body and interior Vw Recaro Seats?

[turbophil]

I've seen some pics of 2002's with the Jetta Trophy and gti Recaro seats and have a couple questions.

My question is, how well do they fit?

Do they look obviously out of place in a 2002?

What did you do to mount the bases?

I picked up a set of recaros from an e21 but don't appear to be original to the car. It's strange but they for have a backrest release on the passenger seat.... Seems strange. The bases have the Recaro decal on them. So now I'm a little apprehensive to put money into them

The reason I ask is because I also just found a great deal on Jetta power Recaros and was thinking of recovering in material that would better match the 2002. I don't want to go completely left field with the car, I want to keep it somewhat period correct.

Thoughts? Opinions? Experiences? An of course, pics?

Thanks

[autobon7]

I have wondered about the trophy seats as well. Passed on some a couple years ago because I was concerned about fitment plus they were 2 1/2 hours away. The pics I have seen mounted in an 02 looked good. Ended up putting some honda prelude seats in because they were cheap ($30) and local (5 min away). Plus they were easy to fit.

Edited July 14, 2014 by autobon7

[thehackmechanic]

The VW Recaro seats (Helios, Trophys) are just like any other Recaros with 16" bolt patterns. They bolt right into a 202 provided you have the 320i adapters (you bolt the adapters to the seat bases, and bolt the stock sliders to the adapters). Dave Varco at Aardvark sells the adapters. It's more a question of look and feel. Some folks like 'em, some folks feel they violate the period-correct look. I say... I'm a 55 year old man with a bad back. Screw horsehair. Love cost-effective Recaros, wherever they come from.

[SydneyTii]

I am with Rob on this one, I have non BMW OEM Recaro's they look period and are a vast improvent on stock.

[SydneyTii]

My seats

[SydneyTii]

Mmmm period may be stretching it but they suit my later 74tii.

[Slightly Larger Roundies]

I have VW GLI Recaros in my car on the 320i brackets and 02 sliders and they fit nice. I need to get them redone in  black tho. 

 

[TobyB]

However, there are a series of VW sport seats (they look like Recaros, but don't have the name on them)

that are very difficult to mount- they have a center- mount bar that mounts on the sill and tunnel, and then a centered point

front and back.

 

You could certainly DO it, but it would be a lot of fab work.

 

t

[SRC60]

From my understanding, only the power vw Recaro seats will bolt up to the 320i brackets (you may need to enlarge the holes in the bracket as the vw Recaro's mounting bolts are larger).  These are standard Recaro seats bolted to the vw power base.  Remove the base and discard it.  The vw manual Recaro look alikes mount using vw's oddball 3-point mount system and would be a pain to adapt to a 2002.

Steve

[thehackmechanic]

I believe that is correct. The Recaro Trophys I've used had the power bases attached. I unbolted the bases, and sold them for as much as I'd paid for the seats...! Beneath them were the standard 16" Recaro bolt holes.

[Slightly Larger Roundies]

My GLI seats from 89 have the standard 16" bolt holes and they are not power seats.

[peterschop]

I bought a set of VW seats from a list member. They are supposed to be Recaro's from a Scirocco although they do not say recaro anywhere on them. They had been in an 02 before I bought them so they already had the 02 sliders bolted right on the base of the seat. I was able to buy new plastic handles for the old broken ones from the VW dealer. They sit a little high but do not look out of place. Very comfortable.

 

[turbophil]

Thanks.  I have a line on power seats so it should work.  They will need some TLC but worth it in the long run.  I thought I would be able to deal with the stock seats but really don't think my back could handle it in the long run.  I like long drives but hate the suffering after.. 

 

I appreciate info on the ease of install info, I didn't want to spend days making them fit right.  In the long run I'll get them done in a matching colour 

[69NEWCLASSNH]

On 7/14/2014 at 7:48 AM, thehackmechanic said:

The VW Recaro seats (Helios, Trophys) are just like any other Recaros with 16" bolt patterns. They bolt right into a 202 provided you have the 320i adapters (you bolt the adapters to the seat bases, and bolt the stock sliders to the adapters). Dave Varco at Aardvark sells the adapters. It's more a question of look and feel. Some folks like 'em, some folks feel they violate the period-correct look. I say... I'm a 55 year old man with a bad back. Screw horsehair. Love cost-effective Recaros, wherever they come from.

WARNING TO ALL  - ONLY BUY POWERED VW Seats.  I went off of what was said in this post and now have two seats that will not work with the car without extensive fabrication.  The recaros I bought are manual, and do not have the 16" bolt pattern.

[69NEWCLASSNH]

On 7/14/2014 at 1:48 PM, SRC60 said:

From my understanding, only the power vw Recaro seats will bolt up to the 320i brackets (you may need to enlarge the holes in the bracket as the vw Recaro's mounting bolts are larger).  These are standard Recaro seats bolted to the vw power base.  Remove the base and discard it.  The vw manual Recaro look alikes mount using vw's oddball 3-point mount system and would be a pain to adapt to a 2002.

Steve

Should've gone off of what this post said.