Has anyone ever tried these seats? Pro rally by Scat

[AndyS]

both. traditionally, most aftermarket seats when used with brackets sit too high off the floor in classic sports cars, and the headrest also stick up too high compared to the vintage seats they came with. the original Procar Rally seats when used with Fiat factory slider actually sat you lower in the car than the factory seats, and the headrest didn't stick up much higher than the original seats.

[courtenay]

Now I'm curious as to why Scat changed the mounts on their seats so that they were less attractive to Fiat owners? Doesn't sound like smart marketing to me.

[donerehart]

They weren't thinking about Fiat owners...their big customers are the Mustang people - that is also the replacement seat of choice for them...much greater demand...

[AndyS]

Now I'm curious as to why Scat changed the mounts on their seats so that they were less attractive to Fiat owners? Doesn't sound like smart marketing to me.

I think they changed it so that a more standard Recaro style bracket would fit it. You can still make them fit in a Spider with a lot of trial and error fitting using some metal stock to modify the mounting points on the seat bottom so that they will accept the factory sliders at the right place to still mount to the floor bolt pattern. I believe the current seats have the bolts too far apart front and rear for the stock sliders, so they have to be lengthend, and not quite wide enough from side to side. the issue is the space in the car for the seat is barely wide enough between the console and the side wall of the floor pan to fit it, and if you have the seat off to the side even 1/2 inch, it won't work. even in my 67 that did not come with a center console, the fit is tight


here are some photos of my 67 with my 20 year old Procar seats in them in the new upholstery. they look great in person and to me are the right scale for the car (not too tall).

[johndemar]

Here is the reply I got from Ron Greiner today:

"They changed the seats in 1999 when the factory in Brazil burnt to the ground, we had to change factories and countries (Malaysia) to have them made again." This may be the explanation for the bolt pattern change.

" The old Rally seats used to be 21" wide, they are now 22" wide. They used to be 35" tall, they are now 30 1/2" tall."

"We have sold 2 pair of seats & mounts for the 124 Spider in 2005, they were sold by other companies. Auto Toy Store in Minnesota sold a set to a guy in New Jersey, another local company told a set but I don't know who they sold them to."

"We sold another 2 pair of mounting brackets by themselves, but don't know what kind of seats they had. One set in 2002 to someone in North Carolina and one set was shipped to a guy in West Virginia yesterday."

"I do not know what the bolt pattern on the bottom of the old Rally seat was. The new Rally seat bolt pattern is, from center bolt hole to center bolt hole, front to rear 11 5/8", side to side 14 11/16". You would have to check your stock slider to seat dimensions to see if this is close."

I asked how will the bracket affected the ride height of the seat? I have a concern they might make the seat sit too high.

Ron's response.."I do not know how tall the mounting brackets are, they are made specifically for the 124 spider. Our seat sliders have 3 mounting holes on each down leg. This gives you some height adjustability. The middle hole normally sets the seat to factory height then you could raise or lower it 1/2" either way. Our slider is going to add a minimum of 1 1/2" in height. I would not be able to find out the height of the mounting brackets until next week. The company who makes them are closed Friday thru Sunday."

I asked would the space between the outside floor well shoulder and the center console be large enough for the seat to fit?

Ron's response.. " The very bottom of the Rally seat is 16 1/2" wide. 8" above that ( to the top of the side bolster ) the seat is 22" wide. You would have to measure from the center of you stock seat to the console and see if you have at least 11" to it and the same 11" to the door panel."

I asked if I purchase the seats and brackets from them and find they are not satisfactory, do they have a return policy that would be honored?

Ron's response.. "Our return policy, they must be in 100% new condition. You would have to pay the shipping back to us and pay a 20% restocking charge."


Still not sure what I will do. The return policy isn't very favorable, so I'm going to measure everything as closely as I can to see if this is practical. I like Andy's idea of using flat metal on the seat bottom to create new mounting points for the original sliders. Only 2 sets of seats being sold for spiders in the last 6 years may explain why they aren't real concerned with the bold pattern change.

[AndyS]

for all we know, the people they sold the seats and brackets to might be 5 feet high and happy the seats sat up higher .

