Leather GT seats into GLS... HELP!!

[shadow5606]

Alright... So I'm putting in some seats here... My car is an 01 Elantra GLS and the leather seats are out of a GT... I don't know what year the leathers are from so I'm hoping Evan might chime in soon (I bought them from Evan)

So... the fronts were a piece of cake...

Getting out the rear seats wasn't too bad either... but the leather seats I'm installing are the style that bold on towards the front of the seat and don't seem to have any attachments at all near the back. (I'm talking about the bottom part that your butt goes on here)

I looked at this DIY:
http://www.elantraxd.com/DIY/oemseat.php

Those leather seats look a bit different than the ones I'm working with... if you look at the picture in the DIY that has red arrows pointing at brackets... well I have those brackets on the cloth bench that I took out, but the seats I'm putting in are two seperate pieces, left and right, that look like they should bolt down in the front and be able to be folded forward. (the brackets that bolt down in the front can be flipped out) My interior looks like the picture under this caption "1. Start with no seats in the back" (first picture of the naked rear seat area)

Sooo... I guess I'm wondering if they changed they seat design at some point or if anyone here has ever installed these front folding seat bottoms into a GLS like the one in the DIY. I don't mind making some modifications but at this point I'm a little lost...

[evan938]

thats what i was tellin you when i met up with you...there are no bolts to hold the back down, but with the backs of the back seats, it would be a tight fit to fold the fronts up, thus holding them down into place

just bolt the hinge part down and fold the seat down..then put the backs onand it should be a close enough space to hold the bottoms down from folding up

[shadow5606]

I'm with you on not worrying about them folding up but the thing I'm scratching my head about is that there isn't anywhere to bolt the seats down. the bench I took off leaves those 2 sockets exposed in the front and the cloth bench has those metal tangs that go down into the sockets but the leather seats don't have any tangs to put into the sockets up front and the frame of the GLS dosen't have holes for the metal tabs to bolt into (the metal tabs on the front of the leather seat bottoms)

If I could figure out a way to attach the front of the leather seat bottoms I wouldn't be worried about the back attachments at all. But I'm thinking that the seat bottoms can't be attached without some major modifications.

On the bright side... my car is really light right now :)

[SuperGLS]

Ok, the seats you got from evan are for a GT 5-door, so that's why they are different. My seats are from a GT Sedan, so that's why they were no problem (in the DIY, that's my car).

This has been done before though, and actually, before I did mine. Here is the thread:

http://www.elantraxd.com/yabbse/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=5450

As you can see in these pictures, you need to move the brackets:

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/MVC-655S.JPG

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/MVC-654S.JPG

I suggest reading over that thread and seeing what you can come up with. This is exactly why Evan didn't do the install. Maybe Evil could shed some better light on the subject, because he is the one that installed these seats, but he doesn't check the site too often from what I understand. Good luck.

[shadow5606]

ahh.. drilling the floorboard... that was the one thing I didn't realize. I knew that I'd need to relocate the brackets from the top to the side so that the seatbacks would fit but I didn't realize that I'd need to drill the floorboard to be able to mount the seat bottoms... hmm...

I'm thinking something here... the leathers that you showed in the DIY were from the newer sedan GT, right? sooo... in theory... I could call allhyundaisuzuki.com and ask them if they would take the rear leathers that I have in exchange for some rear leathers out of a GT sedan if they have one... that might be easier than drilling the floorboard and relocating the seatback brackets...

[SuperGLS]

That's an idea, of course, I doubt they'd pay shipping on sending the seats you'll need to send them. With that said, you still got a VERY good deal on the seats, so forking over some extra money wouldn't really hurt. I paid $407 shipped for mine (still a good deal). Keep in mind that AHI will only want those seats if they are in very good condition most likely. Good luck.

[shadow5606]

I just emailed Angel about the install job she did so maybe she can tell me how she did the floorboard drilling part.... (gears turning)

Oh yeah, Evan gave me a HECK of a deal on the seats!!!

and they're in perfect shape... even if it costs 100 bucks each way for the shipping I'd still be under 400 total... it might still be easier to figure out a way to drill the floorboard and relocate the back brackets...

[evan938]

yeah...there are 2 holes on each hinge...i was gonna put these in my bros car and just drill those near where the tabs go in from the cloth seats...right on that ledge, and fold em down into place

[shadow5606]

this may be a silly question but if I drill into the floorboard on that ledge we're talking about I'd need a threading tool to make it so I can bolt into the hole I drill, right?

I get moving the brackets on the back... just cut them off and then have them welded in the new spot on the side... it's just the floorboard that has me spooked.

[evan938]

use some metal tapping screws to bolt it to the floorboard

[shadow5606]

Good news all... I think I might be able to do the cutting/welding/bolt hole making that I'll need to do for those seats soon.

While we've got the blow torch out I think I might weld on the rear 1/2 of a VW micro bus just for added effect... :)

I'll try to get some pics and post a DIY on this process so we'll actually have something on the forums for anyone else doing this.

[evil247]

I put the GT seats into Angel's car. I just used sheet metal screws to hold the bottoms in never had a problem. I took the brackets from the gls cut them and rewelded them so that the seat backs would lock in place. I also had to use washers and longer bolts on the bottom part of the seat back. Once you have them installed you will notice that they are shorter than the GLS seatbacks but no one really noticed unless we pointed it out. and for the deal that she got the seats for it was something she could live with

[mrhoaf]

Note to self..... If I ever get leather seats for my car, make sure they came from a 4-door...... :rolleyes:

[shadow5606]

eh, I don't think it'll be that bad. As long as you've got a buddy with a blow torch and tapping screws... and hey, everybody needs a buddy with a blowtorch. :)