Dirt Cheap Race Seats

[TravThePro]

Guide is now about 95% complete, if somebody actually tries to install them I'll finish it 100% or if it gets enough attention. Picture guide is all the way at the bottom.


This is probably a 2/10 on the difficulty scale, if you're willing to change your oil you can more than likely do this.

****THIS SHOULD COST YOU LESS THAN $100, ****
first set I did cost me $52 and the second set was $58 for my buddy, next was $60 for another buddy (This includes both seats, all mounting hardware, and Tax)

PROS
-Super easy to install (It's a direct bolt up aside from 1 bolt if you don't correctly heighten the seat)
-The stock seat belt clip safely and securely works with the seats with no added work
-Very kind to the wallet
-The seats hold you in much better
-Seats are far more comfortable
-Seats are more adjustable than the stock cloths
-Easier to get into your rig (This is nice if you have it super lifted)
-Look professional
-You can run a harness with it (doesn't come with one though)
-Doesn't burn or freeze you like the leather ones do (This is a god send)
-More durable than the stock seats
-Great for people who are taller as it gives you room to choose your seat height
-Works with the stock under-seat heater

CONS
-You have to have a little bit of luck with finding a junkyard with the seats and then finding seats that are at least in decent shape (Patience and looking around will solve this)
-You have to drill 2 holes through your entire body
-Better than stock but not the best for people 300+ pounds as the seat doesn't have the width to "perfectly" hold huge people
-You have to buy new mounting hardware for 6/8 of the total mounts =~$15
-You add a larger zone of blindspot for when you're backing up
-If you don't line up the rails correctly, the rails bind up and don't smoothly slide back and forth
-Doesn't really save enough weight for it to be considered a performance mod

Tools Required:
-Drill with 3/8 drill bit (or a big screwdriver and a lot of hammering but I DONT recommend this)
-Hammer: I have had a lot of luck with a 4 pounder but anything works if you hit hard enough
-Basic sockets or wrenches
-Patience: with getting seats and lining the rails up before you put the seat in so it doesn't bind
-Big Sexy Muscles (or a second pair of hands to help you slightly bend/hold the seat in place for installing 2 bolts)

Hardware Required:
-Seats out of a 7th gen Toyota Celica (2000-2006)
-2 stock seat mounting bolts (believe it or not, this ones easy)
-2 1.5 inch stock mounting bolt threaded bolts
-2 3.5 inch stock mounting bolt threaded bolts
-2 4.5-5 inch 3/8 bolt (I recommend stainless for this one)
-4 3/8 nuts (or 2 3/8 lock nuts are a little better)
-8 3/8 hole by 1 inch diameter washers
- This is the fun one... you can either make pipe for spacers to level the seats or buy huge nuts that are $0.34/each at your local Lowes. I can find the exact measurements and amount of the giant nuts (I think its 18) you need to do this if there is enough interest.

THIS IS MEANT ONLY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE WILLING TO GO TO THE JUNKYARD

If you're a poor boy like me and have either leather seats or torn fabric seats (like my first rig that I swapped them in), then this is a very good way for you to get much nicer seats with paying around the same price you would for replacement seats in bad shape. Also please keep in mind that there is also a little bit of luck that plays into this as you have to find a junkyard with a certain car in a range of years.

I have swapped them in:
-96 SR5 fabric seats which was a direct bolt 3/4 of the mounts(both sides) Previous owner ruined 3 of the stock mounts and smashes a hole through one of them... This is something almost nobody will deal with, I've only ever seen this issue on my 96
-97 Limited leather seats with rear heater 3/4 direct bolt (both sides)
-99 SR5 with Leather seats, seat warmers, and rear heating 3/4 direct bolts (both sides)
-These should work in all 3rd gens (1996-2002) with the measuring I've done, but the seat mounts change a little bit between the years so if you want a good sturdy mount at the correct height, you're going to have to drill some holes.

