MadaboutKitcars

... Then I'll begin.

Another area I am currently researching is Sammio seat choices.
Below are some of the solutions I've found in various build threads.

Note: There seems to be a number of variables at play here:
- A broad range of driver heights
- The use of lowered floor pans
- Fitting seat runners vs. bolting seats directly to the floor
- How the 'walls' of the cockpit interior are constructed
Hopefully the fact I am only 5' 8" will work in my favour when it comes to seat choices.


Trevor Bennett
Seats - Mamba Budget Classic
[url]www.midlandswheels.com[/url]
Price - £63 each
Width = 47cm, Height = 73cm




Mister Towed
Seats - Dax AC Cobra 427
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130625517895?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1952.l2649#ht_500wt_1180
Price - £55 each
Width = 43cm, Height = 48cm




TriTone
Seats - Modified Landrover




DaveCymru
Seats - Cobra




Mulberry
Seats - Custom made to Mel's design




Gaz Davies
Seats - Unknown




Gary - Old 66
Seats - Unknown



Clearly I haven't been able to spot all the seat details.
So more details on any of the above, or other alternatives would be welcome.

Cheers, Paul.

PS
These are the narrowest trimmed seat I could find at a reasonable price.
Mamba Baby Cub Bucket Seat - £80 each
[url]www.midlandswheels.com[/url]
Width = 41cm, Length = 67cm & Height = 71cm
The width appears to be less than Mr T's Dax which clearly fit.
The height includes the removeable headrest.
So with the head rest removed, surely these would fit?

Here's how mine are progressing -





They're about as big as you can get in the Sammio cockpit and give a very comfortable, and low driving position, which is what I wanted.

LOVE the serious expression!

Towed ....really liking the way your car is sitting now..stance looks great , seating position is bang on too.....

modified landrover double hump ones look great... (and i am biased towards the green oval)

Thanks Gary. I was a bit worried I might have lowered it too much but now I've trial fitted the body I reckon I can get away with it. It's got three cut down top leaves under the 80mm lowering block, which has some box-section welded into it for extra strength btw, giving 98mm of lowering on the back. I cut the front springs down by 95mm to match. That's as far as you can go on the front without major modification as you have to put both the 'rubber' shims on top of the shock tower rather than one each side or the spring doesn't seat properly (hope that makes sense).







The seats are great and I reckon you could mount them on a flat floor and still not sit too high. That would also allow you to mount them further inboard (so long as you fitted a low-profile prop tunnel) which would give you more shoulder room at the sides. Having been out in Phil Jacklin's BRG 2.5 litre car (awesome!), where you sit at about the same level as mine, there's no problem with 'wind rush' past your ears. The wind deflector does what it says on the tin.

Oh, and apologies for the seriously scary expression on the latest pictures but I've just finished a run of weekend late shifts and my 'Feck off home now or else' expression that works so well on drunken idiots seems to have got stuck on my face...

As I inch ever closer to bonding on my body my thoughts are turning to the interior more and more and I'll be checking out a couple of local trimmers next week. I'll be taking this picture with me and asking for something similar but in dark red leather. Mmmmmm.

Have you modified your rear wheel arch 'lips' to allow clearance? The one biggest niggle with mine atm is the rear wheels scrubbing the top of the arches when going over bumps at speed.

ahh.

wait a min..

remember who I'm talking to...

Not that i'm driving 'that' fast you understand, it's all down to the bad road conditions around here as i believe that i've been perfectly within my capabilities and the vehicles capabilities and well under the posted limits officer.


Phew... i think i got away with that?

Not so fast...

I haven't modified the wheel arch edges yet. Looking at mine I think I might get away with it as the there's quite a lot of negative camber on the back wheels (and the fronts come to think of it) so the tops of the wheels are a fair way inboard and move even further in as the wheels rise up in the arches. I'm running fairly slim 175/70 tyres on 4 1/2 x 14's which might make a difference too. Aren't you running bigger 15's Dave?

Yup i went for 165/65/15 on 5.5J wheels.

So with you on 175/70/14's then according to mintylamb http://www.mintylamb.co.uk/?page=tyre.htm then i'll actually be running slightly smaller diameters than you?

Hmm, could it be the extra width of the 5.5" wheels?

i think it must be as i've got a narrower tread pattern, but that must be stretched wider?

I am still researching a future Cordite build (when I get a new job...) but have always liked these beach buggy seats



They are £80 for the pair with the seat covers at £100 per pair available from http://www.eastcoastbuggies.co.uk/index.php?id=14

I like the diamond stiched ones and as I live in Scotland the fact that you could remove the covers if caught in the rain could be quite useful!

Mister Towed - Any idea how wide your seats will be after trimming?

DaveCymru - Similarly, do you have the dimensions of your Cobra seats?

BazMason - Thanks for the link, although I couldn't see any sizes?

Cheers, Paul.

Buggy seats

Hello,

I,ve bought secondhand ones and they fit well!About 45cm width and not too high.
I hope I can get the covers in a nice colour.

The seats I used were bought from eBay. Can't remember the details but think I put a link on my build thread.

Baz, I like those buggy seats a lot, I think that they will be in my future build(s). I also prefer the diamond cross stitching and that is what I've asked for on my Lamborghini build interior also.

GazDavies - Sorry I missed the link as I was working backwards through your build, but here it is...



Cheers, Paul.

I'll be asking for very thin padding so I don't expect there to be a significant increase in width over the naked frames.

Did you get that Se5 then?

No, it was a complete mess and would have needed a full rebuild so I walked away. I've seen a few with great potential that I will have a look at when I get back from holiday this week.

Gaz - Sorry mate, one last question...
Do you have standard, or lowered floor pans?
As I think these seats may be a winner as the price includes the runners & they clearly fit.





I particularly like this description:

"This design features a non-absorbant pvc making them a favourite for open sportscars in an English summer!"



Cheers, Paul.

Paul, yes I liked that comment also and can conform that they do not absorb any water!

I do have lowered floor pans. I think I have a 2.5 inch drop from memory but my build thread should confirm (sorry, I could look myself but I'm on my iPhone, sat by the pool in Ibiza at the moment and the beer is free). My pans are the same depth all of the way around and I've used some hardwood wedges to tilt them back and enable me to move them forward and back. I would of course just make the floor pans slope next time but I hadn't thought about that when I had them made up! I haven't seen them in person but Gary's new floor pans look like they would be spot on.

Lowered pans and the right seats make a huge difference to the driving position and overall look of the car.

I made my own using phenolic coated ply and fibreglass -









It took me about three full days and cost around £70 in materials. Then, just in the nick of too late, Gary announces his at £90 a pair.



Spot the difference

They look like pretty good value to me and will take the driving position from this -



To this -



It might not look much but it makes a big difference to the amount of exposure your skull gets to the elements.

Did I mention it was raining here, again!
Jokes aside, thanks for your feedback, it really helps.

Mister T - Another great reply, thanks.
If you are 5' 11", then at 5' 8" I will only be marginally lower that your new position.
Given that we share a similar "aerodynamic" hair style, this can only be a good thing.

Looks like lowered floor pans are the way to go.

Cheers, Paul.