Hello Everyone,

I know this is a rehashed subject but I do not recall anyone giving any
specific infomraiton on cutting and welding Vanagon tracks on the Golf/Jetta
seats besides the Recaros which came with removable tracks. I know how to
fit those.

There are some attractive seats offered in other VW's. The subject of my
inquiry are the ones from the Mark 3 GTI & GLI. They look similar to the
Recaros with taller side bolsters and reclined about the same. They also
have height adjustable driver's seats. These models appear to be at the
bottom of their price curve. People are looking agt them as just old cars
and not quite collectible yet. Parts are still relatively expensive compared
to the Mk1 & Mk2 models. At the same time, they are not as expensive as the
newer Mk 4 & Mk 5.

The problem with putting these seats in a Vanagon is the tracks are part of
the seat frame unlike the Recaros. Forget getting rid of the seats and
buying Recaros. That's not the sort of advise I need nor does that address
the question. If you've never looked at the bottom of those seats, there is
a center rail which is used to lock the seat in various distances. Then
there are a pair of legs at the rear which slide into tracks on either side.
Now the Vanagon has a pair of rails with a lever for stop. The sport seats
appear taller because of the thigh support. Otherwise, without the rear
legs, they are very similar in height to the Vanagon seat bottom. The
framework underneath is made of tubing except that center rail.

Here's what I propose. The tube frame is narrow enough to just fit between
the space of the Vanagon seat rails. That means they can drop right down
between the seat tracks on the van pedestal. I figured cutting the rear legs
would be the easiest to get the whole seat to drop in. Then the center rail
has to be removed as well as the seats belt portion. Vanagons have their
belts bolted to the seat pedestal. OK so the Vanagon seat rails can then be
welded onto a cross bar which can then be welded to the tube frame. I see
that the height adjustment makes the modification difficult so the plan is
to delete that as well.

Going back to my old emails, I see that a few people said they "... cut and
welded..." portions so the seats can fit. I could not find anyone specifying
exactly what they did. Can anybody enlighten me before I fire up the saw?

I have a pair of nice black seats from a Mk3 Jetta that I am looking to try
this procedure on. Matching rear seats would be cannibalized to upholster
the back seat.

TIA,
--
BenT