was able to procure a set of rear headrests for a very reasonable price this weekend.
the problem is that there is a large gap between the top of the seat and the frame for the headrest. is it possible that euro seats may have been taller? have only done one seat so far and have not done any troubleshooting yet to find out what the issue is. have tried to search for info on rear headrests, but there's not much out there. anyone have any pics?

I've wondered about the retrofit issues one might have with installing rear headrests.

I assume you take the front half of the rear pods off to place the headrests in.

I could see the mount points behind the rearseats when I had them out this weekend.. interesting.

I have an entire euro interior in the car. When i was doin the swap, rear seats look exactly the same to me. Here is a pic of my head rests:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e370/jbd5015/IMG_0520.jpg

My headrests were missing something that enables them to tilt back and forward and i dont understand why they would go up and down, doesnt really look like it would work.

Dave, send me an e-mail or call me up if you want some more info. No problem with taking it apart as its only 2 screws to get seat out, then i can shoot pics or something.

-Jeff

i'll just have to take the seat back out and take a closer look. it definitely is not a flush fit like yours. i'm using the same pod section(the speaker part), as i only got the 3 pieces needed for the swap. the headrest, the frame(surround) and the mechanism that the headrest arms go in to. these came out of an 87 and i did not get to see how they aligned in that car. will also separate the rear speaker part section, they are screwed together where they join. that part can still be secured by the hinge.
it's just going to take some creative fitting.

I've wondered about the retrofit issues one might have with installing rear headrests.

I assume you take the front half of the rear pods off to place the headrests in.

I could see the mount points behind the rearseats when I had them out this weekend.. interesting.

yes, you are correct. i believe that the headrests were an option on early euro 6's, but they do fit all later models. the mounting locations are already there just waiting for install.

Should be a direct swap without any alignment issues. You may want to make sure the seat is hooked properly in the upper back on the sheetmetal hanger. If it is sitting on top of this, it can create a gap.

I think I know what you mean. Are you referring to the gap being more visible when looking at the seats front-on rather than side-on as in Jeff's pic? I took my rear seats out a few weeks ago and when I put them back in there was a noticeable gap between the top of the seat and the fascia. As alpinacsi has suggested, it's probably just a case of ensuring the seat is properly hooked and positioned from the top.

When putting them back in it feels right to just place them in the cavity and bolt them in place, but you need to place the top section in first, flush against the base of the headrest section, and then push the bottom section of the seat into place and line up the lower mounting bolts. The top of the seat needs to push firmly against the lower section of the headrest.

I hope I am understanding your problem correctly. I can sort a picture of what I'm on about in a couple of days if that will help.

Good luck,
Ellis.

....As alpinacsi has suggested, it's probably just a case of ensuring the seat is properly hooked and positioned from the top.
....

Good luck,
Ellis.

EXACTLY this is the point. You can get in the screws at the bottom of the rear seats although they are not properly hooked in. Take out the seats and make sure they really slide in into the hook and then the gap will be gone.

Wolf

thanks for all the suggestions. as far as the seat back not being properly positioned, that's not it. i've had seats out 100's of times(OK not 100's, but enough to know) and do know how easy it is to slip them in unknowingly missing the catch. i always pull on the top to make sure it's secure.. strangely, with the catch not caught the gap is nearly non-existant. leading me to believe that i may have to trim(enlarge) the bottom of the cut-out on the back of the seat. that would allow the seat back to go higher if my assumption is correct. messed around with them for a few hours today and made very little progress. just as i was stopping is when i had the thought to make the cut-out larger. would make sense to let the seat back go higher if indeed that is the problem, because the headrest frame is certainly not adjustable down. there is a gap with the regular filler. just haven't paid much attention to it with the recent swap i also did to the rear seats. i have a spare seat to compare and experiment with.