Gumball
03-11-2013, 10:40 PM
The Kirkey lowback vintage bucket seats arrived today and I couldn't wait to try them out. You may recall my "how to" thread on modifying the seat cushions of the stock FFR vinyl seats to remove a couple inches of padding so that I'd sit a little lower (see here: http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/293456-breeze-seat-mounts-alternative-installation.html ). Well, that didn't quite do it for me and I couldn't get comfortable in the car when doing the body test fit - once the doors were on, I felt way too high, close to the steering wheel, and just plain cramped.
I was hoping that the Kirkey seats would be a good solution and I certainly wasn't disappointed; these things are great! I'm going to figure out how to mount them using the Breeze angled mounts that I already have in the car as I really like the extra lay-back that those mounts offer. But, the first impression is that I'm now a couple inches both lower and further back - in fact I may have to move the seat a bit forward!
My plan is to drop these off with a local auto upholstery place for custom covers - I'll make sure to post pics when they're done. They will likely end up with removable lower cushions (very thin) that are similar in looks to the seats in the original cars, while the shell is entirely covered in leather. Both the seat cushion and the back will have the original looking pleating, too. Color will be black, but I asked the shop to use cream piping on the edges for that classic British car look.
The workmanship is awesome - great welds, very light, and very stiff. Best of all, these seats were 180 bucks each at Speedway! I bought a pair of covers (could have probably just bought one) to serve as a pattern for padding - I'll probably sell those soon, though.
I'm 6' and about 220 lbs and fit in the 17" seats with room to spare. Once padded and covered, they should be just right - good side support, but room to wiggle a bit for long drive comfort. The passenger seat is very close to the parking brake lever, so I wouldn't suggest any wider of a seat for that side.
Here are some initial pics:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/DriverSideKirkey_zps3c403fbd.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/CockpitfromAbove_zps3fc75594.jpg
I was hoping that the Kirkey seats would be a good solution and I certainly wasn't disappointed; these things are great! I'm going to figure out how to mount them using the Breeze angled mounts that I already have in the car as I really like the extra lay-back that those mounts offer. But, the first impression is that I'm now a couple inches both lower and further back - in fact I may have to move the seat a bit forward!
My plan is to drop these off with a local auto upholstery place for custom covers - I'll make sure to post pics when they're done. They will likely end up with removable lower cushions (very thin) that are similar in looks to the seats in the original cars, while the shell is entirely covered in leather. Both the seat cushion and the back will have the original looking pleating, too. Color will be black, but I asked the shop to use cream piping on the edges for that classic British car look.
The workmanship is awesome - great welds, very light, and very stiff. Best of all, these seats were 180 bucks each at Speedway! I bought a pair of covers (could have probably just bought one) to serve as a pattern for padding - I'll probably sell those soon, though.
I'm 6' and about 220 lbs and fit in the 17" seats with room to spare. Once padded and covered, they should be just right - good side support, but room to wiggle a bit for long drive comfort. The passenger seat is very close to the parking brake lever, so I wouldn't suggest any wider of a seat for that side.
Here are some initial pics:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/DriverSideKirkey_zps3c403fbd.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/CockpitfromAbove_zps3fc75594.jpg