Things to consider:
-Once you get your seats and mounting hardware it's only about an hour install if you don't know what you're doing. I can do it in around 15 minutes for both sides now that I know what I'm doing but make sure you take your time so it goes in correctly.
-You should be careful to unplug the electrical from your stock seat so that you don't ruin the plug, it really doesn't matter but there is potential is could save you future hassel.
-The seats are mechanical only, I don't find this to be a big deal but if you're an electrical only person, this pronbably isn't a good mod for you even though you will hardly ever be changing seat positions.
-You need to be careful installing them with the rear heater on the passenger side seat so as not to smash the heating vent that runs right next to the mount.

NOTE:
You can use nothing but stock mounting hardware as long as you have a hammer and don't mind the fact that you're only going to be using 3/4 mounts and it will be off camber, twisted, and way sunken down along with only being stable with moderate street driving and bounce like hell with offroading.
You don't have to buy a new seatbelt or anything as the stock seatbelt will clip safely into the new seat with nothing having to be done.

If anyone would like a more in depth guide on how to completely install them including pictures, I'd be happy to as there is enough interest.

This is my first post so please let me know if I goofed up anywhere, I'd also love any advice anyone has to give!

 

[tarsun]

those look like the ones i installed in my 4runner. they hold you tight. i absolutely love 'em. took some time and some patience to get everything aligned and set nice and straight but im glad i did.
ill post up some picts.

 

[the walrus]

Very nice!

 

[spoonsports86]

oem yota seats ftw

 

[Scramble]

This is my first post so please let me know if I goofed up anywhere, I'd also love any advice anyone has to give!

Yea, pics of the install from start to finnish! Looks like a good option over expensive aftermarket race seats.

 

[TravThePro]

those look like the ones i installed in my 4runner. they hold you tight. i absolutely love 'em. took some time and some patience to get everything aligned and set nice and straight but im glad i did.
ill post up some picts.

Toughest part is the rear sideways bolt (on both sides) with adding roughly 3/4 inch of a spacer, It's always fun to have to realign the rails 10 times when you accidently bump the seat before it has 2 bolts in it as well haha.

They are awesome, I've heard nothing but praise.. Even when I'm asking for even minor problems people experience. I got thrown around a lot more with my old seats and they began to tear so I thought I'd run a set up with a better fabric that actually held you in place and this was just perfect.

Post the pics, I've been too busy with college and work to go take more.. I should take a couple today of my jerry rig with my giant bolt spacers haha.

 

[TravThePro]

Yea, pics of the install from start to finnish! Looks like a good option over expensive aftermarket race seats.

Thanks for the advice! This started with me only wanting to make a post asking people if they would like a write up but ended up with me doing pretty much the entire guide minus the pictures and step plan. I'm working and doing college for minimum of 105 hours/week so it's a little hard but I should be able to finish the pics and write up fairly soon if i tear it all apart at work.

 

[TravThePro]

Something to keep the guys who won't run anything but yota happy! It's a miracle!

 

[KingPrat]

I'm a bit confused here. You don't mention anywhere what the seats came out of? Or is this more of a "find the bolstered seats and swap in rails" kind of thing?


EDIT: Nevermind, found it. Had to read it like 3 times to find it though.

Celica seats!

 

[TravThePro]

I'm a bit confused here. You don't mention anywhere what the seats came out of? Or is this more of a "find the bolstered seats and swap in rails" kind of thing?


EDIT: Nevermind, found it. Had to read it like 3 times to find it though.

Celica seats!

That's because I put it in the wrong section, sorry about that!

 

[phattyduck]

I have the leather version of these seats in my old Camry:

Pretty comfortable. Though, with the leather seating surface, they don't hold you as well as you might think. (sore arms and legs from a track day are proof of that...) The grey and black colors of the Celica seats will probably work fine with a moon mist interior, but not so much with the oak.

-Charlie

 

[fightex]

Thanks for the great post. P.S, that gen Celica is 7th gen :beer:

 

[TravThePro]

Thanks for the great post. P.S, that gen Celica is 7th gen :beer:

Must have read it wrong online, it's fixed now

Thanks so much!

 

[TravThePro]

I have the leather version of these seats in my old Camry:

Pretty comfortable. Though, with the leather seating surface, they don't hold you as well as you might think. (sore arms and legs from a track day are proof of that...) The grey and black colors of the Celica seats will probably work fine with a moon mist interior, but not so much with the oak.

