Ford Recaro Seats
Many Fords have come equipped with Recaro seats over the years, when people talk about Recaro's as a suitable seating upgrade, they are usually referring to the classic design dating back to the late seventies.
This style of Recaro is found as standard equipment in the following Fords:
- Escort Mk3 RS Turbo
- Escort Mk4 RS Turbo
- Fiesta Mk3 XR2i (Limited Edition Interior)
- Fiesta Mk3 RS Turbo
- Sierra Cosworth (3 door)
- Sierra Cosworth (Sapphire)
- Mk3 Capri (Sports models)
From this list the most suitable for fitting to a Mk1/Mk2 Fiesta are the Escort RS Turbo (ERST) seats. This is because the Fiesta seat runners can be bolted directly onto them in place of the Escort runners and then they will fit perfectly to the Fiesta floorpan without any need for modification.
The ERST seats come in 3 different trim designs as shown below.
The Fiesta RS Turbo (FRST), Mk3 Capri and Sierra Cosworth seats can be made to fit but will require fabrication to get the runners to line up. Please also bear in mind that if your Recaros came from the Sierra Sapphire, they wont have the tilting mechanism so wont be suitable for having rear passengers (its also an MOT failure). Another thing to mention is that the Sierra seats are quite a bit wider than the Escort or Fiesta versions so removal of the door bins may be nessecary.
The XR2i limited edition Recaro interior also has the same Zolda cloth as the 90 spec Escort seats, to tell them apart note that the bolsters on the Fiesta seats are a slightly darker colour with a more textured material with piping all round, plus they have a cloth back. These seats are not suitable for direct fitment and will need some modification.
Seat Operation
Many of the Ford Recaros came with adjustable thigh support, the front section of the seat base could be pulled out to accomodate those with longer legs.
The foam wedges supplied with most Recaro seats can be inserted behind each back rest cushion to provide additional lumbar support