What are good seat options for my 1966 Austin Mini. I'm saving original seats but wanted something more comfortable and substantial for road use.
Dave has a nice set of later model seats sitting in my shop he might be interested in selling. They have all the knobs for reclining and headrests too.
If Dave's later model ones are available, they should be a direct fitment. Most late model Mini seats were comfortable for longer road use.
I have used some Scat brand seats from Jegs.com in a Mini Marcos as replacements for racing seats when I returned it to being a road car. They were comparable to regular Mini seats. (See the PM reply I sent for details.)
Dave said he's hanging onto those seats, but that's probably what I'd be looking for if I wanted mini seats that are comfy and safe. My low backs are just fine for me. The lack of headrest would be bad in a rear end.
I've heard of folks using Miata seats as well as the many aftermarket mini seats available.
My car came with Acura Integra seats installed. Not the most 'period' looking seat, but they fit pretty well and are comfortable. In the front they are bolted through the crossmember threaded into tacked nuts on inside. For the rear outside mounting they have spacers with bolts through the floor. When I got the car a year ago the inner side (near tunnel) of both seats were just loose. However I'm in the process of fabbing up a mount to utilize the seat belt mount point to secure them.
Dave also has WRX seats in his Mini. They were pretty darn comfy and looked good as well. Obviously not a period look but they did blend in pretty well with the rest of the interior, they certainly do not look completely out of place like some do.
Thanks for the input. I am thinking about maintaining a vintage look. Summit Racing has seats brackets that are allegedly made to bolt right in to the 1966 mini. Then I guess Ill figure out how to attach the seat. The scat 80 seat looks pretty good. But the Cobra RXL is sharp but pricey. If anyone is familiar with the brackets Summit is selling let me know. They might be made by Corbeau. Thanks for you advice.
I like my Miata seats. They're pretty comfortable. I'd say they're good for about 6 hours at a stretch.
I had a set of those in my clubman Estate, they were comfy for two reasons, the seats are good to start with and they're narrow enough that you can offset them to the middle a little and move the seat back past the companion bins, all the way till it touches the rear seat.
I did something similar to your adjusters in the rear to get it up in the back.
For sure the biggest key to comfort for me is how far back you can get the seat to go. Anything narrow enough to clear the companion bins is a great start.