Different front seats for the Mustang (update)

[AlanCasida]

After getting the stock interior all put in it became obvious I was going to have trouble with getting the stock seat attached to my roll bar And I didn't like the way I anchored the seat back to the lower frame so it wouldn't fold forward. So I put this seat back in today. I had originally planned to use these seats but got caught up in the whole "I want the stock look" thing. These are new take outs from a Sterling truck I bought off of Ebay a long time ago. I modified the frames so they mount in the original mounting holes. These seat do not fold and I won't feel so bad about doing what I need to do to attach them to my roll bar. Plus they are 13lbs lighter(each) than my OEM seats.

[gdaddy01]

nice looking seats , thanks for the tip .

[cjshaker]

I'm curious how you attached them to the rear crossbar? Do you have any idea how fast your car will run? Pretty sure you'll be faster than your Galaxie, maybe in the 10's? Only reason I ask is I wonder if they'll give you any grief about it not being a safety seat, or at least having a full back?

[AlanCasida]

I'm curious how you attached them to the rear crossbar? Do you have any idea how fast your car will run? Pretty sure you'll be faster than your Galaxie, maybe in the 10's? Only reason I ask is I wonder if they'll give you any grief about it not being a safety seat, or at least having a full back?

I bought a brace from Summit that clamps to the cross bar and then bolts to the seat back. The seat being legal is something that concerns me. I don't want to drive all the way to Virginia only to get bounced because of my seat! I just couldn't figure out a good way to make my OEM seat rigid and then cut holes in the back to mount the brace. I have no idea how quick my car will be. I am hoping for low 11s.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cee-4907/overview/

[cjshaker]

Mustangs have pretty weak seat hinges anyway, so you were better off changing it out, IMO. Thanks for that link. Only the dedicated race seats (ie: with zero padding) have a ready made spot for the mounts, so all the others have to be modified, or at least the cushion removed and seat back drilled for the plate and tube. Mainly I think, because road course racing doesn't require it. I'm not 100% sure about that though. Anyway, good to see you making more progress on it. That's a pretty good weight savings!

Also wanted to say that when I was trying to research seats and rules regarding them, for any times that we would realistically be running, there aren't any specific rules that I could find in the NHRA rule book related to the seat type used, only how they're bolted down. Even SS and Stock racers can use factory low back seats, so I don't think you'll have a problem.

[AlanCasida]

I took the Sterling truck apart to see what it looked like underneath and was a little underwhelmed. The back wasn't real sturdy looking. So I decided if I needed to reinforce it I might as well go back with the OEM seat, it was more comfortable anyway. I bolt the seat back and the bottom together and removed the sliders so now it is fixed and will not fold forward. I also made a headrest that attaches to the main hoop and a seatback brace that mounts to the cross bar but I didn't bolt the seatback to the brace. I have some friends that run pretty quick using their OEM seats and they said they were ok but the tech guys liked to see the seatback up against the crossbar. Hopefully this will be ok. I have attached a few pics of the Sterling seatback as well as a couple of my alterations.