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Sparco R100's in a 240Z


trackzpeed

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Wow it's been along time since I checked on this post. Seats are holding up great. If i remember correctly I had to drill out the seat mounts a bit wider over stock and I moved them inboard far enough to allow the back to recline without the shoulder bolster hitting the b pillar but not so far as to screw up the alignment of driver to wheel and pedals. Just measured 3'times and drilled once. My harness is a 3point mounted in the stock locations. For track days and autoX they hold me in very tight for great seat of the pants input and car control. If you are taller than 6-1 they need to be dropped with a helmet.... I'm right at the limit to be honest and if I ever shunt off track with big compression the rebound may be a tad to heavy for my 48 year old neck Just food for thought

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I'm installing a set of Sparco seats in my car (older model R-100?)  The car has new pans rails etc.  Gone are the old seat perches.  The shop put in 1" tunnel to door supports which make the seat TOO low and they sit too far forward (I'm 6'2" and banging my knees on the steering wheel.

 

  I'm going to put 2" square tubing in as new mounts, moving them back but first put the autopower roll bar in.  By eyeballing is, it doesn't look like it's all going to fit, but only one way to find out.  I'll keep you posted

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I recently read about people with 280z cars having issues with aftermarket seats on the driver side because the trans tunnel has a bulge that earlier cars didn't have. I'm now wondering if my 74 260Z also has that bulge preventing me from moving the seat closer to the center console. I'd love to get it another 1/2-1" over to the center of the car and away from the door. 

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Do it the chevy way, big hammer solves all!

 

I'm tossed up about this method, it'll leave the tunnel (underneath especially) really beat up and nasty looking... and that's a permanent 'fix' lol

 

Will have to weigh my options. I suppose the only clean way to go now would be cutting and welding, and I suck at both :)

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Nasty looking? Car show judges in canada jack up the car and look underneath? All jokes aside its a lot less invasive then cutting the floor off and rewelding in new boxed metal especially when were talking about an inch or 2 of room. That being said if you get a large flat, strong surface and put it against the tunnel and hit that it will push in the entire area instead of leaving obvious hammer dents.

Edited by helghast7
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Nasty looking? Car show judges in canada jack up the car and look underneath? All jokes aside its a lot less invasive then cutting the floor off and rewelding in new boxed metal especially when were talking about an inch or 2 of room.

 

My garage is on top of my living room and it has a glass floor!!!!!! 

 

 

Jokes aside, you're right.. in fact the only time it will matter is if/when I sell the car and take undercarriage shots. But you're right, it's only an inch or two... maybe I'll just go that route :)

 

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I'll be working on my seat install today. If I make any progress I will update with what I did, and how I did it.

 

Using OEM brackets, and uncut floor.

 

You'll be just fine with a 240Z, I can guarantee that. The stock brackets mount up pretty easily to the seats, you'll have to offset the holes a bit but that should do it. 

 

The late 260Z and 280Z on the other hand are simply not possible without addressing the transmission tunnel. I have my seat wedged in there on stock brackets and its about 3/4" off center. I've driven it a few times and its okay, but I can't keep it that way forever... 

Edited by thedarkie
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Okay so I took today to do this install (this is the same post as my build thread)

 

This is what I did to make the Sparco R100 seats fit the 240z chassis.

 

What you'll need:

 

- 240z (or your particular car's) OEM seat sliders

- Drill + bits

- 8x 8mm x 1.25 bolts (roughly 3/4" in length)

- A 6 pack of your favorite beer. (you'll thank me for this)

 

Okay, to start....

 

First I removed the stock carriage bolts that mounted the sliders to the Datsun seats. A good smack with a hammer will pop them right out.

 

IMG_20141011_121753472_zpskrdmzyul.jpg

 

Here's another shot. With the bolts removed.

 

IMG_20141010_182616003_zpsoc9pkuja.jpg

 

In order to mount the slider with the handle, I lightly (heh) tapped the following rail with a hammer, so it can be fully seated. The spring mechanism will make contact with this metal rail/support, if you do not.

 

I'm pointing at it here. The 1/8" round stock.

 

IMG_20141011_172348382_zps1meo8jfx.jpg

 

Once that is tapped down slightly, the OEM rail will now seat fully against the mounting points. 

 

Next, I used the stock carriage bolt hole at the rear of the slider as my first mounting point. Note: You could also shim the slider off the seat using washers, but I didn't want to lose ANY headroom.

 

IMG_20141011_172815959_zpslyddxrx8.jpg

 

Once that bolt was mock tight, I marked and drilled out the new hole to mount the front of the slider. Once again, I'm pointing at the area to drill out.

 

IMG_20141011_172834548_zpsxejkrste.jpg

 

And drilled.

 

IMG_20141011_173327923_zpsmvg9qme4.jpg

 

NOTE: You will want to offset the hole slightly, to match the offset of the original mounting point, as shown below. This is important so you don't get severely limited travel due to the slider hitting the bolt head.

 

Also, you will lose SOME travel in the slider mounting them this way. (roughly 1 inch each direction, but that is negligible, at least in my opinion.)

 

IMG_20141011_175429498_HDR_zps3jglzixv.j

 

Bolt that puppy in place. I found that I had to start with the rear bolt, as when I tried to start the front bolt first, I was not able to access the rear hole (due to the 1" limitation in slider range)

 

Tightened the rear bolt first; then the front.

 

IMG_20141011_174222489_zps86c87kcr.jpg

 

 

 

That was the hard side. Now repeat the process for the other side.

 

 

IMG_20141011_175902436_HDR_zps8zcazpwy.j

 

 

 

Once both rails are securely mounted to the seats, it's time to fit the seats to the car.

 

A small dab of never seize on each of the OEM mounting studs will provide easy reference for where to drill once you get it placed where you want it.

 

Mine looks pretty haggard, due to a previous eBay seat install, but mark your holes, and drill them out (I was able to use 2x of the stock holes, and drilled two of my own)

 

Now is the time to slot the holes as well, to fine tune the adjustment.

 

IMG_20141011_182116352_zps9g6wrgol.jpg

 

Once the holes are drilled, it is now time to bolt the seats in.

 

IMG_20141011_182134739_zpspsnn2yqu.jpg

 

IMG_20141011_185750656_zpsuxpzipyp.jpg

 

If you haven't housed your six pack by now, it's now time to sit back and enjoy the spoils of your hard work.

 

 

 

 

I'm pleased with the fitment of these seats. My old seats were WAAAY too wide, and would squish on the door panel. These seats give me plenty of clearance in that area.

 

As some have mentioned the B pillar does eventually become an issue if you intend on sliding the seats at their max travel. But, I've found this easily remedied by adjusting the back of the seat to compensate. I also intend on running a roll bar, so clearance behind the seat is important to me.

 

 

Hopefully this helps someone.

Edited by OldAndyAndTheSea
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  • 2 weeks later...

Random update:

 

My late 260z basically can't have these seats mounted properly, centered to the steering wheel, without 2 things: bashing in the transmission tunnel, and fabricating new mounts. The stock sliders can be attached to the seat, but there's not enough room to move the main mounting bolt holes far enough to get the seat centered... it's just not possible IMO. I've ordered a Sparco mount and will update progress once it gets here, for future reference.  

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I got them in my 280z, but had to modify a set of planted seat brackets. And at 140 per bracket may not be the most practical solution. But I've had them in for about 6 months without issue. And keep in mind the 280 has a wider trans tunnel than the 240z

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