ba/f seats into au -anyone

ben131185 · 07-01-2013, 11:07 PM

was thinking about some new front seat covers for the au, the ones i have now were custom fitted about 7 years ago, i was pretty happy with them.
but they're starting to get a bit tired.

so thinking of an upgrade, i'm not that big of a fan of seat covers, its hard to get them to fit perfectly. and am thinking of maybe just getting new seats.

i thought of leather but i think cloth is more comfortable especially in summer.

i like the look of the ba/f seats, would be nice if i could pickup a front pair off ebay and fit them up.

have read of it being in the "too hard basket" for most with engineering compliance but have read of one guy that fitted them by bolting with a peice of flat bar. never saw any pics though.

so i'm wondering is there anyone here that has done it?
do they fit in nicely or is there any issues with size and height differences?
would love to see some pics.

ben131185 · 09-01-2013, 10:16 PM

c'mon, someone must have done it.

FGII-XR6 · 09-01-2013, 10:43 PM

can't be done without major engineering the mounts are completely different. and before you think about getting a welder and drill out to give it a go consider this. when you do it the entire safety of the passenger compartment is compromised the ANCAP rating is invalidated and your insurance is void
so put simply don't even think about it. this subject comes up every few months with the same conclusion

**Uncle_Ken** · 09-01-2013, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au3xr6

can't be done without major engineering the mounts are completely different. and before you think about getting a welder and drill out to give it a go consider this. when you do it the entire safety of the passenger compartment is compromised the ANCAP rating is invalidated and your insurance is void
so put simply don't even think about it. this subject comes up every few months with the same conclusion

That's what I was told, I got neoprene seat covers, very happy with look and feel
Uk

TRIPOLI · 10-01-2013, 08:11 AM

I have seen it done before in an AU ute with BA xr6 seats and wanted to do the same to my AU 2 forte. The major problem i found were the rails but i also found that the width of the seat is alot wider then the AU seats and the seats hit the door.

FGII-XR6 · 10-01-2013, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRIPOLI

I have seen it done before in an AU ute with BA xr6 seats and wanted to do the same to my AU 2 forte. The major problem i found were the rails but i also found that the width of the seat is alot wider then the AU seats and the seats hit the door.

jus because it has been done doesn't make it legal or safe you can make anything fit with a grinder and a welder. seat mounts are engineered as part of the whole safety package and shouldn't be tampered with unless it is certified by an engineer . you insurance company won't like it

Dezza · 10-01-2013, 06:11 PM

I briefly had some BA XR seats in my AU, but the rails were dodgy as all hell (not my handiwork). The seats were moved inboard a bit to avoid the door so instead they hit the console (and got in the way of the handbrake). I hated the dodginess of it and have since got myself an AU Ghia interior. The seats don't look as cool but as a whole it's all a lot nicer.

TRIPOLI · 11-01-2013, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au3xr6

jus because it has been done doesn't make it legal or safe you can make anything fit with a grinder and a welder. seat mounts are engineered as part of the whole safety package and shouldn't be tampered with unless it is certified by an engineer . you insurance company won't like it

haha yeah i asked RAC before i did it and thats exactly what they said so i decided against it in my car but i must admit it did look nice in the AU i saw it in and i reckon the BA XR6 seats are alot more comfy then the AU seats.

ben131185 · 11-01-2013, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRIPOLI

I have seen it done before in an AU ute with BA xr6 seats and wanted to do the same to my AU 2 forte. The major problem i found were the rails but i also found that the width of the seat is alot wider then the AU seats and the seats hit the door.

did it look strange with the seat hitting the door?

are the ba's wider? would have thought they would be the same

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dezza

I briefly had some BA XR seats in my AU, but the rails were dodgy as all hell (not my handiwork). The seats were moved inboard a bit to avoid the door so instead they hit the console (and got in the way of the handbrake). I hated the dodginess of it and have since got myself an AU Ghia interior. The seats don't look as cool but as a whole it's all a lot nicer.

do you have a pic of them in the car?

blownv8au · 11-01-2013, 12:41 PM

I put race seats in my ute the same way you would do ba seats. The easiest way to do it is cut everything off the au rails till your left with 2 separate sliding rails then bolt them in and weld 2 suitable straps across the rails{i used 50x4mm i think bent over at the ends** then bolt the seat to them.
Now after saying that, I'll be taking mine out and going back to au seats but reshaped to look like sport seats.
The problem with changing to after market seats in an au is apart for being illegal is they sit to high. The au seat sits in between the rail all other seats sit on the rail. I could not have my seat any lower unless it was bolted directly to the floor, there is only the bare rail between the seat and the floor, and my head rubs the roof and feels like I'm riding on the roof.
I really think they stuffed up when designing that setup. The proof for that is my ba gt front seats bolt straight into my eb with a spacer on the inside back leg.
Its the only issue i have with the au.

