Fitting seats inside buggy?

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:16 pm

[QUOTE="alexh"] Anyone has fitted the hunsaker poly seats that are 20 1/2" wide? [/QUOTE] I just fitted Hunsaker seats to my Manx; they fit and look great. I used their seat runners (quite good quality) but custom-made a frame out of 2"x1" square tubing to go between the runners and the floor. I can't vouch for the quality of their angled floor brackets.

Tom-Kathleen · Post by **Tom-Kathleen** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:25 am

I had a set of Hunsakers in my Firber Fab mounted on cut down VW seat sliders. They fit fine and were only @ 2" off the floor. Tom

ManxRob · Post by **ManxRob** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:35 am

I?m 6 feet tall, and have never quite fit in a shortened Manx style buggy to my satisfaction. I always felt like I was sitting to high and not far enough back for comfort. In my latest re-build I made some modifications that I think other too-tall for little car folks might want to consider, especially if they are facing floorpan replacement in an existing buggy or frame shortening for a new build. I?m a street cruiser/occasional sand type so maximum ground clearance is not an issue. My first attempt at re-making my buggy to fit me was installing PRP suspension seats on modified VW seat frames (incorporating ideas from the ?Manx Garage? and the ?Dunebuggys and Hot VW? articles. I was careful to modify the seat tracks to minimize installed height and to set the seat angle to my comfort needs. While this was much better (and the seats are very comfortable), I still felt too high. And the steering wheel was getting too high. And the reach to the gearshift 3rd gear was getting to be a stretch?... So for last winters project (which I just finished!) I wanted to address these issues. I didn?t have the $ to have anyone else do the work so I broke out the welder for what was really a pretty easy set of fabrication jobs. 1) Lowered seat Pans. 2) Adjustable steering column support 3) Move the gearshift/handbrake levers. Lowered seat pans: I had the local sheetmetal shop fabricate some 1 ? inch dropped pans. 16 ? inches wide with a ? inch attachment lip. I think I had them make them 18 inches long, and then I trimmed the rear edge to fit during installation. The front of the fabricated pans has a 45 degree taper, (to deflect any under the car obstacles). These pans had the effect of moving the stock drop of the rear pan to in front of the stock seat track. After carefully cutting the original stock seat pans just in front of the seat track and along the existing tunnel and perimeter frame I spot welded them in and used the old ?beat to fit, paint to match? method to blend the tricky area of the rear tunnel. I then removed the old seat tracks from the old pan sections and welded them into the new dropped pans. Due to the 45 degree front edge, the seat tracks are now 29 ? inches back from the front bulkhead, 1 ? inches back from stock. It worked great! I now sit comfortably 1 ? inches lower (slightly lower than tunnel height) & to the rear with full seat for/aft adjustment. There is still room for the stock Manx roll bar to be fitted behind the seats. Before adding the tracks:

With the stock VW tracks installed:

Adjustable steering column support. I modified my steering column/windshield brace to mimic the dash brace supplied in the Manx Classic kits. It provides about 3 inches up/down adjustment (at the wheel) during the build. Since my project was a retrofit, I had to re-drill the column hole through the front bulkhead, and fabricate a structural cover plate to firmly hold the base of the column. This modification worked quite well for me, but is not as flexible as a tilt/adjustable column would be for a multiple driver type car. Gearshift location. I had already moved my parking brake rearward during a previous project, so I?m no longer sure how much I have moved the gearshift. It is now 28 inches back from the front bulkhead. I did manage to get the shifter a little tight to the parking brake button, making it difficult to press the button if I?m in one of the rear gears. I used one of the adjustable shift lever shortening devises to help with gear selector alignment (a real time/aggravation saver). I?m quite pleased with the current seating/driving position. My seated butt is now slightly below the tunnel, my shoulders are below the rear fender line, my legs are stretched/slightly bent, my forward view is great down the road, I have to duck slightly sometimes to look up at stoplights, my head and hair are below the top of my chopped (14 inch) windshield, the steering wheel position feels natural, I can still reach all the controls, and 3rd gear is no longer a stretch.

If I were to do another buggy, (there is that Manx II body in the garage!) I would use lowered seat pans again, possibly using Porsche 914 seats for an even lower possible profile without the hassle of modifying seat tracks. There is nothing to prevent a deeper seat pan be installed if you are willing to sacrifice ground clearance.

L0084MC · Post by **L0084MC** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:05 pm

Go to this web site nationaltbucketalliance.com/tech_info/techindex.asp. click on the "junkyard seat list." it will give you a list of seats and there size.

shaihulud · Post by **shaihulud** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:52 pm

Seats from the Datsun 240Z and the 260Z are 19 inches cross at the back. They will fit low down and slide all the way back. I had a set in my buggy. They are high backed and fully adjustable. Check them out. They might solve your problem.

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:49 am

[QUOTE="5150bossman"]How are you going to use your buggy? If you are going to do ANY off-roading, I would stay away from the poly bucket seats. I know of several people that have sustained back injuries from these seats. A fully padded or suspension seat is best. I run a pair of high back Sparco seats in our buggy. 19" wide, they fit just fine. I did have to call the seller and have him measure each seat to know if it would fit or not. I run a 3" body lift and run the seats on 2" square tubing beneath the sliders. Everything fits just fine.[/QUOTE] Just a little advice to protect your back. Rock the seat back on it's mounting so when you hit a heavy bump your flat back takes the hit and not a vertical shot on your spine.

House · Post by **House** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 3:32 pm

A lot of people said it wasn't possible, but for some reason I was able to fit a set of full width Beard Super seats into mine with a slider and still had plenty of room in between for my dual handle turning brakes... At a comfortable height, too.