Headrests for Vixen

[ed_crouch]

Hi all.

I am building (rebuilding?!?) a Vixen from a box of random parts. Well, some of them are Vixen parts...

Anyway, I would like to use the original Vix seats of possible, but it does concern me that they dont have anything that passes for a headrest on them. People say I have a wise head on my shoulders, and if I do something unwise and spank it, Id rather my wise head stayed there...

Has anyone retrofitted the vinyl bucket seats with headrests, or can you advise on which after-market seats (if any) are suitable.

Thanks.

Ed.

Edited by ed_crouch on Saturday 7th April 22:54

[longone]

Hello. I don't know where you live but would suggest you talk to Steve Reid. He will give you chapter n verse as he's owned most of the versions. I can tell you there were at least two types, the high back had more than enough to support anyone's head and so I assume you have the low backs. One advantage of the original design was that it fitted into the champher of the body and so allowed the seat to go all the way back. If all else fails and you want to make a facimile of the originals, I have a high back seat frame you are welcome to measure and copy. The materials for the padding and cover are still available.

[ed_crouch]

We do indeed have the low-backed seats (they support you up to about the shoulder). I just thought that since lots of classic hard are without head-rests that there must be after-market conversion kits out there so I can keep my original seats.
They look like this:

[adrian@]

Hi Sorry to tell you ....but those are high-back seats.
Adrian@

Edited by adrian@ on Sunday 8th April 10:02

[ed_crouch]

Just had a good sit in it - the integral head-rest is positioned for somebody with a serious slump (or under 5 ft!) Good bit of design there... Hmmmm, might have to invest in some cobra roadster 7 seats...

[thegamekeeper]

The problem with getting alternative seats is the width. Not many seats are narrow enough but MX5 seats fit ok (but measure before you buy)and they have modern standard headrests and also tip forward so you can get luggage in and out of the back. sTeVeR

[Buster44]

thegamekeeper said:

The problem with getting alternative seats is the width. Not many seats are narrow enough but MX5 seats fit ok (but measure before you buy)and they have modern standard headrests and also tip forward so you can get luggage in and out of the back. sTeVeR

Any mods required to fit?

Do the seats bolt directly to the Vixen runners?

Got Corbeau Roadster seats, but unfortunately I don't have a Corbeau shaped rear!!

[pumpkin]

I put Miata (as the car is known in NA) seats in my car ('78 3000M). Quite easy to do and you can buy Miata leather seats or a leather recovering kit for them. They also have speakers in the head rest which means I can nearly hear the news at 70 mph!
I used the TVR runners which were quite easy to fit to the Miata seats. They end up a bit further apart than when attached to "M" seats. They need to be as close to the doors as possible to let them slide back which makes it difficult to get at the recline lever. It is very easy to modify this lever or put a string to pull it with if required. I put my seats in a bit close to the center tunnel and the back hits this when reclining. It is perfect for a 5"8" person but my 6'3" son can only get the seat back far enough if the back rest is rather verticle. If you were re-covering the seats I would recommend modifying the inside shell of the back where it would hit the top of the transmission tunnel for the driver or it will be difficult for people much over 6' to drive. There were wooden spacers to lift my seats off the floor and I reused these. The holes in the floor come slightly further apart and in a different front to back location. Marking where to drill the new holes is impossible since you can't get your hand in to mark the spot while the seat is there and you dont know where to mark when the seat is out. I put in the seat on the wooden spacer, screwed through one of the old set holes into the wooden spacer to locate it in position and then used this as a template to drill the holes (then did a lot of filing!) My attempt at using a complete cardboard template did not work very well. door and trasnsmission side holes do not have to line up back to front as the TVR seat adjustment only ratchets on one runner. Although this is a safety issue my seats do not adjust easily as they push quite hard into the carpet and barely need the adjustment lever locked. I think I have some pictures. Email me for pictures or to tell me how to put them on this site! [e-mail] These seats are comfortable for the 5 hour drive to Toronto only stopping for gas. Side support is fair for the few track days I do per year

[electron]

I've used Westfield seats in my 3000M as I also had the cage tubing to work around.

They're very narrow.

[freddy quick]

Hi,

I'm using Cobra Cub seats in a Grantura and in a Vixen (I store the originals of corse) and they not only fit perfectly both cars but look correct and have an adjustable headrest as well. Only downside - they're not adjustable.

Best regards,
Stephan