-Charlie

Looking at some stuff and at the way the leathers are designed it seems you sink in further both ways with the fabric seats, they hold you a bit better than the leathers as well sliding wise (Thank goodness)... On the upside of that even, we generally aren't trying to race through turns in our rigs (I did once and was pulling tires off the ground so a lesson was learned pretty quick) Just general bouncing around which the seats are angled and bowed just right to compensate for.

A cool note for that as well would be that a bunch of Subaru WRXs (even up to some fairly newer models) share the exact same seat design as the Celica and your camry.

I have to wonder how different the seat mounts are between the camrys and the 4runner/celica. I still absolutely prefer fabric over leather in every way but it's a cool alternative that's probably about the same price to do if you can get your hands on one. What year range did those seats come in the camry?

Fortunately most 3rd gens don't have the oak interior... Unfortunately my 97 Limited does have the oak interior so even though they are leather and I'm missing a giant chunk out of my drivers side seat, I'm not going to swap them. They just look a little strange and on top of that, it's the wife's rig anyway...

Thanks for sharing!

 

[TravThePro]

Bump

Just bumping this to see if there is any interest...:bump2:

 

[StreetCreeper]

Just bumping this to see if there is any interest...:bump2:

I may never put these seats in my truck – but for all the future people who someday will, but aren't here yet and can't vote – I'm voting for them too. I think you should finish this.

Anytime this forum receives quality content like good in-depth write-ups or videos — this place grows and we all benefit.

 

[TravThePro]

I may never put these seats in my truck – but for all the future people who someday will, but aren't here yet and can't vote – I'm voting for them too. I think you should finish this.

Anytime this forum receives quality content like good in-depth write-ups or videos — this place grows and we all benefit.

Well, you pushed me over the edge... It's basically done now. Let me know on what you think of the quality and what needs to be improved.

Thanks!

 

[Scramble]

THose stacked nuts look scary & unsafe. I recommend cutting spacers from something like Blackpipe that you can get from the hardware store super cheap along with big washers. But I still think they'd rip out in an accident.

 

[TravThePro]

THose stacked nuts look scary & unsafe. I recommend cutting spacers from something like Blackpipe that you can get from the hardware store super cheap along with big washers. But I still think they'd rip out in an accident.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what you run in place of anything else as far as the strength of getting in a crazy wreck goes. If you run pipe or the stacked washers, it isn't going to matter at all... Your weak spot is the bolts themselves at the bottom where they secure in.

Another thing to consider is that you're also running 2 bolts at stock strength, which in this case are the main bolts that prevent twisting and moving forward. The outer Rear is mainly there to prevent lift in an accident but if you wreck hard enough might snap from going forward too far. The main safety concern is the hole you have to drill throgh the body (Front Outer). This would be the first to break and would put lots of twisting force on the rest of the seat if it broke, I can't say what exactly would happen because I don't run the AII...

Once again, snapping is defenitely a possibility, if you wreck 70+mph into dead stop I wouldn't be so sure how well they would hold up... (The stock seats + mounts may not hold up to that either). You could try running grade 8's or 8.9's and that would be as safe as you could get without building an entire new mounting and rail system.

I've tried slamming and hammering the nut stacks and back of the mounting spots on the seats and haven't been able to get anything to budge(other than just the stacks twisting or moving slightly) or bend other than the rails themselves... That probably isn't an accurate representation for safety though.

I still think stacking the nuts, welding them, and then painting/powdercoating them would be the way to go.. Running the Aluminum 8.9's comboed with the welding is in my opinion the best up, down, and twisting structural support with rust protection.

LMK your thoughts.

If people want to do this and are overly concerned for safety, you can run just the stock mounting bolts and drill 1 shorter hole through the Front Outer on both sides, I can't gaurantee your safety but I think everything is pretty much just as sturdy.

 

[tarsun]

https://share.photocircleapp.com/Bmc6yuFj

Or you can uae the stock bolts, feet, and hardware...