kingbobdole Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hey all, I'm finishing my current project of last Sunday soon, and thought I'd post an update for those interested. As seen on my For sale post, I bought a very wrecked '03 Legacy VDC with an H6. It was a very nice car and has given me very nice things :-p Anyway, on to business. The goal was to install the very nice seats into my wagon. Yes, they are tan, and yes I have a grey interior.... If anyone has some grey leather seats they wish to trade, I'll listen:rolleyes: Ok, so Sunday I got to here. I actually got the rear bottom part of the seat in Saturday. That was pretty straight forward. My first idea was to take the pad and cover off the new seat and put it on the old seat, but it didn't quite fit right. So I measured the distance between the two front mounting holes on both seats and noted a 2" difference. I went to the new seat, measured 1" in on each side and drilled a new front hole. Then taking the old seat hinges, I cut the backs off of them(where the seat back "sits" when folded forward) because they were too long. Lined, squared, drilled a second hole and bolted the hinges on, reapplied the pad and cover and installed. I didn't get the latch on it yet, to hold it down, but an interesting side note is that the latch on the old '87 seat is 100% identical to the latch on the '03... strange For the front seats it was a bit different. I had saved the majority of the seat harness out of the donor and snazzed it up a bit to rig it into mine. Basically I combined all the grounds to both the heaters and the seat motor in 2 different locations. I combined all the power wires into one wire, running to a relay directly power by the battery. Then the relay is activated off of the fuse for the cig lighter, so the heaters and seat only work when the key is on, or in the acc position. Then after removing the old seats and center console, I ran the wiring under the carpet and up through the console. Today, I ran the power wire to the battery and wired the relay and installed the switches (pics to follow) I cut a hole in the shifter cover just to the right of the D/R shifter for the switches. Now as far as mounting the front seats what I did was simple Firstly, I bent the snot out of the front mounts. In the 03, they point out at a 45 degree angle, but in the 87 they are more like 90 degrees. So a pair of channel locks and 3-5 seconds later, problem solved. Next in the rear there was a fitment issue with the seat belt. In the 03, the seat belt attaches to the side of the seat, but I wanted to keep my stock belts. So I pulled the belt and looked.... the hole was almost lined up... also, the inside of the hole where the seat belt would go back on was inclosed. Kinda hard to describe it, I'll try to get pics tomorrow. Basically the belt would hit it. The solution was to use the angle grinder... probably not the best tool to use, but its fast:burnout: I slotted the rear hole and cut the top off of the mount so the belt could stick up. Then I bolted that in as well. The outer side, I kinda left hanging... basically I just need to find a big bolt, drill a hole in the car and apply. The final task is to bolt the rear seat back in. The '87 had a peg system where it just stuck into the rear of the car. The '03 has hinges and is bolted to the floor... I think I'll take both, make some sort of peg for the out sides of the '03 and drill holes for the center hinge. There is also a problem with the area where it latches not being thin enough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Nice job Phil. First a question for you (since I know you've dealt with both). Are the STi seats and your leather Legacy seats the same as far as the mounting point (like would the STi seats bolt into the Legacy or vise versa?). Reason I ask is because I have a set of STi seats waiting to go into my coupe and if its simple enough, then I can slam them in with much problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Actually nevermind Phil I fugred it out. Can't wait to see the 6 though when its done;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry DeMoss Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Actually nevermind Phil I fugred it out. Can't wait to see the 6 though when its done;) Me too! I think those seats look really comfy! Probly the softest seats in a lifted rig? Maybe. Very nice Phil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 It'll be like riding in a land yacht! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Thanks guys! It is very nice... and actually the two seats were VERY different. The Sti seat was much more of a PITA, but then I had to lower mine due to the roof line and my big head in the XT. I'm still loving them. A few things I have noticed... first the legacy seats go MUCH farther back, giving me more front room and snapping the legs off of the people in the back. Secondly, they are thinner. I can now put a can of soda on the right side of the Ebrake, where before the seat was much to much in the way.... Extra cup holders baby! I also now have map pockets, a rear center arm rest and ohhh... the heaters are about the best invention since air conditioning! I need to fix that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 sweet phil, nice hit. i just picked up a set of LL Bean heated leather power seats as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 i am just surprised the rear seats fit too nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 More pics for those interested. Here is where the fronts bolt by the seat belt I elongated the bolt and cut the top of the mount off to allow the belt to go through. The back of the rear seat isn't quite done yet... it gave me some troubles as far as mounting goes... The bottom is held in by the stock hinges, cut shorter and holes drilled... The back was bolted to it's stock mounts... I wanted to try and get pegs on it so it would mount like the old seat, but the blasted screws were too tight, so I just drilled holes. The center mount required a spacer... gonna kinda kill my flat "bed" when the seat is down. Installed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I am just amazed that they fit (width wise) I woulda figured you would not even be able to get the back doors to close. I guess it woulda been harder in an EA81 Makes me want to try that in a GL now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 The legacy it longer, but I doubt wider. My new front seats really go back far! I also have the floor mats and rear rubber mat in my wagon. The front mats are a bit long, and the rear mat fits great in the back of my wagon....Hits one side a bit, but it's good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 I am just amazed that they fit (width wise) I woulda figured you would not even be able to get the back doors to close. Well we havent SEEN a pic yet with the doors closed hehehehehehe nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 ohhh... Here's the switches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 ohhh... Here's the switches Nice touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 so fill as far as mounting non-heated leather seats in an XT6 - looks like it was fairly simple? i got my LLBean Limited Outback heated seats today. they'll go in my Legacy and the original gray (non heated) leather Legacy seats will go in my XT6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheYeti Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Phil, just go buy your Buick and be done with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbobdole Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 so fill as far as mounting non-heated leather seats in an XT6 - looks like it was fairly simple? i got my LLBean Limited Outback heated seats today. they'll go in my Legacy and the original gray (non heated) leather Legacy seats will go in my XT6. It should be about the same... depending on how tall you are and how tall the seats are. Basic mounting requires bending and cutting a touch, nothing serious, but if you are tall(cannot remember) then you might have to lower the seat... which is a pain... The seat should be an ok height... the STi seat is much taller and it still fit in my XT without hitting the roof. Yeti... hush you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.