First generation Miata seats in 850 Spider?

D

Dave Bassett

True Classic
My seats are in terrible condition, Not only is the upholstery torn but the padding seems compromised and, I suspect, the hinge on the driver's side is broken. As I consider to cost of new upholstery, installation, new padding (if obtainable) all to result in a rather lackluster seats anyway. I have begun thinking about using first generation Miata seats. They seem to be the right size, come with a detachable bottom rail, are plentiful, and cheap (as in around $200 per pair. The end result should be much better seats at far less cost. I know I would lose originality but function counts for something. L believe they could be mounted over the Fiat bottom rails without removing any metal other than a few bolt holes. Has anyone done this?
 
I have put Miata seats in a lot of Fiat project cars but pretty much on coupes. I think they will sit you higher than the stock 850 seats. I can't guarantee that but if you can try them out before buying, that would be smart.
 
carl said:
I have put Miata seats in a lot of Fiat project cars but pretty much on coupes. I think they will sit you higher than the stock 850 seats. I can't guarantee that but if you can try them out before buying, that would be smart.
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Carl, I saw a thread that included putting these in a coupe, was that you? It was "Downhome Racing" or something like that. Anyway, the coupes seem to have taller boxes than the spider. Plus, my height is about 5'8" so I could stand the seat being a bit higher. It seem to me that a fairly simple bracket cold be designed, an fairly easily fabricated that would bolt to the front end of the boxes and provide front mounting points. Thanks for responding.
 
I put the stock seats (that I had extensively conserved) from my (wrecked) '75 124CC into the 850 spider I replaced it with; as I remember, I removed the tracks and bolted them directly to the floor with no mods, not adjustable. Sat slightly taller. It was about 1984, memories of exact details gone.
 
Jefco said:
I put the stock seats (that I had extensively conserved) from my (wrecked) '75 124CC into the 850 spider I replaced it with; as I remember, I removed the tracks and bolted them directly to the floor with no mods, not adjustable. Sat slightly taller. It was about 1984, memories of exact details gone.
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I'm still new to this but the 850 tracks sit on raised platforms that are, perhaps, two inches tall. They look welded in to me. The Miata also has the seats sitting on platforms and the front of the upper runners are bent downward at about 30 degrees from horizontal. This is where they are bolted in the front. The Miata lower track is bolted in and, thus, easily removable. Anyway, this is for later.
 
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