Can I replace a bucket seat with a non-Subaru bucket seat?

[kkruecke]

My parents recently gave me their 1998 Legacy Outback station wagon. It is in mint condition with only 53,000 miles; however, the bucket seat is too rounded for me and bothers my right shoulder, which has been operated on three times.

 

I love the bucket seat in my 97 honda civic. Is it possilbe to buy a Honda Civic seat and put it in the Subaru? Can't it be simply swapped in or would it involve  a lot of work?

[AdventureSubaru]

There are a few options out there from other makes. I think Ford Escort seats were a drop in for some of the older cars. Most of the Subaru seats are interchangeable with little to no modification.

 

I would think that a Civic seat would need to be altered. A few write ups exist from people doing seat swaps from various makes and models. usually it involves swapping the subaru mounting/sliding rails onto the seat portion from another car. If you can weld, or have a welder who can help, this should be a straightforward job.

[kkruecke]

Thanks for the reply. I'm from a welder.  I'm a computer programmer.

 

1.) Any ballpark figure on what it would cost, if I can someone do this?

2.) If I put a non-Subaru seat in my Subaru, might I find that the steering wheel is now positioned too low or too high?

[Turbone]

I've installed a few different types of seats in older Subaru's, so I'm not sure what would fit in yours.

But to get some Mitsubishi seats to fit, I had to do some minor fabricating.

Brackets had to be welded onto the seat bottoms for the rails, etc.

If you get a seat thats height adjustable it shouldnt be to hard to do the rest.

[kkruecke]

ok, thanks.

[86 Wonder Wedge]

The easy/easier route might be to look at your seat of choice and look at the holes/mounts on the seat bottom itself. From what I've seen, the rail-to-bottom holes are commonly a 4 bolt, fairly square pattern. You might just be able to swap the subaru seat rails onto the new seat.

 

But since you're a welder, find your favorite seat, maybe an extra set of subaru/seat-of-choice rails, and then make the two fit.