wcm ultralite seat mounting (ultrashield)

[RGTorque]

i finally got in my ultrashieldsa nd 5 point harnesses and now im not to sure how they mount. the seat is supposed to be on an tilt but how would it mount then? could a few of the wcm owners grace me with pics of the seat install, under the padding bolt hole pics, under the car mounting pics. anything would help.

 

Roman

[rv-4mike]

Roman,

 

Not sure your chassis is set up the same as mine since yours is pretty old and mine relatively recent.

 

Anyway, looks to me that it is somewhat arbitrary. Every Ultralite I've seen in person is a little different in seatback angle.

 

I got no instruction from Brian so here's how I did it. There are a couple of tabs welded to the chassis below the seats with nuts welded on. Set the angle that feels comfortable to you and drill down through the seat bottom and through the middle of the welded nuts with a small pilot drill. Make sure the holes are centered on the nuts, remove the seats and drill through the pilot holes to open them up to clear the pan head mounting bolts. Reinstall the seats and bolt them down.

 

Brian only provided enough bolts to secure the seats at the bottom. I didnt like that so drilled through the seat backs into the rear cockpit bulkhead for an additional couple of bolts. I rivetted a .060 aluminum doubler to the trunk side of the bulkhead to make sure the bolts wont pull through.

 

If this isnt clear PM me and I can remove my upholstery and shoot some pics for you. Pretty easy to do since my car is still under construction.

 

I'm guessing you'll hear from Jerry and Loren too, and they may have a better way. But I'm pretty confident that my seats are secure and they are pretty comfy too.

 

Mike

[JohnK]

Roman,

Here's my approach. Mounts are available from Grainger, Reid, .... I chose them because they limit the hi frequency vibration and are capable of lots of load, and distribute the downforce over lots of area. Front mounts use same components used sidewasy, arm length allows adjusting tilt easily as rear mounts accept tilt OK. I spent lots of time struggling to figure out what angle, since the greater the tilt (desirable), the more you have to move the seat to the front (undesirable). Brackets that came with the car were heavy and single shear (weak) so I made mine from 1 inch sq tube (The Metal Supermarket is our friend). Pics are low resolution for quick loading. If you need more detail let me know.

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/930683237_seat01.jpg

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/2079403584_seat02.jpg

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/743905023_seat03.jpg

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/698876506_seat04.jpg

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/2107963406_seat05.jpg

 

[RGTorque]

thanks a lot for the help guys. this seems to be a bit more involved then i thought. i dont have a welder at my garage (nor do i know how to weld) so fabing up brackets wont work. any bushings or hardware meant for my seats is gone thanks to yet again , the PO.

 

regarding this pic, the bolts on the sides of the seats stick out and i already have trouble fitting the seats in my car. if i have any hardware i flat out wont be able to fit it in (pass side is 16" seat).

 

http://www.usa7s.org/aspnetforum/upload/2107963406_seat05.jpg

 

rv-4mike, if you can shoot some pics of your mounting that would help a lot.

 

Thanks again guys.

[powderbrake]

Here are a couple shots of my seat mounting.

 

My seats are the Ultrashield 20 degree layback drag seats. My seatbelts are secured at the uppper seatback bolts with the seatbelt anchors between the seat and the cockpit shetmetal, and the two nut tabs on the frame near your hip points of the seat, and one bolt through the bottom center of the seat and the floorpan, with the anchor between the seat and the floorpan.

 

There are two seat/seatbelt mounting tabs with nuts welded to them, just below the crossbar at the rear of the cabin. Lay the seat in the car with the small ( approx 8 to 10"wide) flat bottom of the seat flat on the floor. Slide the seat back until the upper back of the seat touches the rear sheetmetal/upper cross bar. Clamp in place and with a smaller diameter pilot drill, drill through from the trunk side of the cabin sheetmetal. Remove seat and enlarge holes to accept the bolt. ( you may want to have the seat belt metal tabs in place between the saet and the sheetmetal for an exact location, but it's not necessary)

Bolt seat in place, and drill one hole through the seat and the floorpan in the front center of the seat bottom flat area. Use a bolt with large fender washers to secure the seat and the seatbelt tab to the floorpan.

 

The seat location is not too adjustable. You will find that when the seat fits flat on the bottom against the floorpan, the back is about at the sane angle as the cockpit sheetmetal.

 

Here is a pic of the tab locations in the upper rear, and the side belt location at the lower rear.

 

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/33565473_IMGP4512.JPG

 

Here is the one bolt hole through the bottom. The hole is located right next to the tape measure. Note that I have raised my seat by placing two 1"square aluminum tubes on the floorpan, located at the front and rear of the flat area on the seat bottom. I placed some sheet rubber on the tubes to prevent squeaks. You can also see the seatbelt tab on the tunnel tubing at the rear of the seat location. Your side belts are attached here. ( I would probably leave the risers out if I had to do it all over again, to keep my head lower and more out of he wind, but at the time I felt I needed to be able to see more of the right front fender and right headlight, now I realize I don't need that.)

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/138026230_IMGP4598.JPG

 

I don't believe you need extra bolts on the seats. You are secured to the car by the seatbelts and 4 seatbelt tabs that bolt directly to the frame, and the one bolt in the center bottom serves to hold the anti-submarine belt.

 

Hole locations

 

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1315966748_seat.jpg

 

I added about 1 inche of foam to the bottom of the seat , and 1" to the length of the back ( about 10 to 12' wide), and an additional 1" at the lumbar region. The lumbar foam is glued to the back foam, and nothing is glued to the seat, just held in place by the seatcover.

[JohnK]

 

regarding this pic, the bolts on the sides of the seats stick out and i already have trouble fitting the seats in my car. if i have any hardware i flat out wont be able to fit it in (pass side is 16" seat).

 

 

FWIW, when I got to the passenger side, I realized there was less room and did the same thing, but with using axial rubber bits turned 90 degrees. This reduces the width of the seat allowing it to fit the smaller frame width on the passenger side. Glad to see there are other owners who know how to deal using only the existing pieces. Perhaps I spent too much time reading Carroll Smith's books before I got my car.