wildfelr Posted July 12, 2015 Report Posted July 12, 2015 RQB3263......Has anyone removed the floor board hump (right to left) at the forward seat attach ??? removing this would allow my new seats to bolt direct to the floor 1 1/2 inch lower and closer to the original seat heigth....????? advise me please....BILL RQB3263 PH. 386-466-6434..
Avanti83 Posted July 12, 2015 Report Posted July 12, 2015 There's nothing to keep you from doing it although I'll bet it adds some strength to the floor. As an alternative, why not just remove the portions you need for the installation and bridge the opening with a steel plate to mount the seat. Otherwise, I'd probably use 3/16" or heavier plate under the fiberglass floor and re-glass the floor section that was removed for strength. Bob
wildfelr Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Posted July 12, 2015 RQB3263...Yes I was thinking of something like that ....Possibly 1/4 in. alum plate picking up all 4 existing bolt holes and drilled for the new seat....it could even be one inside and one underneath (sandwich).drilled and bonded thru the fiberglass floor...ill be ordering my new seats and matching material for the rest of the interior and begin stripping out the interior this week and see what ive got ..also the carpet kit ..Ill do research but I can always use input ....More ideas everyone .....thanks BILL
wildfelr Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Posted July 12, 2015 RQB3263.....Well I just had my Avanti up on the rack and...removing the sea attach hump from the floor boards DOES NOT appear reasonably do-able....the hump is not on top of the floor board ...it is the floor board and also there are heat shields and other stuff to deal with..the top and bottom sandwich idea is out .....so im back to using what I have and probably saved a lot of work....RQB3263 BILL
wildfelr Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Posted July 12, 2015 RQB3263...Please enlighten me on the Raccaro seats I hear so much about......the "Legacy Companion" seats i like will not work as they are too thick on the bottom and would raise driver up 3+inches toward the steering wheel...One option is rebuild what I have also....what are my other options ???RQB3263 BILL
Avanti83 Posted July 12, 2015 Report Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Depends on the definition of reasonable but there's no way my 72 YO 6'3" frame is going to set in those early Avanti seats. Let cogitate for a minute. These are the G6 seats going into my 74. This is the side view of the mounting frame mocked up, it needs a lot more work to be pretty/pretty but this is what it looks like. Instead of going directly back from the floor hump at an angle, one could just drop the frame down on the back side of the hump and be near the floor again. This the top view and you can see the location of the front mounting hole which is well back from the mounting hump. While my mount is directly over the front to back raised section of the floor, there is no reason the mount couldn't be made more narrow to clear the hump and a tab added to bolt the seat track too. I not only will have a more comfortable six way power seat but heated too. Good luck, Bob Edited July 12, 2015 by Avanti83
wildfelr Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Posted July 12, 2015 WOW Bob your much deeper into yours than I plan to go....I may just have my seats re-stuffed and upholstered....great pics thanks ....BILL
ron@crall.com Posted July 13, 2015 Report Posted July 13, 2015 Bob, "These are the G6 seats going into my 74." G6? I have been thinking of picking up some Corvette C5 seats like I had in my 92 Vette and putting them into my 71. Who else had changed seats, don't want to exercise my brain too much re-engineering the car, just want something enjoyable to sit in.
Avanti83 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) Ron G6? If that's a question they are from a Pontiac G6 in leather. As far as the Vette seats, it all depends on the mounting. The mount I built just uses the original front bolts and extends the rear mounts further back. It let's me use the OEM seat belt mount that is part of the cross member and much stronger than the original location. Because my front mounts were cr@p I installed a bar across the inside of the front rise and added a nut welded to the rear to house both bolts. Hopefully it's much stronger than the original. In reality, it looks like a bit of work but it's just an upgrade of what's there and not all that invasive unless one want's to adhere to the original mounts. Most anything would be better than the 74's original seats although the seats in the 83 are much better that the 74 and they will stay as is. Bob Edited July 13, 2015 by Avanti83
wildfelr Posted July 18, 2015 Author Report Posted July 18, 2015 RQB3263....Well im back to thinking about removing the seat hump....Monday ill take out the orig seats and carpet and see what i got...the car will be down for several months for glass removal, interior and paint....More input please...BILL
wildfelr Posted July 18, 2015 Author Report Posted July 18, 2015 RQB3263........BOB THANKS FOR THE PICS HERE ......the more i measure the more it looks like I will fab my seat brackets to look much like yours...Cutting the hump out of the floor is still probably out of the q..(Ive been dreaming)....ill know more Monday when i get it stripped out and can take better measurements...but 4 pieces of 1/4 in. steel flat bar is beginning to make more sense for my installation....Ill call Wedge Engineering Monday but i doubt the will have anything i cant make ....keep in touch ...rqb3263 ....bill
Avanti83 Posted July 18, 2015 Report Posted July 18, 2015 RQB3263........BOB THANKS FOR THE PICS HERE ......the more i measure the more it looks like I will fab my seat brackets to look much like yours...Cutting the hump out of the floor is still probably out of the q..(Ive been dreaming)....ill know more Monday when i get it stripped out and can take better measurements...but 4 pieces of 1/4 in. steel flat bar is beginning to make more sense for my installation....Ill call Wedge Engineering Monday but i doubt the will have anything i cant make ....keep in touch ...rqb3263 ....bill Removing the hump will probably take a lot of rigidity out of the floor. A 1/4 in plate should put some/all of that back but I don't know. I'll assume that the BMW seat belt mounts to the inner side of the seat, if so I'd use a more substantial mount than the OEM mounting at the rear of the seat. It's a small 3"? square bonded under the floor which isn't that thick to start with. There is a mounting hole for the OEM seat belt that threads into the X-member portion of the frame. My guess is it's a lot more substantial that the seat mount. I'm going to use it to mount the rear inner side of my seats, the side with the belt attached. I'll help further if I can but my seats are in the mockup mode also as I'm fully engaged in final sanding and painting the exterior of the car. I'll polish off the mounts after that. Post a few shots as you progress for the forum. Bob
mfg Posted July 18, 2015 Report Posted July 18, 2015 The fiberglass factory floor 'hump' was removed from both sides of the front floor of my '73 Avanti. The PO had installed rather large Ford T-Bird bucket seats in the car. As this Avanti is basically a parts car now, I can't really evaluate if cutting the floor weakened the structure or not.
