I'm picking up some cheap but clean Recaro seats from a VW this week from a guy on eurowerks. I'll Make a how-to and take plenty of pictures of the install.

they look identical to these.

 

Curious as to how these will look in a MINI. I personally don't think the velour material really goes with a 'new age' car but would love to see finished pictures!

Good luck!

 

i figured since i'm getting both seats for $150, it was worth the try. I personally like the older look in cars, when the interior is done everything will complement each other.

 

Not a fan of the upholstery but they look super supportive and I like the big bolsters. Is it a direct bolt-in or do you need to modify rails or anything crazy? If I had the chance for that price I'd pick them up and get some seat covers!

 

Idk yet, this is exactly what i'm trying to accomplish. what is necessary, how much would it cost, better seats(that will be eventually recovered. shhh.....)
i'll post measurements too when i can

 

When you say VW MK2,is that a GTI? Not familar with VW,and was just wondering what VW they were out of.
Bill

 

Yes, they'll be out of a GTI. MK2 just classifies the car based on year range, like 1st gen MCS...

 

yep that-----^ there probably out of the GTI he has

 

The MINI and VW seats have two completly different mounting systems. The MINI seats have sliders that bolt to the floor and VW's have channels built into the seat pan that the the seat slides into. Doing this swap is going to take a lot of fabrication. The best bet would probably be to weld the MINI sliders on the VW seats, but that means that the MINI seats will need to be cut up. I would definitely like to see it done though. Here is a picture of the bottom of the VW seats:

 

You just need to have custom mounts made to accept the VW seat mounts. Then have the base fit the MINI. That's how I had my Recaro's mounted.

The other option would be to by aftermarket sliders and mount those to the Recaro's and then have the brackets made to fit those and the MINI. Shouldn't be too hard, you just need a good fabricator which I think you have.

 

I am interested in this mod also. Keep us posted.

 

i was suppose to pick them today but the guy said he had already sold them. wtf. I'm still eager to swap out these seats for something a little more comfortable. I'm thinking some recaro style seats or if i can find some more MK 2 seats i'll go for those. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

Have you ever looked at the GLI Recaros? They're outstanding and would look a lot better appearance-wise, but finding a set would be pretty tough. I'm with you though, the stock MC seats are some of the worst, especially for bigger guys. I've considered even aftermarket buckets for larger bolsters and a wider base.

 

I'm thinking when the time comes i'll just be getting some universal recaros or something similar. the GTI seats were just because for 150 bucks i wouldn't feel bad if they didn't fit.

 

FYI, there are 2 types of Recaro seats found in Mk2 VWs. The first type (found in Jetta GLIs) have seat rails that bolt onto the seat base. The second type (found in GTIs) have the seat rails integrated in the seat base. The Jetta seats would be much, much easier to adapt to a MINI than the GTI seats would.

 

I have a question for you guys, i've been thinking about e46 m3 seats in my car. I absolutely love the style and thigh support, and i really think it'll look great. I measured the rails on a friends m3 last year and i think they are about 3 inches wider than mine.. Is it possible to mount them? As far as i can tell, no one has done this before

 

Just go out a measure it!

 

Not quite. Vw went to the tripod mounts back in 73 on the bugs and other air cooled cars. They were narrow.

In 75 they brought out the rabbit (mk1). This had the same system but wasn't so narrow.

They kept the tripod for the mk2 jetta and golf (85-92).

The scirocco and corrado also used this system.

So all mk1s (75-84 rabbit and jetta) and mk2s are interchangeable. The mk3 (93-99.5 jettas and golfs) was wider than the previous years.

The mk4 (99.5-05 jetta and 99.5-06 golf) was wider still and slightly different up front.

The passat and fox were wider than the mk2's but I'm not sure if they were the same as the mk3. I don't think they were though.

The mk5 jettas and rabbits got a rail type mountimg system similar to the mini. So they would be the easiest to mount in a mini.

The recaros the op pictured are very nice and comfy. They were found in late mk2 glis and gtis. The power recaros had removable bases. The non power did not.

 

well i know the rails for the M seats are about 18 inches apart. My question is more about how i would go about mounting them

 

fabricating brackets for them to the stock mounting points (car side and seat side)

 

What problems would I run into with airbags and such?

 

Fabrication should not be needed if there is a MINI specific seat base in the Recaro catalog. Remove the four silver hex head bolts that connect the black seat base to the underside of the seat frame and you should be able to mount a MINI specific base there.

 

Very little of value in your post to the OP. My point, which you missed, is that some VW seats have removable bases and others do not. Removeable base seats are fairly easy to adapt to other cars, where the non-removable base seats are not.

For the record, I bought my first new VW in June of 1984 (that's a Mk1) and have owned one or more VWs at all times since then. In fact I still have one that I bought new in 1987.

 

Used to have a set of these in my Mk2 Jetta GLI. Most comfortable seats I've ever had in a car. I agree the material could be updated and really make these pop. Anyway, great seats and it's always fun to see them going into more and more cars.