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I just put a set of 1999 seats out of a Corvette Hardtop. This was a "bonus" for me from the 55k mile car my brother just took apart (as in COMPLETELY...down to the bare red shell that two people can easily carry) as a donor for his FFR GTM Kit Car. He was pleased as punch to see them go to such good use.
I REALLY liked the seats because they didn't have any sort of logo or writing on them. I mean...I know I'm in a Corvette...I don't need to look at the seats to remind me.
I had to drill and tap 4 holes, one at the rear lip of each of the seats, in order to fit my 1970 seat rails onto the bottom of them. I also had to tweak a little bend into the seat adjuster lever, which was easy with the 20 ton press. Each set took perhaps a little more than an hour to install from removing my old seat to my butt warming up the new one.
The seats look AMAZING and very fitting to the car. They don't look out of place at all. They weigh probably half of what the original seats weigh and they are MUCH more comfortable being as they have good lumbar and lateral support. Because the tops of the seats are so much narrower, I can use the low-mounted stock shoulder belts without having a goofy hoopy thing on the seat.
Please don't laugh at my car...it's a work in progress. This is how I'm rolling now...
Last edited by keithinspace; 09-22-2016 at 10:30 PM.
I just put a set of 1999 seats out of a Corvette Hardtop. This was a "bonus" for me from the 55k mile car my brother just took apart (as in COMPLETELY...down to the bare red shell that two people can easily carry) as a donor for his FFR GTM Kit Car. He was pleased as punch to see them go to such good use.
I REALLY liked the seats because they didn't have any sort of logo or writing on them. I mean...I know I'm in a Corvette...I don't need to look at the seats to remind me.
I had to drill and tap 4 holes, one at the rear lip of each of the seats, in order to fit my 1970 seat rails onto the bottom of them. I also had to tweak a little bend into the seat adjuster lever, which was easy with the 20 ton press. Each set took perhaps a little more than an hour to install from removing my old seat to my butt warming up the new one.
The seats look AMAZING and very fitting to the car. They don't look out of place at all. They weigh probably half of what the original seats weigh and they are MUCH more comfortable being as they have good lumbar and lateral support. Because the tops of the seats are so much narrower, I can use the low-mounted stock shoulder belts without having a goofy hoopy thing on the seat.
Please don't laugh at my car...it's a work in progress. This is how I'm rolling now...
That's sharp looking. I had a C5 and now have a C6. Very comfortable seats. My 72's seats are cloth and I'm looking also to upgrade. Sounds like a pretty easy install.
Thank you. In person, you really have to know something about these cars to tell that these seats aren't original. They just don't SCREAM that they're from a completely different era of car.
They even do quite a lot to mimic the 'vertical' stitching that was thematic of the original leather seats.
The ONLY downside...which I am VERY HAPPY to live with...is that the lumbar pushes my torso another inch or so closer to the steering wheel and I have to get my butt past the side bolster when exiting. Perhaps I just got used to the old seats after 4+ years, but it takes an extra little wiggle to get from under the hula-hoop steering wheel. The sidepipes don't help because they push my leg another 3 inches or so outboard of the door sill.
Just an odd conspiring of circumstances that make my 6'-0" frame (still under 200#, though) have to roll out of the car a little more than I remember.
It's worth it, though. The seats rock when you're driving. And that's what matters.
Last edited by keithinspace; 09-22-2016 at 11:01 PM.
It's a crab hat that I wear when too many people are looking at me. Parades and such. A friend gave it to me for a completely different use, but I like it. Keeps my bald head warm.
My wife hates it and has tried to throw it away many times.
What's the newest seats you can put in a c3? I want to update my seats but wanna stay corvette what are my options?
I have had a set of 1982 non power wheats in my '69 since 1983.
I also put in a '79 steering wheel. The rest of the '69 interior is stock,
Very happy with it. The front of the seat track bolts down great, needed to make an adapter plate to bolt down the back of the seat track
Of course seat belts hold you in the seat anyway.
Wow very nice man. How much did these seats cost you?
I was fortunate and got my seats for free. They came out of my brother's doner car for his Factory Five Racing GTM build. A 1999 Corvette Hardtop with 55k miles on it.
I looked around and nice C5 seats can be had in the $500-$600 range. But like I said originally, the hardtop seats are particularly 'clean' looking.
The weird bummer is that you need to get good looking ones from the get-go...New seat covers...just the covers...are well over $1,200. Really crazy prices. Couldn't find any cheap ones.
Actually, the base seats did not only come on the "hard top." (I assume you mean the fixed roof coupe) I had a 2002 base car and it also had the base seats. Mine was like a 1LT coupe (not a FRC) and it had these seats rather than the sports seats, which are the seats that were more common on C5s. The seats you have were also the seats that were stock in the Z06 C5, which was also a FRC.
Just a little useless Corvette trivia...
Originally Posted by keithinspace
I was fortunate and got my seats for free. They came out of my brother's doner car for his Factory Five Racing GTM build. A 1999 Corvette Hardtop with 55k miles on it.
I looked around and nice C5 seats can be had in the $500-$600 range. But like I said originally, the hardtop seats are particularly 'clean' looking.
The weird bummer is that you need to get good looking ones from the get-go...New seat covers...just the covers...are well over $1,200. Really crazy prices. Couldn't find any cheap ones.
Affirmative, the "FRC"...precursor to the C5 Z06. Very nice little 55k mile car until someone T-boned it. My brother bought it as a wreck in an auction for $6k or something like that. He just dropped the LS1 off at his speed shop to have it re-done for his GTM.
Base seats, huh? Well, they're light as heck and fit our C3's like a glove. Just drove it to lunch not an hour ago. Freaking comfy.
Thanks for the info. I'm all about the useless trivia.
Last edited by keithinspace; 09-23-2016 at 03:21 PM.
Here is the route I went. Got a set of full power sport seats from a 97 Vette for 400. Had them recovered and put the C-3 logo on the headrests and modifed the brackets to bolt down to the floor. Huge improvement over the original 68 seats. Yuuuuge!
I just put a set of 1999 seats out of a Corvette Hardtop. This was a "bonus" for me from the 55k mile car my brother just took apart (as in COMPLETELY...down to the bare red shell that two people can easily carry) as a donor for his FFR GTM Kit Car. He was pleased as punch to see them go to such good use.
I REALLY liked the seats because they didn't have any sort of logo or writing on them. I mean...I know I'm in a Corvette...I don't need to look at the seats to remind me.
I had to drill and tap 4 holes, one at the rear lip of each of the seats, in order to fit my 1970 seat rails onto the bottom of them. I also had to tweak a little bend into the seat adjuster lever, which was easy with the 20 ton press. Each set took perhaps a little more than an hour to install from removing my old seat to my butt warming up the new one.
The seats look AMAZING and very fitting to the car. They don't look out of place at all. They weigh probably half of what the original seats weigh and they are MUCH more comfortable being as they have good lumbar and lateral support. Because the tops of the seats are so much narrower, I can use the low-mounted stock shoulder belts without having a goofy hoopy thing on the seat.
Please don't laugh at my car...it's a work in progress. This is how I'm rolling now...
Guess I need to wait for my buddy to wreck his C5. My 77 has the same side-pipe leg stretch issue but I'm only 5'5" and I've only burned myself once in the month I've owned it. I also have stadium seat cushion behind my seat so I'm a little closer to the wheel. It's from the Indy Motor Speedway so that's ok, right?
09-22-2016, 10:25 PM
