Hi

I'm looking to fit some electric seats (with seatbelts integrated) from 2003 bmw 3 series into a vw beach buggy I'm building.

I need some advice regarding fitting and if it is simple to provide power to the seats for adjustment etc as normally they are powered by the bmw loom

Fingers crossed I can fit them easily

Cheers

It does depend on the wiring for the seats, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Things to worry about though is that a lot of newer seats come with airbags in the sides, so you don't want to trip them, and you probably want to avoid them entirely.

Also motorised seats are heavy and draw a lot of current.

When I go my buggy it came with motorised mondeo seats, they kept blowing fuses everytime I wanted to adjust them.

Needless to say, they didn't last long in there.

Not just airbags you have to be mindfull of with modern seats, many use pyrotechnics for the seat belt tensioners too

Would you suggest it's not a good idea?

I'm looking for seats with seatbelts built in as I
Don't want a rollbar, but they all seem to be electric.

Any idea what cars use such seats?

What are pyrotechnics btw ?

I have them fitted into Raspberry, even in a LWB Doon they are a bloody tight fit.

The only electrics on these are the bolsters and the seat belt anchors had to come off the tunnel side as they fouled.
It would certainly be worth a trial fit before anything else.

Have a look here.
http://www.manxmaniac.co.uk/holidaysAndShows-VolksWorld2011-ProjectRaspberry.php

All the pyros are quiet simple to remove or disconect.

Would you suggest it's not a good idea?

What are pyrotechnics btw ?

Anything is possible, and there is no such thing as a bad idea, only a poor execution of it.

Pyrotechnics: some seat belt mechanisms on modern cars have a small cylinder attatched with a small explosive charge inside that is designed to pull the belt very tight in the event of a crash. Some are electronically actuated, and some are mechanically activated in the event of shock - what you have to be aware of though, is like airbags, they have to be handled correctly and carefully. Turning a seat upside down for instance, has been known to trigger them if the safety rings are not in place - so just watch where you are putting your fingers.

you need to watch the width of the seat base as the majority of standard car seats will be too wide, having a lwb gives you slightly more room as the tunnel is straight along side the seat.

I'm going to stick with manual seats from a celica or similar.

I've got a quote for a roll bar, with support bars at rear of £250 fitted, not really sure where to go

Windscreen and surround are proving tricky to find cost effectively

Most other bits I've got I need

It's a mid 72.

I am looking at possible ways of getting it built and mot ready, without a roll bar.

Reason for this is being on a tight budget. I may look at getting a roll bar in future but it's an expense which isn't possible at the moment.

That was my thinking for using the seats mentioned, mounting seat on box section is not a problem, I'm just trying to work around the cost of having a roll bar made and transporting the buggy to get it fitted?

Any other ideas?

I'm now looking into finding a cheap roll bar into the buggy

I was wondering if a roll over bar/hoop from something like a Porsche boxster would fit easily?

I fitted Porsche 911 electric seats to my Karmann Cabriolet (now sold), these were pretty simple to wire up - just 2 wires and had integrated seat belts.

OK, the seats were not fully electric, the motors only moved the seat front and rear up/down, the rest was still all manual, very comfortable seats though.

Did you have to reinforce the floor?

It's just such a headache trying to find a cheap roll bar company and I like the idea of integrated belts

What model are your seats from?

For the to bar have you tried local metal fabricators. I got mine made to fit the buggy exactly for £45
You'll be amazed what can be done for what price on a Saturday morning for the price of a few bacon rolls and a few air in the tea fund.
I ended up having the whole cage bent up for less than £300

I have done that to the best of my ability.

Tried googling metal fabricators in my area, none of them were interested. Most wanted the buggy there to do it at all.

Don't have any friends or family in that area of work, and even the local fabricators are far enough away that the buggy would need trailering there and back, which is part of my reason for looking toward seats with belts integrated.