wildfelr Posted July 20, 2015 Author Report Posted July 20, 2015 RQB3263....I called Wedge Engineering this afternoon ....no help....they only adapt "aftermarket" seats....so much for engineering...Ill fab my own ...adios RQB3263
ron@crall.com Posted July 21, 2015 Report Posted July 21, 2015 Do any of those that have created new mounts have the old track available? My drivers side needs to be replaced. If so please let me know what you want for it/them at ron@crall.com or (207) 502-3633
wildfelr Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Posted July 26, 2015 RQB3263...HI Ron..I have two 81 Avanti II highback seats for sale complete w/ all tracks etc. in good cond. blue and white $200.00pair... I also have complete rear bumper assy. all brackets rubber parts $200.00 ...BILL 386-466-6434 Also I have pics of my new seat installation (BMW 330 Sport Coup) but dont know how to upload them here...Advise me ....RQB3263....BILL
Avanti83 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Posted July 27, 2015 RQB3263....I called Wedge Engineering this afternoon ....no help....they only adapt "aftermarket" seats....so much for engineering...Ill fab my own ...adios RQB3263 Shots of Bill's installation. Looks good Bob
ron@crall.com Posted July 28, 2015 Report Posted July 28, 2015 RQB3263...HI Ron..I have two 81 Avanti II highback seats for sale complete w/ all tracks etc. in good cond. blue and white $200.00pair... I also have complete rear bumper assy. all brackets rubber parts $200.00 ...BILL 386-466-6434 Also I have pics of my new seat installation (BMW 330 Sport Coup) but dont know how to upload them here...Advise me ....RQB3263....BILL Consider all sold. I'll try to coordinate with my brother who lives down your way. Do you have a paypal account? I have uploaded pictures a time or two, but it looks like Bob is a master. Perhaps he can give us both a lesson.
Avanti83 Posted July 30, 2015 Report Posted July 30, 2015 I have uploaded pictures a time or two, but it looks like Bob is a master. Perhaps he can give us both a lesson. A lot of forums are really sensitive to picture size, possibly due to storage capability. I just use photobucket. It seems to download a lot of different size photos and when I post them on forums the size is usually what you see posted in this thread.
wildfelr Posted August 9, 2015 Author Report Posted August 9, 2015 RQB3263 BILL...This week I hope to get the metal I need for the pax seat installation....To do this install properly I removed the "heat shield" from above the exhaust pipe that runs under the pax seat....It was a nasty 4 hr. job to say the least as it was installed before the body was put on the frame and none of the bolts had ever been out...difficult yes...impossible no...going back in may be another story...I will replace the fiberglass insulation with a piece of a/c fiberglass duct board...and mostly new bolts w/ clip nuts if I can...This had to be removed in order to gain access to the bottom of the floor board (fiberglass floor) under the car to install screws and nuts holding the new seat attach bracket (pic above)..You need nuts and washers on the fiberglass floor panel under the car....(two man job)...OK I also installed the BMW front seat belt retractors...with minor modifications will work fine......SO....FOR SALE: Driver and pax front seat belt retractor system both complete as removed from my 81 RQB3263...Black and in good condition...includes everything but the attack bolts...$75.00 + $10.00 shipping in lower 48...Call BILL 386-466-6434 Cell in Florida....Thanks
wildfelr Posted October 21, 2015 Author Report Posted October 21, 2015 RQB3263....While visiting Classic Cars Inc. (Avanti IRS &IFS specialists) in Gainesville, Fl. I was shown a set of Mazdz Miata seats that would appear to be close to a direct bolt in in the Avanti...They would certainly be something to look at after all the work i went to to install the BMW 330 seats...In fact i may switch out the BMW seats for miata someday ...RQB3263....BILL
Avanti83 Posted October 21, 2015 Report Posted October 21, 2015 RQB3263....While visiting Classic Cars Inc. (Avanti IRS &IFS specialists) in Gainesville, Fl. I was shown a set of Mazdz Miata seats that would appear to be close to a direct bolt in in the Avanti...They would certainly be something to look at after all the work i went to to install the BMW 330 seats...In fact i may switch out the BMW seats for miata someday ...RQB3263....BILL Bill You may be on to something good here. I just looked at Ebay after reading your post and found that the 2006 and newer seats mount very much like the OEM Avanti. This is a shot of the adapter plate to put other seats in a Miata but it clearly shows the mounting configuration that would be found on the 2006 and up OEM Miata seats. Depending on bracket spacing they are very close. Good Find.
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