Austin A35 bucket seat guide
1956 to 1959
There is no subframe made for an Austin A35. No Cobra, no OMP, no Sparco. So if you are fitting a bucket seat into one, the mounting problem is yours to solve, and you sort it before you pick a seat.
For most A35s that means the M2 adaption bars, which bridge the car’s floor anchor points to a standard base mount pattern. The work is fitting the bars solidly and making sure the floor itself is sound. On a 60-year-old car, that check is not optional.
Everything else follows from there. All the seats on this page are base mount, because there is no subframe to hang a side mount shell from. They are styled for classic and period cars. And seat width matters more here than it does on most cars, because the cabin is narrow and the narrower options genuinely fit better.
- No production seat subframe is made for the Austin A35
- Mounting uses the car's floor anchor points, with M2 adaption bars as the standard starting point
- All seats on this page are base mount, which is the only option without fabrication
- The cabin limits you to seats around 390 to 440mm wide for a comfortable fit; anything past 450mm is tight
- The Corbeau Sportsman is described by Corbeau as a narrow fit seat for cars with limited interior room
- Custom Cages make four roll cage options for the A35: CDS and T45 grades, in bar kit and standalone form
- Shoulder harness straps need a solid mounting point behind the seat, which usually means a cage on this car
What is on this page
Mounting in an A35
No fitting bracket is catalogued for this car. The original seat bases were built around the factory seats and nothing translates directly to an aftermarket base mount shell. The practical starting point is the M2 adaption bars.
The bars bolt across the car’s floor anchor points and present a standard base mount pattern for the seat. The M8 bolt pack is the hardware for the connection. That is the complete install, provided the floor is solid. On a car this age, that is the part worth checking before anything else. Rust in a floor sill on a 1950s unibody is a structural issue, not just a cosmetic one.
If you want more control over the seat position than the adaption bars give you, a fabricated mount is the other route. That is more work and needs someone who knows the A35 floor, but it lets you set the seat exactly where it needs to go. Either way, the mounting side of this job is not something to sort out afterwards.
Check the floor before fitting anythingA35s are sixty-plus years old and the floors show it. Check the condition of the anchor points and the surrounding metalwork before the bars go in. A seat bolted to a compromised floor is a problem the seat itself cannot fix.
Seats that suit the A35
Seat width is the constraint on this car, not the brand. The A35’s cabin gives each side around 390 to 440mm to work with. Anything wider than 450mm is a tight fit that most owners find they come back to.
Every seat below is base mount and styled for a classic or period car. A few things are worth knowing before picking one. The Cobra Classic and Roadster range were designed with replica Cobra vehicles in mind, which explains the styling, and they work well in the A35 both visually and in terms of dimensions. The OMP Silverstone is a low-back seat with a period look that suits a competition car rather than a restored road car. The Corbeau Sportsman is Corbeau’s narrowest listed option, described in their own copy as specifically suited to cars with limited interior room, which is the A35 in a sentence.
The Cobra GT3 Historic and the Classic 40th Edition both list a maximum driver height of under 6ft. On a car with a low roofline that is worth taking at face value.
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Our picksSort the mounting before the seat
The mounting is the harder part of this install. Cameron does the fitment side of the work and what he needs first on an A35 is the condition of the floor and what the existing anchor points look like. Send that over with your height and waist and he will tell you which of these genuinely fits.
Harnesses
A bucket seat takes away the side support the standard seat gives you. If the A35 is being used for competition or fast road work, a harness is what replaces it. A 4 point is the minimum for most uses. A 6 point is for single seater events or wherever the regulations specifically ask for it.
The part that needs planning first is where the shoulder straps go. The straps need a fixing behind and above shoulder height, solid enough to take the load in an accident. In an A35 that usually means a roll cage, because there is no convenient bulkhead geometry behind the front seats that lends itself to a harness bar. If the car is being caged anyway, the harness conversation goes in at the same time. If it is not, tell us what is behind the seats before you order belts and we will confirm whether it can carry them.
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Our recommendationsSort the shoulder mounting first
The Sparco bolt-in and the OMP Road 4 are the straightforward options for fast road and trackday use. The TRS Magnum is FIA-rated with an expiry date, so it makes sense only if you are running in a series that asks for it. If you are not sure which you need, send us the class and the championship, and we will tell you which one the regulations want.
Roll cages
Custom Cages make four roll cage options for the A35, all listed as historic spec. Two grades and two configurations.
CDS is cold drawn seamless steel tube, the more affordable of the two grades. T45 is the same construction in a higher specification steel, the grade most historic competition regulations name when they specify a tube grade. If you are entering a championship that mentions tube specification, check which grade it asks for before ordering.
The kit versions (239499 and 239507) include the cage bars and the fabrication materials to complete the structure. The standalone bars (18168 and 18169) are for fabricators adding to existing ironwork or building a custom cage. Both configurations are supplied without fitting.
A cage is a notifiable modificationTell your insurer before the car goes back on the road. Depending on your insurer and the intended use, the certificate of conformity from Custom Cages is the document they will ask for.
What fits what
All nine seats below are base mount. The columns that change across them are waist range, driver height limit, and the style each one is built for. Where a listing does not state a width in millimetres, the waist figure is from the product attributes.
| Seat | Mounting | Waist | Height | Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Style Type Classic Vinyl | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Period vinyl |
| Cobra Roadster SS | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Replica Cobra |
| OMP Silverstone Classic | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Low back classic |
| Cobra Classic CS | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Classic bucket |
| Cobra Classic RS Vinyl | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Classic vinyl |
| Cobra Stelvio Vinyl | Base mount | All sizes | All heights | Classic vinyl |
| Corbeau Sportsman | Base mount | 32in to 38in | All heights | Narrow fit recliner |
| Cobra Classic 40th Edition | Base mount | 32in to 36in | Under 6ft | Anniversary edition |
| Cobra GT3 Historic | Base mount | 32in to 36in | Under 6ft | Historic competition |
Questions about fitting seats in an Austin A35
Is there a seat subframe for an Austin A35?
No. Nothing is catalogued for the A35 from Planted, Cobra, OMP, Sparco or Recaro. The M2 adaption bars bridge the car’s floor anchor points to a standard base mount pattern and are the standard starting point. Fabricated mounts are the other option if you want more control over seat position.
What seat width works in an Austin A35?
Around 390 to 440mm is the comfortable range. Anything past 450mm is a tight fit against the door card and the transmission tunnel. The Corbeau Sportsman is the narrowest listed option on this page, described by Corbeau as a narrow fit seat built for cars with limited interior room.
Do I need a roll cage to fit a harness in an A35?
Usually, yes. The shoulder straps need a fixing point behind the seat at or above shoulder height, solid enough to take the load. On most A35s that means a cage. If the car has existing rear bulkhead reinforcement or a harness bar already fitted, contact us and we will confirm whether it is suitable before you order belts.
Will the Corbeau Sportsman fit an Austin A35?
It is one of the better physical fits for this car. It is base mount, Corbeau describe it as a narrow fit design for cars with limited interior room, and the waist range covers 32in to 38in. It is also a reclining seat, which is practical for a car still doing road miles.
What is the difference between the Custom Cages CDS and T45 roll cages?
Both are steel tube cages built for the A35. CDS is cold drawn seamless tube, the more affordable grade. T45 is the higher specification steel most historic competition regulations name when they specify a tube grade. Check the championship or event regulations before ordering if the cage is for competition use.
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