re: Recaro seat query (was mistakenly on the Parts board)..

TSwede · 05-19-2003, 02:32 PM

Hi Y'all - I have a '75 911s and have been looking round for inexpensive ways of getting a comfier more supportive seat... seen alot of the new ones for sale - can't afford SRD's before anyone suggests it... so the question is what about other recaros.. ie Astra GTE recaro (factory) seats or RS2000 seats etc... or BMW E30 recaros.. (the first two might only be known to UK folks..) ..

Please forward your experiences and wisdom

PS the car is back together (for those who knew I'd took it apart) I'll post some pictures shortly - looks funky - 185bhp with the SSI's.. and running well.

__________________
TSwede

Adam · Adam's Garage

Glad it's back on the road, TSwede.

Any news on Saffs? He kinda disappeared from here. How's he going?

TSwede · 05-20-2003, 05:07 AM

He's doing OK.. Saw him a couple of weeks ago and the car is stillrunning etc.. He got turbo tie rods done and a couple of other bits - I'll pass on your regards..

FA-18C · 05-20-2003, 03:38 PM

I've got the same Q. The E30 recaros look very period correct for early cars and seem like they could be a great alternative to the early sport seats made of unobtainium. Nice simple looking seat with better side bolstering and support. My main Q's are mounting em and what the left over head room would be vs standard seats. At 6'3" any move up is gonna give me a crick ducking. Anyone tried putting the E30 seats in their car?

jim72911t · 05-20-2003, 06:01 PM

E30 sport seats are great seats. I've got a pair (in my you guesed it: E30) and they are great on long drives and adequate for the track. The E30 seats are manually adjustable so they don't have the heavy electric motors of the E36 seats. I do believe that E36 M3's are available with manual sport seats, but those would likely be much more expensive than E30 seats. In my opinion, the hot ticket would be to find a set of cloth sport seats from a 1991 318is. I think the M3's and 325is models all came with leather.

I've thought about trying to buy a set for my '72T, but I think I'll go with some that can accomodate a set of 5 point harnesses.

By the way, they wear extremely well; my car has 120K on it and the seats have no cracks, rips or tears. They could use re-dying on the bolsters, but that is simple enough to do myself.

If you need some measurements, let me know. I've seen nice ones on Ebay for as little as $400 a pair.

Jim

BTW, I don't think that the E30 seats are made by Recaro, but they are very similar.

andyjboy · 05-21-2003, 10:25 AM

I had a set of black leather ex-BMW recaros which I fitted in my '69 911E.
They came from a 633/635CSi (optional sports seats I think) & are a low-back heavily-bolstered design with separate headrests - I think the same seats were an option in the early E30 M3's.

I chose these particular seats for the very reason you mention - they offer a similar 'period-correct' look as the 911 recaro sports seats at a fraction of the price. They came with a separate 'subframe' which incorporated a height/tilt adjustment facility & I initially fitted these but found that I was sitting too high up (& I'm only 5' 10"!) so removed the subframe & bolted the seats directly to the car (via some adapter plates) but this does mean that you then have no (easy) forward/backward adjustment - I drilled 3 sets of holes in the adapter plates to give 3 separate (bolt-in) positions.

Sorry but I don't have photos.

I still have the seats but they're up in Wales at the moment.

I was thinking of putting them up on ebay in a couple of weeks - probably with a reserve of £150 the pair.

Andy
'69 911E-------->R

Randy Webb · 05-21-2003, 11:29 AM

Does anyone have a photo of the E30 Recaros (or Recaro look-alikes) they can post?

Also, does anyone know how much they actually weigh?

jim72911t · 05-21-2003, 11:37 AM

Randy,

Here's a link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2415633517&category=33701

These are the exact seats I have in my '89 325is.

Jim

jim72911t · 05-21-2003, 11:43 AM

Here's a pic:

andyjboy · 05-22-2003, 01:13 AM

Those are not the same as the seats I have - the stitching on mine is horizontal not vertical & mine look more 'period'.
I'll have to see if I can find some pictures.

Andy
'69 911E--------->R

TSwede · 05-22-2003, 04:28 AM

I've seen them in 635csi's - a bit narrower/deeper looking - bit more period as you say - I may be interested in them if you're still thinking of selling.. am weighing it up at the moment..

Let me know if you would.. Are you going to Malton (Porsche in the Park) at the weekend BTW?

nick-moss · nick-moss's Garage

Andy, let me know when you have some pictures, I would be interested in them for my E

Edit: Do they look like this?

andyjboy · 05-22-2003, 08:19 AM

Yes, Nick, they look like that style but in better condition (no splits or worn patches) - just need some tlc - hide food, etc.

This is the style:

Andy
'69 911E--------->R

jim72911t · 05-22-2003, 09:51 AM

The seats that Nick posted a pic of are out of an E21 ('77-83 320i, I think), and do look more "period" for our early cars. The e30 sport seats were available with verticle or horizontal stitching; I believe the M3s used the horizontal stitching. Maybe I'll cruise around on the E30 boards tonight and learn more.

Jim

nick-moss · nick-moss's Garage

The seller on Ebay says they out of a 1975 6 series Coupe

nick-moss · nick-moss's Garage

I just bought a set of used Nürburgring R seats off Ebay

Andy, I am still interested in your leather BMW seats