landypc Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Dear all, I am in a position where I have been offered a pair of black leather Recaro seats from a Ford Cosworth (unknown if they are from an Escort or Sierra). Has anyone fitted these before, I own a 2004/05 spec XS 90. Usual replies please. Any silly comments keep them to your self. Cheers landypc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crwoody Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I had a set of Ford RS2000 Recaro seats in one of my Def'ners for a while, very comfortable to sit in but a pain to get in & out of the car, the trouble is that the seat bases are deeper than the standard seats, add to that the raised seat base bolster and the backwards tilt on the seatbox, it becomes near impossible to get in and get your legs under the steering wheel. Uncomfortable for a passenger with short legs too, they're left with their legs dangling in the footwell and unable to reach the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody3 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I had Recaro's out of a Rover, but as crwoody (who seems to be on the same forums as me ) says, they are a pain to get in and out of, although very comfortable. Only problem you do have is getting to the battery, but there are quite a few options for that one. If you do go with the conversion and fancy selling the Landy seats let me know, as my standard seats are now torn to shreads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4yob Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Hi Guy's, i've recently got hold of as pair of recaro replicas for my landy. I have fitted the drivers one but am experiencing the same as mentioned above with leg room and heigh issues getting in and out of the cab but very comfy whilst driving. I've decided to bolt the base of my recaros directly to the seat box and to raise the rear of the seat by half an inch or so to compenaste for the slope of the seat box and to give me a bit more leg room between the steering wheel and seat. I have the same issue with the battery under the passengers seat, I've come up with the idea of fitting battery terminals in the engine bay as bmw's have as some of there batterys are in the boot, that way you will be able to charge or jump start from under the bonnet without having to access the battery. I'm also concidering to make an accsess hatch in the side wall of the seat box under the passengers legs to be able to get to the battery if needed without having to remove the seat. The problem with this i can see would compromise the wading depth unless you can seal it properly. I'm also looking into bulkhead removal bars to enable the seats to be able to be pushed back further. I'm just not sure weather to go for the mud one and only remove the top half or go for the one like the tomb raider one and remove the whole bulkhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crwoody Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 As e4yob says above, the lack of access to the battery is easily solved by adding a connector somewhere accessible, on mine, I fitted an Anderson connector just inside the rear door and wired a set of jump leads to the other half of the connector. (The rear seat was removed merely to gain storage space.) Being a Td5, the only other access problem then was the ECU, but it's not a big deal to remove the seat for the odd time when it might need to be got at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 The only decent Recaro install I've ever seen on a Defender was where the builder had reduced the height of the seat box. This of course involved a lot of work and meant altering the battery box etc etc. It wasn't a job done over the course of a weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4yob Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi guy's, just a quick update on this old thread for any one else whos having issues fitting after market seats. I came across this item to solve the problem with after market seats. There designed for cobra seats but with slight modification I got them to fit my recaro replicas. My seat is now in a much better driving position than i had it before. I also put a spacer under the rear of the bracket to raise up the rear of the seat to compensate for the slope of the seat box. I now have plenty of room between the steering wheel and my legs allowing plenty of room to get in and out. I also thought it was quite good value for money as well. http://www.devon4x4.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=1665&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.