Seat swaps - bracket compatability

Psycho, you got any update on those GP seats? Weight comparisons?

Well, the back seat is actually considerably heavier than the Riv's, but the front seats are quite a bit lighter, so I would say there is probably pretty close to zero net weight savings. I only put the passenger side GP front seat in. When I removed the brackets, the rear of the seat got kind of floppy. Its bolted in good, and its 100% solid, the the back wobbles around a bit, kind of like our steering wheels...

I kept it for the passenger seat because I like the look and I'm never the passenger lol

For the captains chair, I'll be going with one of these:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Scat/942/80-1780-61C/10002/-1?parentProductId=

Fixed back FTW. Back seat riders can get in through the passenger side, and I think the black canvas will match the other seats well.

the GP seats just bolted right in? No welding or other modding?

I am thinking about something like these:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Scat/942/80-1200-51L/10002/-1?parentProductId=1354650

Pyscho, do you have pics of how you made this happen?

For whoever does make it happen, here's the wiring:

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threads/279-Seat-Swap-04-to-97-03-*/page2?highlight=seat+swap

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threads/73218-Wiring-the-04-passenger-heated-seat-in-your-97-03-Grand-Prix

I'll have to look and see. I'm sure what I did was far from the ideal setup, but like I said, it was a real pita to even get them in. The bottom the the gp seats is basically a plate a sheet metal, so I needed to drill holes, cut notches, and use lots of nuts and bolts to get everything to work.

To be honest, I wouldn't recommend w body seats, and even if I did, I wouldn't recommend doing it the way I did lol, hence me wanting to put a different drivers seat in.

What does it take to prep the Riv for slider rails? Most aftermarket seats come with a set of rails. Do these just bolt into place because they are universal or do they usually take fab work?

They usually take some fab to work. Bending, cutting, welding, etc....

Another possible option is the Bonneville GXP seats. The Grand Prix seats use hooks in the rear, where as Rivs/Bonnies use bolts.

The best bet (and my personal favorite) is to grab the seats out of an STS with the auto bolstering. They have air bladders that inflate, conforming the seat to you. Not to mention the car itself is on a similar platform to the Rivi so the brackets should line up. It would be really cool if someone could adapt them into our cars. If you see one at a junkyard, look at the seat switches and see if there's an "Auto" button, these are the ones with the bladders.

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threads/54741-Adaptive-Front-Seats

I am looking for lightweight, on manual sliders, with bolsters and recline.

I will probably buy them new unless I find a sweet deal.

You're probably going to have to go aftermarket if you want something that meets those requirements and is still comfortable. I've heard good things about the Recaro SR7's...

These look neat:

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/70240/10002/-1

While doing my friends seats in his 3rd gen Camaro, I measured the brackets for the fun of it. Keep in mind the seats from a 4th gen will just bolt right in to a 3rd. The mounting holes brackets were 13.5" apart lengthwise and widthwise. From what I could measure on our seats the dimensions are pretty close (if not the same). The only issue is that the mounting holes are offset for the Camaro while ours are straight (see diagram below). I'll pull my passenger seat sometime soon and see if his old one fits.

Would you be able to drill a hole in the Camaro bracket that would make it fit into the Riviera?

KnottyEagle wrote:

Would you be able to drill a hole in the Camaro bracket that would make it fit into the Riviera?

Possibly. I think they'll fit fine and will just have a slight angle to them. The front holes in the Camaro bracket are slightly slotted which could make fitment a little easier if they need to be elongated at all. Will update with pics soon.

Matt! You are a pioneer with the best of them! Thanks for this info!

Our bracket fits perfectly onto 3rd gen seats, motors and all. 3rd gen brackets fit onto 4th gen seats, sooooooooooo......... They're lighter with the rails/motors than one of our seats without the rails/motors. You have to swap our bracket over because it turns out ours has hooks in the front instead of bolts, but by doing this you retain forward/back/up/down/tilt control, then use the manual adjuster on the seat for the bolsters and how far the back of it leans. If you got creative you could find the seat adjusters for a 3rd gen and wire them in, the motor assemblies are virtually identical. I think they would look amazing if they weren't ripped to shit and matched the color of the interior. The seat belt loop thingies were also broken so it chokes me at the moment.

awesome! i am not familiar with the seat mounting brackets at all but, how would this work with aftermarket universal seats? Would you mount the universal seats to camaro gen 3 brackets and then they would bolt into the riv?

charlieRobinson wrote:

awesome! i am not familiar with the seat mounting brackets at all but, how would this work with aftermarket universal seats? Would you mount the universal seats to camaro gen 3 brackets and then they would bolt into the riv?

No, this is all Rivi brackets bolted onto the bottom of the Camaro seat. To adapt our bracket to an aftermarket seat you're probably going to have to manufacture some special adapters. Your best bet is to figure out what seats bolt to Camaro brackets because they will also bolt to our brackets. If you want lightweight but sacrificed comfort I would go with these or 4th gen seats because they are factory rated for safety, it's hard to say if seat XYZ is. If you want something with a little more bolstering than stock but still good comfort I would do the Firebird seats. Take a day trip to a junkyard and start pulling seats from GM cars that you like and measure the holes on the bottom of the seat, not the bracket. If the holes are ~13.5" x 13.5" it should work.

Gotcha. So the camaro seats accept the riv brackets. firebird seats will work too?

charlieRobinson wrote:

Gotcha. So the camaro seats accept the riv brackets.  firebird seats will work too?

Yep, should bolt right in. Apparently Corvette seats will fit as well, but will require the hole to be reamed out a little bit. Can't give you a certain answer on those.

Blitz wrote:

I just installed the passenger side C5 sport seat in my Camaro today. Hoping to do the driver side tomorrow. Basically you remove the seat brackets from your original seats and install them on the C5 seat frame. I had to redrill the seat bracket to work on the frame. Make sure you get it lined up and measured in the car before you start to drill. You will need to also add spacers between the bracket and frame. I can get you pics of the process if Im able to get to it tomorrow. Its really not that difficult and looks unbelievable. Any questions let me know.

im gonna start looking..

found a good price on 2013 camaro seats but not seeing any gen 3/gen 4 worth a dang

charlieRobinson wrote:

im gonna start looking..

found a good price on 2013 camaro seats but not seeing any gen 3/gen 4 worth a dang

5th gens won't work without modification. Plus they're probably just as heavy (if not heavier) than ours. Evo 8 seats fit with minimal fab work.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance-detailing/1422465-5th-gen-seats-4th-gen.html

matt270avian wrote:

charlieRobinson wrote:

im gonna start looking..

found a good price on 2013 camaro seats but not seeing any gen 3/gen 4 worth a dang

5th gens won't work without modification. Plus they're probably just as heavy (if not heavier) than ours.

yeah forget that. im trying to shave a few pounds at least..

Dang......I'm dying for some heavy comfortable seats hahaha.As thick as possible. Lincoln Town car type.Not kidding