Most people it seems in a seven use lightweight glass fibre seats. This is mainly because of the size restrictions and the quest for less weight. In
a V8 Viento these are not such big issues. Is there enough room in the Viento to get a set of standard sportcar seats? My head sticking above the
roll bar would be bad however!!! Its just that there is a lot of second seats on T'bay with runners. Surely a set of decent leather seats
would be waterproof enough to withstand mild showers.
Any Viento owners have any thoughts?
There's enough room in there for a couple of sofas from DFS!
(only joking - I'm fairly certain that a couple of standard seats would fit OK, but wait for confirmation from someone who really knows...)
I'll be at Newark on Sat and Sunday. I used seats straight out of an MX5. Tight fit but very very cumfy.
I think the width is between 49-50cm in the viento for seats.
I found stadard car seats ranged from 48 -52ish max width across the base so a lot may fit but you need to check.
Paul,
ps do you want to pick up the megajolt
Worth looking perhaps at some of the fixed type sports seats from the likes of Halfords. I looked when building my Indy and there were some around the £80 mark IIRC which were too wide for the Indy, but would probably fit in a Viento.
Before you buy seats SIT in them! and NOT for just 2 minutes!
I have found two sets of Fi-Glass seats that were very comfortable, also they dont suffer with the wet weather like foamy types. ie just a quick wipe
with a leather or a microfibre and they are good to sit in straight away.
Actually I am more worried by water getting into the Sierra Hazard Switch and buggering it up (Been there and now liberally dose it with a WD40 look
alike) as these are not cheap either nowadays.
In Hind sight I would go for Fi-Glass seats, due to the abundance of inclement weather we get.
You can always buy closed cell foam sheeting, cut it to shapes and size and glue that in the seats if you want some padding.
But only use closed cell foam, as it wont absorb water.
I got Cobra Sevens, and they are fine. The GBS versions are not so nice in my opinion, but are cheaper.
I managed to break the frame on my drivers seat (Cobra Seven) Whether its my weight coupled with the acceleration forces of the V8... well I dont
know, but I did break the frame, both sides right on the bend near the lower back area (by my Ar*e). I think it could be a bit more substantial, so I
made it so, with my handy welder, and its hasnt been any trouble since! (only took a couple hours to remove the covering and weld a couple of better
sized bracing bars in)
If you are not comfortable, and held securely in position, it will detract from the whole driving experience!
Hope this helps.
hi
i fitted a pair of Corbeau Forza seats, JUST fit in
found them very comfortable
at the time halfords were the cheapest
I've been a passenger in Paul and Geoffs cars and have found both seats OK but I prefer the Cobra 7s but then I'm biased. Not sure that the
acceleration in Geoffs car is what caused the breakage though
I am going to come to Newark on Sat and request to sit in all of your cars!!
Hello
I've got Cobra Imola seats in mine and they just fit. Key dimensions are the thigh bolsters as they have to fit between the chassis rails and the
tunnel (about 500mm from memory as Paul suggests) and the width and exact location of the shoulder wings as they will foul the rear wheel arch
steelwork and any sort of sidescreen that you might fit if they're too big.
My Imolas are Mark 1 versions (pre-HANS) as the later shell is too big - it's the sculpting of the thigh bolsters that causes the issues.
If I had my build again I would go for an Intatrim Odyssey II or similar if I were sticking with the 'modern' theme. or Challengers if i was
going for a more retro re-build, which I may still do (think BRG re-paint with yellow nose cone and wheel centres, with retro seats and instruments).
The Imolas are great, and once in your harness you're going knowhere, but I could do with something a little less aggressive for most of what the
car gets used for.
So I may have a set of narrow shell Imolas for sale, with mounts, suit Viento or similar !!
Cheers
Simon