HOME

 

 

Phase 1: Honda CRX Si Seat Installation
  Craig Borden  
 

None

 
I wanted a seat that would hold me in place and be firmer with more back support. I had a particular seat in mind from the beginning because I had owned the particular car - a 1991 Honda CRX Si...

1) I wanted to use the seat runners from the Honda because of the peculiar mounting position on the new seats, the ease with which they could be adjusted and the improvements in design. Again, after 20 years or more the Z seat runners were not working very well. I removed the Honda runners from the seats and cut the right runner (hacksaw) just in front of the right rear bolt bracket. This shortens the right runner, which is too long for the floorboard of the car and also removes the bolt bracket which hits the transmission tunnel. The right runner is notched along its length and a small bolt must be inserted in the notch closest to the cut to keep the runner from sliding too far and falling off of its track.Once this is done, the runners can be re-mounted on the seats. I did most of the work with the brackets on the seats so that the corrects spacing and orientation would be maintained during fabrication.

seatbracketfront.gif (21780 bytes)2) The front bolt holes are in the same position as those for the stock Z holes EXCEPT that they are wider. Use the aluminum bracing to go between the front bolt holes and line up flush with the outside edges of the right and left runners. Use a pair of vise-grips to hold the aluminum bar in place and use the front bolt holes in the runners as a template to drill holes in the aluminum. Use the 5/16 stove bolts, nuts, flat washers and lock washers to secure the aluminum to the mounting side of the runners. Make sure that the flush head of the stove bolts is flush with the mounting side of the aluminum.

seatbracketside.gif (12223 bytes)seatbracketrear.gif (12331 bytes)3) The rear ends of the runners are also wider than the stock Z holes. There is a moderate amount of fabrication needed here. A piece of metal approximately 3 inches wide, 1/8 inch thick and 2 feet long was used with a 90 degree bend 3 inches from one end. This bend takes the place of the right rear bolt bracket that was cut off and also compensates for the difference in height between the original Z runners and the Honda runners. The metal plate should be welded to the outside surface of the right runner making sure that the flat surface of the plate will lay across the rear mounting holes. The plate should extend just past the left runner and will be about 2 inches below the mounting surface of the runner. I just used a piece of 1 inch diameter aluminum pipe as a spacer and ran a stove bolt (because of the flat head) through the metal plate, up through the pipe and through the rear bolt hole of the left seat bracket. It can then be bolted in place.

znewseats.gif (28851 bytes)The only thing left to do is place the seat in the car and mark where the holes should be drilled in the front and rear plates. The Honda seats were a great improvement but gave me problems with the seat belt mechanism because they were just a little too fat. I used them for a year or so but had to replace them. See what I did next:

Phase II: Corbeau Sport Seats