Hundreds Of Products Ready Today. Dispatch/Collection Customer Question: Fitting Recaro LX Seats To A Nissan 240Z
Customer question, Datsun 240Z S30
A message in this morning: a set of Recaro LX seats on the way, a Nissan 240Z to put them in, and a sensible question about the best way to mount them. He also did the thing we always ask for and never quite expect, which is that he measured the seat and sent us a drawing.
So this page is his answer. We do not sell the Recaro LX, and we are not going to pretend otherwise, but the mounting question is one we can answer properly because there is exactly one bracket for this car and we stock it.
- One bracket fits this car: the Planted Technology Nissan 240Z, part SB138-1, at GBP 185.50 a side
- It picks up the factory seat mounting points, so nothing on a standard floor gets cut or drilled
- The customer measured 406mm across his seat, which matches the Recaro base mount width we hold
- His fore and aft figures are 260mm and 235mm, from a pair of holes 25mm apart at the front of each rail
- We do not sell the Recaro LX, so we confirm the mounting against the bracket before anything is ordered
What is on this page
There is one bracket for this car, and we have it
The good news first. Planted make a seat bracket for the Nissan 240Z, part SB138-1, and it is the one route we sell for this car. It bolts to the factory seat mounting points, so on a standard floor nothing is cut and nothing is drilled, and the original seats can go back in exactly as they came out.
One thing to sort before ordering, and it is the bracket’s own listing that asks for it. The S30 ran from 1969 to 1978 as the 240Z, 260Z and 280Z, and Datsun changed the rear seat mounting partway through the run, so the later cars split by whether the rear tabs are flat or angled. Send us the registration or the chassis number and we will confirm which your car takes before anything ships.
While the seats are out, two things worth doing. Bag and label every original fixing, because an S30 interior that can be put back exactly is worth real money on a car like this. And get right under the carpet and look at the floor around the seat mounts, because rust there is the standing issue on these and it is far cheaper to find now than after the seats are in.
What he measured, drawn properly
He sent a sketch with four figures on it, and it is a good set of measurements, so here it is drawn to scale. Each rail has a pair of holes at the front, 25mm apart, and a single hole at the rear. That pair is a fore and aft adjustment: pick the forward hole and the spacing is 260mm, pick the one behind it and it is 235mm.
The customer’s own measurements, drawn to scale. The pair of holes at the front of each rail is what gives the two fore and aft figures: use the forward hole and you get 260mm, use the one behind it and you get 235mm.
What those numbers tell us
The 406mm across is the useful one. Recaro run their own base mount width and our own data holds it at 405mm, so his seat is on the Recaro pattern to within the accuracy of a tape measure on a seat frame. That is the number the bracket cares about most, and it is why this is a straightforward job and not a fabrication project.
The fore and aft is where we want to be careful with him. The figure we hold for the modern Recaro range is 290mm, and he has measured 260mm and 235mm. The LX is an older seat than anything in our current data, so a genuine difference between his seat and the current range is the likeliest explanation by some distance. But we do not sell the LX and cannot put one on the bench next to a bracket, so we would rather say that out loud than print a promise.
In practice this is a phone call and a photograph. Send us the two measurements again with a picture of the underside of the seat once it arrives, and we will confirm it against the bracket before you spend anything. If you are still choosing between seats, our Datsun 240Z seat guide covers what else goes in this car.
| Measurement | What he measured | What we hold for Recaro | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width across | 406mm | 405mm | Matches |
| Fore and aft, forward hole | 260mm | 290mm | Confirm with us |
| Fore and aft, rear hole | 235mm | 290mm | Confirm with us |
| Gap between the paired holes | 25mm | Not published | His own adjustment |
The width is the number that decides whether a seat is in the right family, and his is. The fore and aft figures are the ones we check by hand, because the LX predates the range our data covers.
Runners, and whether you want them
The bracket fixes the seat in place. If you want the seat to slide, a runner goes between the bracket and the seat, and it costs you a little height in a car that has not got much to give. In a 240Z that trade is worth thinking about properly: if only one person ever drives it, bolting straight to the bracket puts you lower and is one less thing to rattle.
If you do want the slide, these are the three we would put in front of you. The Endurance kit is the value option, the genuine Recaro double locking runners are the ones most people end up with, and the manual tracking runner is there for a seat that needs its own mechanism.
Those are examples from the range and the rest sit in our seat fitting equipment. Tell us which runner you are leaning toward when you send the seat measurements and we will check the stack height at the same time.
Common questions
Do you sell the Recaro LX?
No. It is an older seat and not part of the range we hold, so we cannot supply one or quote you a lead time on it. What we can do is the mounting: the bracket, the runners and the check that it all goes together in your car.
Will the Planted bracket take a Recaro?
That is what we sell it for on this car, and his 406mm width is the Recaro base mount family. The fore and aft on an LX is the part we want to see measured before you order, because it is an older seat than our current Recaro data covers.
Do I need to drill the floor?
Not on a standard floor. The bracket picks up the factory seat mounting points. Check the floor around those points for rust before you start, because the S30 is known for it and that is the moment to find it.
Which bracket does my car take?
Send the registration or the chassis number. The S30 ran as the 240Z, 260Z and 280Z from 1969 to 1978 and the rear seat mounting changed partway through, so the answer comes off your car and not off the model name.
Can I keep the original seats?
Yes, and on a car of this value you should. The bracket bolts to the factory points, so the standard seats go back in exactly as they came out. Bag and label every fixing.
How do I measure my own seat?
Turn it over and measure hole centre to hole centre, never edge to edge. Width across the seat first, then fore and aft. If there is more than one hole at the front, measure to each of them and tell us both figures, which is exactly what this customer did.
Two numbers, the chassis number and one photograph is all we need to confirm this before you spend anything. Ring 0115 9893488 and Cameron will check the LX mounting against the bracket for you. Garreth has had a few S30s through the showroom and the floor is always worth a look while the seats are out.