Date:         Sat, 12 Jan 2002 23:50:42 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: better seats
In-Reply-To:  <B864ED6B.403%paulmayfield@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

>Has anyone ripped out the wimpy/flexy drivers seat and upgraded to something
>more comfortable and supportive? Seems long haul Westys could benefit from
>something like a Recaro- a very good seat for long distance driving - I
>realize that the swivel would not work, but its a small price for a better
>seat.

I wanted to be able to throw my Bay around the twisties without
having to use my knees against the steering column to hold myself in
place. Many accidents are caused by drivers sliding in their seats,
hanging onto the wheel and turning their cars in too sharply.

I couldn't afford Recaros etc, so went one better. I got a couple of
locally-made (copied, actually) 1-piece fiberglass rally bucket
shells (a wider one for the passenger side) and had them padded and
upholstered. Never fitted the wide left seat, but the driver's bucket
was great! Holds you so you can't budge sideways. Mind, reaching the
left door's lock-button to let someone in was about impossible, and I
have LONG arms. Also getting into and out of the seat was tricky, and
entry-exit via the walkthrough aisle was very difficult. At least it
was comfortable, even on a 4-5-hour trip.

I saved these seats when I sold the Bay, and will eventually put the
driver's seat into my Caravelle. May HAVE to fit that tilt Corona
steering column, just to be able to get in & out! And the central
locking & power windows will be more than just a luxury...
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Ph: 0064 (3) 473-8863 fax: 0064 (3) 479-7527
1986 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX CE80 diesel sedan
1989 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX CE96 diesel van
1989 Toyota Corona 2.0D Select CT170 diesel sedan
1992 Toyota Estima Lucida 2.2 turbodiesel MPV (=narrow "Previa")
1984 VW Caravelle GL (to be fitted with 260hp Subaru SVX flat-6 &
Porsche G50 trans)
Seashell, Macintosh, VW & Toyota van nut
Friends don't let friends do Windows