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Swappable seats?


wentz912
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So does anybody know what other make/model seats will drop into my 86 GL wagon? The left side of my drivers seat is absolutely toast and I figured I might as well see if I can upgrade while I'm at it. Besides, the lumbar support in the stock GL seats is HORRIBLE!:mad:

 

Thanks for the help guys!

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really nothing is a direct bolt in. I have '05 STi seats in my '87 RX and I used stock EA82 seat rails, made custom tabs that are welded straight up on them and bolted my STi seats to those. I have also seen guys basically modify the stock seat rails alone to get them to work but I chose the other route for simplicity and just in case I decide to sell the seats, I can take my seat rails off and bolt them to another set.

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Ah, that's what I was afraid of. I really like the seats that my old 84 Toyota pickup had in it. Well, before the truck got stolen any how. Oh well, I guess I'll see about scrounging up a pair of seats and see what I can make work. Thanks all.

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Does the trim level or body style change the seats in the outbacks at all? My step mom has a 99 outback (at least I think it's an outback) and her seats aren't all that particularly great from what I remember of the handful of times I've driven it...

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Legacy seats as far as bolt up are mostly the same... they kinda have to be rigged. If you really want comfort, I say get some hea-ted leather seats. I scored mine from an 03 VDC outback wagon with the H-6. Makes my "winter car" that much more wintery.

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Edited by kingbobdole
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My apologies, the question I was actually trying to ask is what the VDC bit means. I pondered it for a bit before posting the question, but I'm still stumped.

 

Ah! It means Vehicle Dynamics Control. In the more current cars (01 onwards) they use a yaw sensor to detect the car about to spin, then the ECU will cut engine output and apply specific brakes using the ABS to correct the drift. In 01-04ish or so it was like a trim level in the outbacks, and IIRC all of them were the H6. The current cars pretty much all have it.

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WOW kingbobdole those look awesome!! please give some detail about the rigging. any other info on that retro fit would be great also. thank you jeremy:slobber:

 

Actually, it really wasn't too much. Bent the front tabs down a bit. Elongated a hole on the inside rear bolts and drilled and bolted the outside.

 

Then, I had grabbed the wiring and switches from the donor car and ran a relay hooked to battery power. Switches light up and the seats heat well.. really great in the cold. I also hooked up the drivers 8 way power to work as well.

 

Rear seat was a bit harder, lots of drilling holes and making spacers.. The bottom was easy, just added the old hinges to the new seat. The back needed more of the custom work. People say tan and grey don't go together, but when I'm this comfy and warm, I just don't care.:banana:

 

Here's the inside front bolt

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Rear lower seat Think I had to drill an extra hole for the hinge and just took the pad off and put a nut on the back

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Back seat back section... rather rigged center mount...

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outside feet

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For those who have swapped the seats, has the ride height changed significantly? I've got a line on some 98 Outback seats here but I'm hesitant to make them fit if I am going to sit much higher than the stock seats.

 

I'm 6'4" and they do sit a bit higher... probably about 2", but maybe more... The reason is all the butt padding.. it makes all the difference. It's a big problem for a car like the XT that doesn't have much of a roof line. I put an STi seat in my XT6 and my head did hit the ceiling and I had to cut the car apart literally to make it sit lower so I could get into it. In my wagon though, there is still a bit of room left between the roof and my head... I usually "homey-ify" the seat a bit, not much, but a good sized bump will get me. At the sae time though, I do take it wheeling from time to time and have very little head issues.

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If anything, I want to sit lower in the car. The seats in the ea82's always seem a little too high for me, anything more would really annoy me.

 

I think I'll go with re-upholstering my drivers seat and see how that goes.

 

i put xt6 seats in my 1990 Loyale, the front two bolt holes line right up, the xt track has a hole to use for the existing seatbelt bolt, (I used a longer bolt, large area washers and a bushing - that kept the seat belt in the same place and secured the third hole in the track)

 

the fourth hole, near the door frame required a longer bolt (8mm x 85mm) and a spacer

 

the seats are lower to the floor than the stock ea82 seats but the driver is height adjustable and has a 4 way lumbar support and they add 5% more horsepower too :lol:

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