was thinking about having different fastener spacing in the pan to be able to adjust the seats that way. Not as handy, but would probably work. Can also reshape the seat bottom so they are not as thick. They are extremely comfortable -- the only reason I would screw around with these.

Also, the Viper seats adjust for rake as well.

Sorry, no pictures; still do not know if I am going to use these.

Mark

I have a question for you David.

What did you make the foam for the seat out of? Looks like a custom type thing -- I am curious what was used. Your seats look very comfortable too. Would you hesitate going across the country in these seats?

Mark

Actually it took some work to get it perfect. There a million types of foams - from super soft and pliable up to very dense and stiff. In order to get the support and comfort the upholsterer and I experimented - eg; him cutting pieces of different foam and me getting in and out of the car - probably 10 times until we had what was a pretty dense series of foams, layered to give firm yet comfortable support without losing headroom.

Now I can sit in the car for hours. And I do. The seats are super comfortable and I even have a hidden manual pump that operates an inflatable bladder in the seat back. Very nice.

The only problem with long rides is keeping my leg and foot in one position on the loud pedal for so long.

What I need is cruise control! Anyone have any ideas?

Hi David,

I do have a source for an electronic cruise control that does not use vacuum to operate. Here is the link:

Rostra Cruise Control

Just to make sure, I have no interest in this cruise control and will make no money on it if anyone does go and buy it -- just wanted to be clear on that.

You can use the cruise switch that is mounted on the dash, or go the expensive way that I went and change the column and everything to something that is more 1970's looking. Yes, I went with a 1971 New Yorker tilt column and got to pay to have the horn relocated to the center of the steering wheel (but it is integral to the Mopar turn signal switch, so that helps). The cruise control switch from 1971 looks right in the car, and still operates the Rostra electronic cruise control -- at least in theory. Have not tried it yet, but it is all set to try when the time is right. There are two other switches that are installed, one at the brake, and the other on the tach to turn off the cruise with a spike in the rpms, or if the brake is depressed. David, you will have no trouble at all figuring this out. It is very easy to understand once you get the schematic in front of you. All simple circuits that home run into the servo.

Sorry about another hijacking in so many days; but I wanted to answer the question that I have been studying for it seems forever.....

Have fun,

Mark

David,

Why don't you try Dakota Digital?

http://www.dakotadigital.com/

Click on 'Automotive', then scroll down a bit to 'Cruise Control'. They cater to Hot Rods, what they have may work for you.

Michael

Sorry to veer off the subject, too. I hate hijacking the seat thread. But I have been down this route before.

Thanks for the ideas guys. They are both good ideas. I looked at Dakota a few years ago, but somewhere along the 25 pages of installation instructions I got a little concerned. It seems a lot simpler now.

But...

Maybe I'm worrying for nothing. Mashing the throttle for extended periods doesn't ever bother me, but looking at this pic does.

Am I just afraid of somewthing new or does this look like something that can fail - with some serious consequences? I would feel better about a sawed off broom handle, in my right hand, pressing down on the accelerator while I stretch my right leg.

Anyone have any practical experience installing these on our cars?

Getting a cruise control to actually work in a mid-engine car is tricky. There are none made specifically for such conversions so the magnetic pickup that is intended to be attached to the driveshaft will instead be on a halfshaft. The successful ones reportedly use two magnets rather than one, and they apparently attach easier on stock-size halfshafts rather than the skinnier CV-joint halfshafts. Then you get to interface modern electronics to the primative Lucas wiring in our beloved cars....
As an alternative, have you thought about a hand throttle such as most cars had in the last century?

quote:

magnetic pickup

Very old school system.

The newer ones can utilize a VSS signal (there are at least two that fit our ZF, one a stock Ford part) and/or a tach signal.

Wiring is minimal and within the ability of most owners. The electronic servo style, rather than the older vacuum units, is now the way to go.

Do a search of the archives. We've been through this before.

Larry