More Seat Fun

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I installed carpet and realized that the seats had to come forward and therefore needed to fit in a 16 inch width.  The seats are 17 inches wide.  That's a problem.

On Bradley.com several folks have used other seats from different cars.  Camaro, 240SX, Saturn, Miata and Fiero.  These seats (both new and used) can be expensive and unless you personally measure them, they might not be the 16 inches you need. The other factor to consider is the Bradley seat is meant to lay back, these seats will lay back but weren't designed to be that way.

Problem solved - cut the seat.

Notice I cut on the lip side.  As you can see there is still plenty of foam padding and I have a skinny little butt anyway.  The seat lip sits directly on the Bradley fiberglass body.  The console side will have to sit on a bracket of some sort.  I tested this with a couple 2X4s under the console side and it really fits in nicely and I didn't notice any discomfort from where I had cut.

Here's what works.  Two 5 inch L brackets, like I had done in an earlier post, but then add a 1 inch bar across them to insure they don't move.

This makes a much more stable frame.

Because I'm usually working by myself I had to get creative in my problem solving.  How to mark where the holes should be drilled through the pans?  A pen won't fit and most are dark inks.  I used a small bolt dipped in red paint.  The arm rest lip sits on the Bradley body.  I left that side unsecured since it feels pretty snug.

Final result.

I had taken the seat covers and washed them at a local laundromat since the Mrs wouldn't let them anywhere near our machines.  : )  As far as colors go, the black and red is good for now but I'd like something different in the future.  I still need to add about an extra inch or two of foam in my seat, more support for my lower back.
The best part is my wife sat in her seat and loved it.  It's comfortable and she has head room.  Oh yes, progress is a good thing. : )