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Customising seats - is it legal?

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shokwave2 Officially Full-On Dubber

289 posts · joined Mar 2010 ·

#887379
Anyone have info or experience on if it's legal to lower a seat by cutting and re-welding the frame, and if so how low can you go?

I'd like to lower my stock beetle seats by a couple of inches, as i feel i sit a bit too high. As seen in this picture from TheSamba.com, all you do is cut the frame and remove a small amount, and then re-weld.



Is this legal, especially in NSW? Has anyone here done it?

barls Administrator Causer of Chaos and Mayhem

9,474 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#887383
probably not. try ringing the rta tech support line. they will give you the low down without the bullshit.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me

shokwave2 Officially Full-On Dubber

289 posts · joined Mar 2010 ·

#887409
Hmmm, i'll have to give them a ring next week. If it is illegal, would you say it was safe? Would the weld hold up in the event of an accident?

barls Administrator Causer of Chaos and Mayhem

9,474 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#887417
depends on your welding skills. personally i wouldnt trust anything less than a boilermaker personally.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me

Mattriots Seriously Crusin Dubber

131 posts · joined Sep 2011 ·

#887420
Just do it
A cop wouldn't know the difference if he pull you over
If your welding is half decent it'll be fine
Let's face it, if your in a crash in a beetle, your pretty screwed anyways!!

Bizarre Moderator The artist formerly known as blue74l

12,789 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#887425
Mattriots wrote:Just do it
A cop wouldn't know the difference if he pull you over
If your welding is half decent it'll be fine
Let's face it, if your in a crash in a beetle, your pretty screwed anyways!!
"just do it" - Wrong answer
Cop might not - but an insurance assessor in a fatality will
Think carefully, dont publically promote the wrong answer
Futue te ipsum!!!

barls Administrator Causer of Chaos and Mayhem

9,474 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#887426
mattriots,
you may not know this as you havent been on here too long but in a crash your almost better off if you build them right.
i walked away form this one with just two bruises.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me

silver Dangerous when poked

2,169 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#887429
barls wrote:mattriots,
you may not know this as you havent been on here too long but in a crash your almost better off if you build them right.
i walked away form this one with just two bruises.
with your head thats astonishing!
Keeping it real !

TorxKiwi Officially Full-On Dubber

231 posts · joined Jun 2011 ·

#887433
How the hell does the roof of a car get caved in like that!!!! Walking away from that is unbelievable.
"Ownership of a Beetle is not a destination it is a journey."

barls Administrator Causer of Chaos and Mayhem

9,474 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#887435
at least im still better looking than you silver. 😂😂😂
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me

Mattriots Seriously Crusin Dubber

131 posts · joined Sep 2011 ·

#887446
Ouch, that's some crushed beetle there!!
Glad you walked away from that mate,
But I fail to see the drama in lowering the back of a seat by 2 inches
If it's welded properly, it'll most likely be stronger than stock, and I doubt anyone could tell.
2inches of backrest isn't going to kill you nor save your life

Early beetle seats are dodgy from the factory anyway
I've actually just finished modifying some 79 beetle seats, converted them to lowbacks and put them on early rails. I also re welded a whole heap of rubbish factory welds. End result is rock solid

But that's my 2c. Take it or leave it

Joel Now containing 100\% E-Wang

9,368 posts · joined Feb 2006 ·

#887469
You're missing the point.

If the welding is done properly it's not a drama safety wise, it's a legal issue.

If you're in an accident any more than a $500 fender bender then the car is gonna be thoroughly inspected by both a Police crash investigator and an insurance assessor who are trained to pick up on things like that.

It's illegal to modify seats mounts unless you get them signed off by an engineer then all is fine and dandy with the world and you can enjoy not head butting the roof going over speed bumps.

shokwave2 Officially Full-On Dubber

289 posts · joined Mar 2010 ·

#887492
Joel wrote:It's illegal to modify seats mounts unless you get them signed off by an engineer then all is fine and dandy with the world and you can enjoy not head butting the roof going over speed bumps.
Cool thanks Joel.

So to go through an engineer, what's the process? Does the RTA assign you an engineer? Do you contact the enigneer before the modification?

barls Administrator Causer of Chaos and Mayhem

9,474 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#887497
contact them before the mod. get one off the rta’s list of engineers to make it even easier.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me