Its great you got specs on the current version of the seats. pull a stock seat out and check the bolt pattern dimensions to see what they are--I used to have that spec somewhere. I usually use 1/4 thick steel X 3/4 or 1 inch wide when custom fitting seats. Hardware stores carries this in 3 feet lengths or longer. I sharp hack saw blade or Sawsall and drill are all that is needed, along with saint like patience.

Looking at the photo I posted of my car, I think I need to have the back seat bottom done in the same pattern now as well. Either that or make it a package tray back there like the last Pinninfarina cars

[johndemar]

I measured from the center of the rails to the console and it was only slightly larger than 10".

The stock seat is about 20 1/2" wide and while that extra 1 1/2" doesn't sound like much I don't see the new Procar seats fitting our cars.

Corbeau makes a sport seat that is 21" wide but actually appears taller than the Procar. At one point in my life I was 6' 1" so I don't need a seat that will sit me higher than stock.

Anyone know a source for the 68-78 seat foam? I may just get the stock seats recovered after all.

[johndemar]

They weren't thinking about Fiat owners...their big customers are the Mustang people - that is also the replacement seat of choice for them...much greater demand...

Funny you should mention that. Did a search on the local Craigslist hoping to find the older Procars and came up with a 67 Mustang GTA Fastback. Is 40K too much to pay for the seats??

[azygoustoyou]

You can't get the early foam new. You have to find used of put in new foam from the later cars. I have used really firm newer style ones if your interested.

[LStevens]

You can't get the early foam new. You have to find used of put in new foam from the later cars. I have used really firm newer style ones if your interested.

I have a 74 spider so my seat cushion sits in a pan rather than on straps like the later model years. My seat foam was atop soft in the back and as a result I would end up getting lower back pain because of the limited support. My resolve was to take the seat cushions to an upholster and asked if he could beef up the cushions as well as pump up the side thigh area like a recaro. He said he would do what he could within the space that the seat material would allow, but if i really wanted the recaro look he would have to remake the seat cover to fit the extra padding. Since my seats had been reupholstered some years ago and still in great condition and didn't want to go through the expense of having new covers made up, I told him to do what he could. What he did worked out great - I got a much firmer seat cushion that gives me better support and the sides got bolstered up a bit. What he ended up doing was carve out part of the old cushion along the sides and replaced it with new firm foam. He also added a 1" layer of firm foam on top of the existing seat cushion for added support. Needless to say I achieved my goal not to mention my buns, lower back and pocketbook are happy campers. The guy only charged me $40 per seat cushion for a total of $80.





I brought my seats to an upholstery guy and asked him to beef up the existing foam

[AndyS]

another trick I learned to make factory seats better for your back is to put spacers under the front mounting points of the seat and raise the front end up a bit. sometimes 1/2 inch can make a big difference. if you have ever sat in a Recaro, they all are raised in the front, which takes some of the pressure off the lower back and puts in on the back of the leg instead. also holds you in the seat better. I did this on my Audi A4, and it made a huge difference.

[Rickwv]

I am the guy in West Virginia mentioned by Pro Car in a earlier post. I just finished installing the Pro Car adapter and ProCar RALLY seats. I am 6'1" about 180 and my nieghbor is about 5'11" about 205 we have both set in the seat top up and down and feel pretty comfortable. I have the front of the seat set as high as it will go and the back of the seats in the middle hole, I wanted to try the seats full up to begin with knowing I could lower them as needed (I will probably adjust them after I drive for a while and get thngs to settle). As for the width of the seat clearing the door (arm rest) and console I have no problems. In the answer from Pro Car they said the sliders will add 1.5" in height, remember the sliders on the factory seat raised them some.

I have been trying to post pics with the post for about two hrs and have given up I even down loaded the instructions(getting old). If somebody will let me e mail the pics to them and they can post them I would be happy to.

Rickwv

[Divers]

I would love pics and info

rrusso10 at yahoo dot com

[donerehart]

Rick,
I would love pics too... I'm considering the same...
Thanks,
Don
donerehart@yahoo.com

[Rickwv]

This is the adapter for the Pro Car Seat 4 bots into the original Fiat seat holes

This is the seat fresh out of the box with the slider you can seat the bolt holes on the front

Driver Seat in you can see the fitment on the console side.

Both seats in and the drivers closed.
[
If the sun ever comes out again I will take clse ups of door and console clerance from the over head and close up.
I will also take some pics of my rear seat that I painted alng with the console.

Rick