Dezza · 11-01-2013, 07:10 PM

This is how mine looked. Agree that it sat too high. Even with the steering wheel at it's highest, my legs would still hit the bottom of the wheel

The BA back seat

And how dodgy the rails were done

ben131185 · 11-01-2013, 07:56 PM

the look good dezza, shame you took them out, bit annoying about the height.

are the rears a straight swap or were they modded too?

ben131185 · 11-01-2013, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blownv8au

I put race seats in my ute the same way you would do ba seats. The easiest way to do it is cut everything off the au rails till your left with 2 separate sliding rails then bolt them in and weld 2 suitable straps across the rails{i used 50x4mm i think bent over at the ends** then bolt the seat to them.
Now after saying that, I'll be taking mine out and going back to au seats but reshaped to look like sport seats.
The problem with changing to after market seats in an au is apart for being illegal is they sit to high. The au seat sits in between the rail all other seats sit on the rail. I could not have my seat any lower unless it was bolted directly to the floor, there is only the bare rail between the seat and the floor, and my head rubs the roof and feels like I'm riding on the roof.
I really think they stuffed up when designing that setup. The proof for that is my ba gt front seats bolt straight into my eb with a spacer on the inside back leg.
Its the only issue i have with the au.

i'd be interested to see a pic of your setup.

i just had a quick look at mine, im not sure what you mean by au seats sit inbetween the rail and others sit on the rail.

i would think it could be done with the right fabrication, but i may be wrong.

Dezza · 11-01-2013, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ben131185

the look good dezza, shame you took them out, bit annoying about the height.

are the rears a straight swap or were they modded too?

Modded too. The base clipped in, but as it didn't have the cutout at the back for seatbelts, the buckles didn't come through far enough (a real nuisance for people in the back), and the brackets were modded on the backrest. I'll probably sell the back seat soon. I found another use for the front seats. Had potential but I didn't want the hassle.

ben131185 · 11-01-2013, 09:54 PM

oh righto, if you take them out maybe throw up a pic or the brackets for anyone that might want to attempt it.

i wont bother with the rears at this stage, but i think i might give the front a crack, just gotta find a pair at a nice price.

are the ba seats manually adjustable, or do they need to be connected up to electrics?

FOCUSonTHIS · 11-01-2013, 11:01 PM

I have CAD drawings and know how to modify a BA/BF/FG seat to fit in an AU. Lot of stuffing around but I will get around to putting a set of GT-P seats in my car. Also I won't have an issue of high as the feet will be cut off and the rail will sit flat on the floor.

I will also connect the power height adjust.

Send me a PM if you want to know more details.

blownv8au · 11-01-2013, 11:04 PM

It can be done, there's 2 people here who have done it. But they sit very high. And I'm definitely not saying don't do it but I'm 6 2" and my head rubbing on the roof is crap and being a ute is hard to see out of to.
The only way to do it lower than i did is either bolt the seats straight to the floor or cut the floor out and put a lower section in.
As for the seat sitting in the rail in a au, have a look at your seats next time you get in your car and you'll see that the rail is beside the seat cushion, the cushion bolts down in between the rails. On all other falcons the seat bolts onto the rail(i think).
Hope this helps, your car your call.

blownv8au · 11-01-2013, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FOCUSonTHIS

I have CAD drawings and know how to modify a BA/BF/FG seat to fit in an AU. Lot of stuffing around but I will get around to putting a set of GT-P seats in my car. Also I won't have an issue of high as the feet will be cut off and the rail will sit flat on the floor.

I will also connect the power height adjust.

Send me a PM if you want to know more details.

Sedan must be different to ute, my rails are flat on the floor. There's no more than 60mm between my seats and the floor.

tim_pato · 11-01-2013, 11:28 PM

if only someone could reproduce TL50 seats........?

TRIPOLI · 12-01-2013, 08:30 AM

[QUOTE=ben131185;4584281]did it look strange with the seat hitting the door?

are the ba's wider? would have thought they would be the sameQUOTE]

Bit strange but you would get use to it. Thats what i thought but i measured them up and then put the au seat infront of the xr6 seat and the xr6 was taller and wider.

FGII-XR6 · 12-01-2013, 10:07 AM

It can't be done if you want to drive the car on the road and have valid insurance ( unless you happen to be an engineer and can certify the modification )

Quote:

Originally Posted by blownv8au

It can be done, there's 2 people here who have done it. But they sit very high. And I'm definitely not saying don't do it but I'm 6 2" and my head rubbing on the roof is crap and being a ute is hard to see out of to.
The only way to do it lower than i did is either bolt the seats straight to the floor or cut the floor out and put a lower section in.
As for the seat sitting in the rail in a au, have a look at your seats next time you get in your car and you'll see that the rail is beside the seat cushion, the cushion bolts down in between the rails. On all other falcons the seat bolts onto the rail(i think).
Hope this helps, your car your call.

**Whoosha** · 12-01-2013, 11:15 AM

Mite just leave it at, that as it is moving into to a grey area with legality issues that are best not promoted on a public forum, you can take it to PMs if you want.But as au3xr6 said all these type of mods should be engineered because its a bit late when you hit something hard and you and your seat get ejected out the window ............