ProCar seats ... how do you like them?
 

I have never been happy with the feel of my '71 seats GTO's seats after having them recovered and new foam buns installed. I went back to the trim shop that did the interior and they added 3/8" re-bonded carpet padding to the center section of the seat bottoms but they still feel flat and "springy" to me.

I really like the comfort of modern seats and am considering replacing mine with the ProCar buckets with headrests.

As far as matching, I could recover the back seat with a '69 kit that closely approximates the look of the ProCars, The interior shop said they could stitch a horizontal tuck across the pleats to match.

Has anyone used these and what do you think of them as compared to the old original seating? Do they have a modern car feel to them?

I used the Procar seats in my 68 Bird that had the deluxe interior & the 1000 series seating which I left it with the covers that came on them & the new covers from legendary auto for the rear covers & most that looked at it never noticed that the front & rear seats where different. But the Procar seats were o lot more comfortable to sit on/in compared to the original seating. With the Procar seats you sat in & rather then just on & they felt great. I took it for a few long distance rides 500 miles + & I can say the seats were great & I didn't get tired or sore with them.Well worth the money. At least for me.

I have a set in my wife's 68 Firebird and she loves them. I find them comfortable too. Our's are white so there really quite white. Brackets from Procar also fit very nice.
I was able to find the back seat cover from Procar that matched the fronts. I had an upholstery shop install it..

I heard they sit up a little high with the Procar brackets......

How do they feel heightwise to you guys?

Same thing happened to me, had an interior shop install bottom spring assembly and new foam, and they didn't trim it worth a crap. They were over stuffed, too hard, and were about 3 - 4 inches taller/higher seating position. Not happy. I told them to redo them, and they said "the foam will break in, and you will be sorry you messed with it." . Not. after years, they were still too hard and too high, was like sitting on a barrel, hated them.

The OE seats that were in the 71 sport when I got it were fine, had 68k or so original miles on it. Those things held you very well for their' age/style, and could easily live with them from a performance standpoint.

I'm sending my buckets to Legendary and will have them do them. Not inexpensive by any means, but hear they do top-notch on the comfort weave seat restorations. Think they quoted me a year ago @$600 a seat, plus parts.

I thought for that money, I could get something newer and better, but not really, the good ones are about $750 and up. And that's before you customize them.

I looked at the ProCar seats, they look 'good', a little cheap-looking, but 'good'. Most I've seen in are budget builds, and think I personally would rather have the not so well done OE instead.

Recaro and Corbeau would be my suggestions, if you choose to go aftermarket. Yeah, they cost more, but this is certainly one area you get what you pay for.

The other alternative is the Legendary Rallye seat covers/foam, which 'look' like the OE stuff but have higher/stiffer bolsters. And they do make them with the comfort weave inserts. At least those would look 'more' correct. I have heard folks like them, and have seen them in cars when I was on the power tour. They look better than the pics, that's for sure. ANd the people that had them like them.



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Hi: They do sit a little higher in the car with their seat brackets. For my wife, it's ok, but for me it's a bit too high especially if your tall. But there pretty nice seats for the price.

Yeah, the ProCar seats are a great value, and certainly less expensive than most. I'm kind of stuck on the look though, and I personally like the OE ones.

I'm in a hard place, I really want 'properly' restored OE seats for my LeMans, but WOW! The folks that do them want like $2600 a pair! I can offset the cost by selling my cores, but that's still like $1000 a seat. Rebuilding my cores, like I mentioned, are like $600 a piece, and that's if they don't need additional parts. I could end up still spending $1k each, especially after shipping.

I would love to find an alternative, that's for sure.

I recovered the seats for the 442, but didn't replace the foam, only built it up in the worn areas. They have 22k miles on them now, and the outer base/side springs are weak, and the seats when you sit in them feel 'flat'. Around turns you slide & roll some, it's kind of frustrating. Wish I would have taken a little more time and done them right.

I was looking hard at the Corbeau GTS II and Sport seats, which range in the $275 - $350 each bracket. I've sat in the GTS II seats and they are really nice, but they definitely don't look like the OE seats, and will kind of stand out. I was thinking I could get them covered, and look close to the OE ones, but that certainly adds cost.

I hope more chime in on this thread, I'm getting close to getting my car back from the body shop, and will have to come up with a way forward here soon. So am in the process of doing the homework....
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Fwiw I have never done appolstry but did my 71 firebird seats myself. Took them right down to the wires and built back up w burlap new foam new covers ect. VERY EASY JOB!! I was a bit aprehensive until I watched a u tube video but piece of cake.
Try it, you will not regret the savings or outcome!
Steve

Oh I've considered it, but I have comfort weave seats, it's a touch more complicated, and even the first upholstery shop screwed up the foam.

But have seriously considered it, and may still go that route.

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I recovered some Fiero seats and put them in my second generation TA. They're not bad but did require making my own mounting brackets to set them back a few inches. My only complaint is that the posterior region could use a bit more padding. :)

http://www.arkansaspontiacs.org/bbsi...rior/done1.jpg

Wow Critter, those look right at home in there. Nice job!

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WOW those look like they belong in the car. I bet they fell good to.

They're fairly comfortable but, as I said, I could use a little more pad under my rear. Of course I'm tipping the scales at 230 LBs. these days so maybe I should lose a little weight.

I bought the seats out of a junkyard Fiero and recovered them with covers from Mr. Mike's, a well known supplier of covers for Fiero seats. This was actually the second set I've done. I did the first in an 88 Fiero that my son now owns.

I liked the old horse collar seats that were original to the car. But my wife wanted a seat that reclined for long trips (Hot Rod Power Tour) so I switched them out.

I've had them in my car for 5 or 6 years, one of the best things I ever did to the car. It's an A body, but a Chevy. Few pics here http://www.chevelles.com/forums/26-i...erior-top.html Had interior done to match. Have my OEM buckets up top of my shop, but they're never going back in the car while I own it, night and day difference. I too had heard the Pro Car mounts might be a little high, so I made my own. Really simple for a bucket seat car, just 4 pieces of angle iron. I sit a little lower than the factory seats. I drive my car constantly in good weather, and am kind of hard on the upholstery, so nice to be able to order a new seat and bolt it in for reasonable money, already replaced the drivers seat.
HTH, Jim

I love mine they bolster you in, My old seats felt like I was sliding all over the car.


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I have Recaros in my 'bird, and the seat pan has these wide straps that run across the bottom that act as the pan. Those stretched out, and my butt hits the floor. So what I did was use a 'stadium seat pad' stuffed under the seat between the floor. Works like a champ, and is low/small enough where you can't see it unless you stick your head in there and look.

Hm, maybe I will look harder at replacement seats, a lot of people seem to like the ProCars.

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Interesting thought about the stadium pad. I don't know if I'm bottoming out but I don't think so. But I'll give it a try if I ever get this car put back together. This business of scattering it and fixing the shoddy body work I did 20 years ago is taking longer than I thought it would.

It always does! But still no reason not to do it, or at least no good reason!

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Have either of you considered using 2004-2006 GTO seats?
I would think they would be a natural choice for HWYSTR455's clone build.
Also, almost every manufacturer has used Recaros on more than one model. They can usually be found at junkyards for way cheaper than buying new ones and many of them are powered and even heated.

You might have to get them reupholstered to match your interior. I spoke with Legendary about this and they said they would sell their material separate if I wanted to recover aftermarket seats.

If you don't feel like making your own brackets, Wedge makes them to adapt to your car.

The 50-06 gto seats are very heavy if you are concerned about weight. The Pro cars are way lighter than the stock seats.