355 - anyone done a manual seat conversion? | FerrariChat

355 anyone done a manual seat conversion?

Discussion in '348/355' started by bellwilliam, Apr 10, 2020.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    Wondering if anyone has done a manual seat conversion? think that will make life easier... or not?
    (also planning to do a manual top conversion for my Spider, seen the video, looks easy enough)

    less Italian electronics the better?

    thanks
     
    PatrickMo likes this.
  2. Qavion

    Qavion F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 20, 2015
    11,484
    Sydney
    Full Name:
    Ian Riddell
    Someone else with Covid-19 (isolation) cabin fever? :p

    My 2c's worth...

    The roof electrics are probably German, and I have this vague recollection that the hydraulics are by a Dutch company, but let's not spoil the illusion ;) The same roof computer was fitted to an Opel Cabriolet.

    Do you have a roof/seat problem or are you expecting the worst? Sometimes roof problems can be fixed for $30 or less. Far cheaper than new seats* and possibly having to reposition seat rail anchor points(?).

    *unless you intend selling your old seats

    On the subject of spider seat/roof maintenance:
    A seat potentiometer repair kit will soon come on the market.
    Roof mechanism microswitches can be found online if you know what you're looking for.
    F355 Hydraulic fluid reservoirs are also found on Audis.
    There's currently a forum message thread discussing the possibility of isolating less reliable parts of the system.

    Note that a few folks have had difficulties with the manual roof conversion process (fortunately solvable, however).
     
    bellwilliam likes this.
  3. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    thanks for the info.

    point is why bother with an electrical seats. I get it in a nice SUV with 30 way adjustable seats (Lincoln Continental has 30 way for a while now). But F355 is TWO way, forward and back. By the time you get the seat adjusted, I will be blasting down the freeway already.

    I am a na/nb Miata guy (currently own 4), manual seat and manual top is a plus imo. Can you imagine if someone "upgrades" their Miata to electric seat, so the seat can now go forward and back on electrical power in 10 seconds !! Miata people have done some stupid conversions, but no one has ever "upgraded" to power seat.

    I was hoping that someone has found a Sparco or Fiat Panda manual seat bracket to bolts directly..... It really doesn't look too difficult to adapt Sparco one, but height will be an issue. F355 seat is super low.

    manual top I am a little hesitant... I would like to try one to see how smooth it operates...
     
  4. PhilB

    PhilB Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Feb 17, 2004
    2,166
    NYC, USA
    Full Name:
    Phil
    My $.02 - if yours is working leave it alone. If and when it breaks, fix it or if you can't or don't know how, have someone who knows the system fix it.
     
  5. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    Question: does non-Spider come with manual seat? Looking up diagram, Ferrari do make them. When I googled the part number, it is showing the same seat rails for the Testarossa ?

    Thanks.
     
  6. Qavion

    Qavion F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 20, 2015
    11,484
    Sydney
    Full Name:
    Ian Riddell
    Yes, they have a simple bar which you pull on (under the front of the seat) for adjustment. The rails on spiders and non-spiders are different, but perhaps they have the same mounting points (?).

    Note that the seat belts reels on non-spiders are not mounted to the seat but on the window ledge. I'm not sure where you would mount the seat belt on a manual seat on a spider.
     
    bellwilliam likes this.
  7. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    thanks. Idea would be to use the manual seat brackets (one can find them on Ebay and so fortth) and transfer them over to a Spider seat. I can't imagine they would be 2 completely different rail mounting system for coupe and Spider.
     
  8. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 11, 2004
    10,629
    CT
    Full Name:
    John Kreskovsky
    Really? Can't imagine that two totally different seats might have different mountings. Maybe check the parts diagrams: :rolleyes:

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    bellwilliam likes this.
  9. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    I am not quite sure what you mean. But both rails has the same front mounting points (rail to chassis), not sure about the rear, but it looks like it is. If not, it is as simple as weld on a small flat extension. or mount through chassis like every racing seat has done (though I do not know what's underneath).

    as for rails (manual) going into the seat (powered), that would be even easier, even if the hole don't line up, just drill a few new holes.

    the biggest problem will be the width, which looks to be the same because of front mounting holes. another would be clearance - but it is just a pull bar, I don't see why that would be an issue, especially motors take up way more real estate.

    I might complete off, please let me know why it is. I have zero experience with 355 manual seats, I might be missing something completely.

    it also look like this will save 20-30LB ?
     
  10. Ferrarium

    Ferrarium F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2018
    5,624
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Eric
    I'm a bit confused. You want to replace your seats or you want to keep your seats and turn them into manual seats? Folks stick Mercedes seats, Sparco seats, Corbeau seats, 360 seats, 430 seats etc in their cars. There are no direct mounting kits for this.

    Either way the process is the same, Pull off your rails, remove the motors etcs, put in resistors is needed to fool electronics, fit new/old rails to the new/old seats and fab an adapter plate between said rails and seats as needed.

    Am I missing something here?
     
  11. bellwilliam

    bellwilliam Formula Junior

    Oct 25, 2014
    398
    sorry for the confusion. I want to keep my powered seat, and make it manually adjustable.
    wondering if anyone has just re-used the stock manual seat bracket and make it fit. or may be mod the Sparco seat rail kit (Iooks very similar to 355 manual seat bracket) ?
     
  12. Ferrarium

    Ferrarium F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2018
    5,624
    Central NJ
    Full Name:
    Eric
    I'm dead sure I could make the OEM manual rails work. Same with sparco or other rails as well. The trick is you have to make them work with some fab. On the scale of fab work it's about a 1.5 out of 10 most mechanically inclined can do it. If you own a welder and can weld you can definitely fab it.
     
    bellwilliam likes this.

Share This Page