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I'm about to acquire a pair of recaros that came out of an E21. Anyone know what I'll need in terms of brackets/rails to install them in my E12? It would be great if someone has done this and can point me in the right direction!

Thanks,
Brian
braino@gmail.com

I believe they will bolt directly to your seat bases.

Tom



-----Original Message-----
From: braino <braino@gmail.com>
To: tech_forum <tech_forum@firstfives.org>
Sent: Thu, Aug 22, 2013 1:49 pm
Subject: installing recaros

#AOLMsgPart_1_eab29fa3-263f-4878-af40-83f5df01ae43 td{color: black;} I'm about to acquire a pair of recaros that came out of an E21. Anyone know what I'll need in terms of brackets/rails to install them in my E12? It would be great if someone has done this and can point me in the right direction!

Thanks,
Brian
braino@gmail.com (braino@gmail.com)



several Alfa Romeos
One BMW - '78 E12 w/M30 3.5 Motronic
Gradually improving looks and performance









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I put some in my e12 and it did take some fiddling. The holes didn't exactly line up.

I've seen flat bracket-like adapters on eBay a couple of times - with holes drilled in different places. If necessary, I could probably just make something similar...

IIRC, ( I hate the new lingo) the E21 seats should fit on the E12 brackets using the four bolt off & on system.
Start by sliding the E12 seats toward the rear, all the way off. Unbolt & check the fit & go from there.
Start from easy & go to the next easiest step.
Good luck,,,,Greg

I have a set of Ortho C's on Recaro specific brackets for the E12 but with the E21 seat I do not think you need to go that route.

Seats are currently at the upholstery shop being recovered...

I was looking at the bracket under the driver's seat. Should I just forgo trying to use the brackets on the recaros and just use the brackets and adjustment hardware from the stock setup?

Can anyone send me a photo of their recaro install - driver's and passengers? It would be great to know if I need to pick up any hardware before they come back. I'm going on a mini-rally next weekend and was hoping to install them before!

Email me if you do - braino@gmail.com

cheers,
Brian

I bought my Recaro’s back in ’04 and at the time, my research concluded that the only way to make them work with the factory E12 sliders was to use the BMW spacers. I realized this was correct when I performed the install in ’07. The Recaro’s are narrower at the base therefore the spacers are required to offset the mounting difference between the base and the sliders.
One year later, I had a friend help make a custom set using the same mounting pattern in order for me to sit lower. I'm sure for many, the original BMW spacers would have been sufficient though. I'll upload those pictures into an album on Photobucket for future reference.

Spacer left (to fit Recaro Seats into E12):
52 10 1 879 911

Spacer right (to fit Recaro Seats into E12):
52 10 1 879 912

Warning...these brackets were not cheap! I don't know what they go for nowadays, but be prepared for to spend some good coin.

The E21’s fitted with the Recaro’s also had a unique spacer too to adapt to the factory sliders.

I hope this helps...

More reference pictures here of the installation:
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/egrbgr/ ... t=3&page=1

Here are the photos showing the custom brackets compared to the original BMW (special order from BMW AG) version.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/egrbgr/ ... t=3&page=1

I have a few sets of the factory E12 adapters. I also have a set of customs ones I had made copying the E24 adapter (flat) at a local metal shop. I would sell those for $100 shipped with hardware.