ultraclyde (Forum Supporter)
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
6/17/20 11:03 a.m.

Early S197s weren't available with power passenger seats. Since I bought mine in '05 my wife has complained that the passenger seat is uncomfortable, and she's absolutely correct. The fore-aft tilt on the base as well as base height is just...wrong. And fixed. In a quest to perhaps do more road rally type stuff, I'm looking at options to get seat base adjustability - tilt and height, specifically - in the passenger seat. Complicating factor - premium package red leather seats, which I love. I don't want to give up the look of the red interior if I can help it.

Option 1 - find used power seat from a later car and swap it in. There's info out there about harness compatibility, what to swap, etc. IF I could find an 06-07 seat whose dimensions match my driver seat I could re-leather it to match for about $500 with ebay leathers.  Single used seat goes for about $400-500, plus parts and leather, I'm out about $1100. Much more common is an entire used interior in other colors, selling for $1500. Then I'd have to recover the fronts in red leather for another $1000 if I DIY. Figure I'm in for $2500-$2600. More with pro leather work.

Option 2 - Buy a power seat base from Ford and the other assorted parts to retrofit it to the current manual seat? I'm not sure this is actually possible, any of you have an insight? Those seat bases are around $600, plus probably another $250 on other bits - IF it's possible.

Option 3- Some aftermarket race seats with manual adjustable bases. My Driver's seat is leather is worn and I need to replace some trim, so I'm open to this idea. That's where you guys come in.

Who makes aftermarket seats with bases that adjust tilt/trim and height of the base? Comfortable for larger humans (I'm 6'1", 260lbs, size 50 coat), ideally with a red option. I found some Recaros that wer $3500 each for black leather - yeah, no.

infinitenexus
infinitenexus HalfDork
6/17/20 11:19 a.m.

I would go with option 3 if possible.  The power seats in the S197s are notoriously heavy, so installing two nice aftermarket seats (that matched your interior, of course), could not only improve the safety and comfort of your car, but you could drop a big chunk of weight.

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter)
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
6/17/20 11:34 a.m.

In reply to infinitenexus :

Sure, I'd love too, but name an aftermarket seat besides the Recaro Ergomed with an adjustable seat base.

Also, I'm not sure aftermarket seats are a measurable safety improvement in a street car verses OEM seats with side airbags and such. But that's a sidebar discussion.

 

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter)
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
6/17/20 12:27 p.m.

I think I've found an option 4....er a modified Option 2. Buy a single, working power passenger seat from an 07-14 Mustang with upholster in any condition. Bonus for blown airbags. Ebay cost about $200 plus freight, or maybe from local yard If I can find one. Vs buying the same parts from Ford for nearly $1000.

Remove power seat rails, switch, and button. Bolt to my factory seat. Buy psg side seat wiring harness from a 2007 GT premium, plug and play. And I might actually have the harness in the 05 already, can't find a definite on that.

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