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I'm nearing the end of my GT4 clone engine rebuild and now looking at the interior. (My car was formerly a full on race car and I am slowly converting it to something more roadable.)

I currently have modern race seats (fiberglass, uncomfortable) and want to replace them with something more like 70's sports-racing seats - I was thinking of something similar to the attached image.

I found some at retroseats.com but once they learnt I was in New Zealand they stopped talking to me!

Has anyone found anything suitable? I don't want the expense of leather so vinyl is fine.

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If you're looking for period correct, very easy to get in and out of seats, look for Recaro's from the '70's. There are tons of them around, because they were OEM in some BMW's, and you can still buy the knobs and trim pieces from Recaro. They are a bit smaller, thinner and lighter than the Corvette seats too. If you're looking for period correct racing or rally style seats, try GTS Classics ( https://www.classiccarseats.com/ ). I can assure you they'll have no problem shipping seats to New Zealand!

brandhatch_2

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Last edited by davidnunn

Those are all some great looking seats. I still think that Pantera seats fit a Pantera the best though.

Go to Hall Pantera's web page. It seems that everything is going to be in about the same price range.

I have Hall's Pantera seats and they are nice looking and comfortable.

The only thing would be if you can find something locally to save on the shipping.

In retrospect, the perforated bolsters are a very good idea comfort wise. The solids I stick to but the perforated patterns leave that embossed on your back.

Last edited by panteradoug

If you are looking for a period correct seat, look at BF Torino.  BF-Torino.com

They make some really nice period correct seats that don't cost $3K each.  The Recaros are like hunting for lost gold and those that have them want a fortune.  That said, I would be concerned about seat height with them or any seat if you put it on the Pantera slider mechanism.  

As for the comment on Hall seats, I am unaware Hall ever sold seats.  If they did, they are no longer on their website.  They only sell seat covers.

@davidnunn posted:

If you're looking for period correct, very easy to get in and out of seats, look for Recaro's from the '70's. There are tons of them around, because they were OEM in some BMW's, and you can still buy the knobs and trim pieces from Recaro. They are a bit smaller, thinner and lighter than the Corvette seats too. If you're looking for period correct racing or rally style seats, try GTS Classics ( https://www.classiccarseats.com/ ). I can assure you they'll have no problem shipping seats to New Zealand!

brandhatch_2

This is a really nice seat but I think the lack of a folding back is an issue in a Pantera. It isn't so much that you need to fold them over as it is you need the rake adjustment in order to push them all the way back against the bulkhead and have full leg extension.

Of course if you space the pedals forward and you aren't that tall then that doesn't matter.

These cars were built for the average Italian soccer forward of 5'7" and 125 pounds. This is what the Italians call nationalism.



I see lots of these seats in modified Porsches around here.

Last edited by panteradoug
@panterapatt posted:

Your Cobra classic RS look very nice.  Are they on the original Pantera runners?  or a Cobra runner.  Did you have to remove padding from the cushion to provide head clearance?  thanks

Pat, the seats are on Cobra runners.  I mounted them to the Pantera floor pan with custom made laser-cut adapter plates.

At first, head clearance was a bit tight, but the seat has since settled in, and clearance is fine....I'm 5'6".

@panterapatt posted:

If you are looking for a period correct seat, look at BF Torino.  BF-Torino.com

They make some really nice period correct seats that don't cost $3K each.  The Recaros are like hunting for lost gold and those that have them want a fortune.  That said, I would be concerned about seat height with them or any seat if you put it on the Pantera slider mechanism.  

As for the comment on Hall seats, I am unaware Hall ever sold seats.  If they did, they are no longer on their website.  They only sell seat covers.

Hi Patt,

i recently had a BF-Torino Nuerburgring R seat in my car. This seat looks and feels great, but even without seat rails, i don´t get enough head clearance - i`m only 1,73m tall. Does your car have lowered seat pans?

IMG_2096



@ mpaschetto: Do your Cobra RS seats fit without lowered seat pans?

Thanks

Philipp

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@benzol posted:

Hi Patt,

i recently had a BF-Torino Nuerburgring R seat in my car. This seat looks and feels great, but even without seat rails, i don´t get enough head clearance - i`m only 1,73m tall. Does your car have lowered seat pans?

@ mpaschetto: Do your Cobra RS seats fit without lowered seat pans?

Thanks

Philipp

My seats are very similar to the BF Torino seats, and they 'fit' the car.
The seats work for me, but I'm not very tall at 5'6".
I helped my cause by adding spacers under the two front mounting bolts to lean the seat back somewhat.

Originally, the seat padding was rather thick, and my head was close to the roof, but they settled down after some driving time...

I do not have lowered floor pans in my car.

Last edited by mpaschetto
I have 80s (BMW) Recaro seats in My Car. As for the seat height of My Recaro seats in the Car, without the head rests the seats are about as tall as Stock seats With the head rests! With head rest's, add around 6 inches more.
On Thursday, December 2, 2021, 11:17:22 AM PST, The De Tomaso Forums <alerts@crowdstack.com> wrote:

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@benzol posted:
Hi Patt,

i recently had a BF-Torino Nuerburgring R seat in my car. This seat looks and feels great, but even without seat rails, i don´t get enough head clearance - i`m only 1,73m tall. Does your car have lowered seat pans?

@ mpaschetto: Do your Cobra RS seats fit without lowered seat pans?

Thanks

Philipp


My seats are very similar to the BF Torino seats, and they 'fit' the car.
The seats work for me, but I'm not very tall at 5'6".
I helped my cause by adding spacers under the two front mounting bolts to lean the seat back somewhat.

Originally, the seat padding was rather thick, and my head was close to the roof, but they settled down after some driving time...

I do not have lowered floor pans in my car.

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The Scat Rally seat are what I'm going with. They are made to look vintage and also do have a number of upholstery designs. Also they have huge side bolsters which will be great for our cars. The seats appear to measure out perfectly and should be fine for someone my size (5'9"). If you are 6'4" maybe not due to the thickness of the seat bottom.

https://procarbyscat.com/produ...seat-type/recliners/

The have quite a few other seats.

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Last edited by tomsealbeach

One of the critical dimensions is the width of the seat back. If it's too wide, the seat won't recline all the way back and you'll hate them. Also, the narrower the seat, the closer to the center console you can mount it, which means the steering wheel and pedals will be closer to being directly in front of you, as opposed to being offset to the right. If you look at the photo of my interior, below, you'll notice how much room there is to the left of the seat. My seats are the early Recaro's.

IMG_8589

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Last edited by davidnunn

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