Legal seats for stock eliminator

[foxy343]

Just wanted to make sure before ordering something I cant use. What aftermarket seats are legal in Stock Eliminator? I was looking at a pair of racing seats with built-in cutouts for the safety belts- PROCAR type seats for my 1975 H/SA Dodge Dart Sport, and was wondering what I would need to do to make them work (required bracing, belts,...?). I got the original high back buckets but it seems to me they aren't really made for the five point safety harnesses. What are you NHRA Stock guys doing right now? Thanks

[Tom Goldman]

The Procar seats are nice as far as mounting to a stock type track ,and for a street car,but you're giving away a lot of weight ,they are around 30 # compared to a Kirkey aluminum seat at around 17#.
The Kirkey also is much sturdier, no reclining back to fold in a crash situation.
As far as mounting , the seat back must be attached to the roll cage shoulder bar,and securely attached to the floor.....I always eliminate the seat tracks, they have no strength.
I just used a set of Kirkey's in a 69 Camaro Stocker that saved nearly 60# over the stock seats.

[HandOverFist]

I understand the motivation behind the seat change and it is not without merit. With all the work/changes I have done this year to our car I could have easily gone this route as well, but one look at these modern seats in a 60/70's era car was enough to deter me from that notion. They look absolutely hideous and out of place in the older cars no matter what is done in the manner of upholstery...not so much in the newer models. I suppose it all comes down to what one is willing to tolerate in the end for the sake of performance/safety concerns.

[ss wannabee]

Rich...I like your reasoning for staying with the OEM's...and trying to keep your car Stock!

[HandOverFist]

If some of the folks using aftermarket seats could post pictures of them installed I'm sure the OP would appreciate it.

[Bobby Fazio]

I was just wondering this also, so are racing seats legal in stock? I originally wanted to keep my oem seats for the look but when I launch the seat kinda leans back and I have trouble seeing over the steering wheel as it is.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

I just used a set of Kirkey's in a 69 Camaro Stocker that saved nearly 60# over the stock seats.

There ya go...

[Rory McNeil]

Have to wonder how many racers would invest in the "safer" race seats if they were required to be at least as heavy as the OE seats they removed.

[Sean Marconette]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

Have to wonder how many racers would invest in the "safer" race seats if they were required to be at least as heavy as the OE seats they removed.

FWIW,
The weight savings was only 15lbs each on mine. That includes the aluminum square tubing used to fabricate the mounts too. Welded tabs to the rear bar and brackets to secure the seat back to the bar were necessary for my Kirkey seats. By the time I was done purchasing the seats, brackets and material it would have been a wash to have my originals recovered. My original seats were like Bobby described, they were bent. I looked for replacements for years, but could not find the same seats. As for how much room between the rear bar and where the seat back is, depends on the car, and drivers seating position. A stick car vs an auto car also makes a difference. Range of movement for a clutch pedal and leverage for the shifter for fast shifts needs to be considered.
From a safety standpoint the Kirkeys vs my GT Sport seats are like night and day. Do they look OEM no, but we are also racing against 150+ MPH cars.

To the OP, there has been a lot of posts on this topic when this rule change came about. I would suggest doing a search.

Sean

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

Have to wonder how many racers would invest in the "safer" race seats if they were required to be at least as heavy as the OE seats they removed.

Rory, So it looks like the aforementioned 69 Camaro lost 30 pounds in the middle of the car...for safety.
I have to wonder what the other 30 pound loss was for?