Well the pictures dont do it justice (as they were taken on an iPhone and the driver side at night), but I finally picked up a good deal on some
2001 Camaro SS black leather seats for my Cavalier an installed them the same day (today).
Firstly, the install is 2/10 on a scale (1 easy, 10 hard). The only reason its a 2 is because the driver side can be a PITA if you cant get to the bolts and there is wiring for the seat belt warning.
Pros: looks way better, slightly lower/narrower than cav seats, leather, direct bolt on, stiffer ride but feels good in corners/good lumbar. Ebony leather matches the gray cavalier interior perfectly.
Cons: not nearly as much 'cushion' or padding, stiffer ride quality (more sporty than comfort), leather can be easier to ruin than fabric and cold/hot temps will affect it too (fabric doesnt get cold/hot).
Only modification is to swap the rails, bolt patterns are identical. You will also have to figure out how to customize your seat belt guides. Im just going to cut a slit in the top of each and slight the belt in, similar to how the Cavys already are.
Ill make a quick how to just incase someone wants to do it, but you can figure it out on you own if you know how to turn a wrench/socket. The Camaro seats didnt come with rails, so I didnt have to remove anything from those.
Tools required: 1/2 socket (1/2 deep socket if you have it for driver front bolt), 6in extension, socket wrench, and I used a wratchet wrench (closed end), this sped things up IMMENSELY!
Time to completion: < 1 hour (if you vacuum and tinker with things like i do, maybe 2 hours)
1. Unbolt the 4 1/2 nuts holding the seats down, lift seats out.
1.a - driver side has a wire coming from the floor to the seat belt for the belt warning when youre not buckled up, you have to unclip this. Its clipped into the center crossmember under the seat.
2. using the same 1/2 socket/wratcheting wrench, remove the 4 1/2 bolts holding the seat rails onto the bottom of the seat. (you may have to move the slider around to get better access to the bolts). The wratchet wrench is WAY easier and saves a lot of time, but you may have to use the extension to get some of these out as the wrenches dont necessarily fit (youll see why if you look at one up close).
3. place the same corresponding seat rail (pass to pass, driver to driver), in the reverse method.
4. be sure when putting the driver side seat back you reconnect the seat belt sensor.
**you may want to vacuum the carpet and clean your console and other bits up before reinstalling, because you know this is the last chance for a while youll have to clean it and pick up those McDonalds fries and coins out from there
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Wow those look great! Nice upgrade.
thank you sir!
$100 for the pair, used my rails, so well worth it IMO!
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Wow, you can't beat a deal like that. Definitely looks good!
awesome upgrade. especially for that price
good deal bro
Little Sedan That Could <3 Forever
awesome, I've always wanted to see the leather 4th gen seats in a j
What other vehicles seats are direct bolt ins?
should look into having them professionally filled and stained.
Modding my j since I found the org
the thinner seats are already growing on me, they do have better side support. Def stiffer when driving but i feel more 'in control'.
Id be curious to see how the leather GA GT seats or TA seats feel, just for comparison..but for now this will do as most of my budget is on completing my s/c parts build
thanks for the compliments! i figured id at least try because ive heard about it for so long but never actually seen it done. Ill get better pics when i have time the next time i clean her up!
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
those look really good in the car! nice upgrade!
love the Camaro seats in my droptop. real good choice for a budget seat.
From what year to what year Camaro are these seats in?
SilvrSunfir wrote:From what year to what year Camaro are these seats in?
2001. He has it right there in bold print. First sentence......
But anyways, all 1982-2002 F-Bodies will interchange front buckets with our cars. IIRC, the G-Body (Cutlass/Malibu/Monte, ect) is the same bolt patterns and will bolt in as well. But they have crappy seats anyways.
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
Yeah, 2001 Camaro SS are my exact seats. And like i said the seat rails literally unbolt from the Cavalier, and bolt right up to the Camaro seats.
I heard that certain year Grand Am's also. So a pair of Grand Am GT leather seats with the holes in the headrests are probably pretty nice too...mine are in better shape than they look, crappy camera. But i want to get some leather treatment to maybe condition any of the cracks leather gets even close to new...i mean they're over 10 years old
i went with them on impulse because i had such a good deal, i just had to try it even if i didnt like it.
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Upgrade, why are they upgrades? because they are leather?
They dont look good in my opinion, they look cheap. i would of rather of kept the stock cavy seats.
~2014 New Z under the knife, same heart different body~
______________________
WHITECAVY no more
2012 numbers - 4SPD AUTOMATIC!!
328 HP
306 TQ
WHITECAVY wrote:They dont look good in my opinion, they look cheap. i would of rather of kept the stock cavy seats.
X2
"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae
What I like and dislike
Dislike- For the trouble, the Cavy seats look just fine
Like- That Whataburger cup! Lol Damn I wish they had them here in georgia. I could go for a breakfast on a bun right now!
stock cavy seats have pretty poor support and they're way too soft and cushiony (yes i said cushiony lol)...
The Camaro seats support me great with zero roll at all, are narrower and dont push into the console (more side to side room width wise), and to me look 100x better. They're thinner, cleaner, and the leather gives the interior a cleaner look over some cheap fabric.
Id never waste the money on tacky racing seats. Most that have them dont even properly setup racing seat belt harnesses and just go with stock seat belts. It looks ricey and the cars that typically have racing seats dont have the power to need $400+ seats. Now if you AutoX and have 300whp and actually have a racing harness, then they are a necessity. Most of them are not easy to use for a dd as getting in and out is not practical at all, and are not typically very comfortable for longer periods of time.
Btw, the 'trouble' was a socket and 4 bolts lol..if you think thats trouble, Id hate to see how troubleshome an oil change is for you!
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
FireRedCav wrote:Like- That Whataburger cup! Lol Damn I wish they had them here in georgia. I could go for a breakfast on a bun right now!
don't complain, you get the fuddruckers.
- Your not-so-local, untrained, uncertified, backyard mechanic. But my @!#$ runs
Just to be clear I wanted to know what years could be used as replacement seat because my frame is broken and pokes me in the back, I wouldn't go with leather myself though. It gets cold in the winter, hot in the summer and It doesn't match the back seat. Other than that I like them.
Looks great to me. I would def want to leather the rear bench to match eventually. That would be my only holdup.
One of these days I plan on switching to leather myself. Nice find!
I like those better than my katzkins. Good work
Sig'less since '02!
yeah to be honest they match really well for my interior and they just look sportier. There are a lot nicer seats out there and Im not a fan of seat covers at all, I think 99.9% of the time they just look takcy (even the leather ones).
But for a quick fix, im happy. Im also planning on removing my rear bench seat because typically rear seats in a 2dr econobox are useless. Mine are folded down all the time anyways.
as with anything there will be critics, but thats encouraged because that just means those wont be others doing the same thing as me
I do need to look into the cost of having them reconditioned, just for the heck of it. they're older than my cavalier after all, despite the great shape they're in...
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
youll brob end up paying around three hundred and thats including sand,prep,repaint
Modding my j since I found the org
