911 back seats -- newbie question

[panamericana]

Recently purchased my first 911 (86 Carrera Coupe), and I am wondering what is the function of the little red buttons between the rear seat backs. I ask because my car does not have these -- do I need them? Are they to hold the rear seat backs up? If so, then why does the car also have those leather straps with the snaps?

I am retrofitting shoulder harness rear seat belts so my kids can sit in the back seat for the 2 km trip to school, so the plan is to use them.

Thanks.

[Poor-sche Lover]

Yes, the little red things are not really buttons so much as handles for pins that hold the back seats in the "up" position. I'm not sure what you mean by the leather straps with snaps, but that sounds like the luggage straps that you would use to secure your luggage to the back seat, once they have been folded down.

[FastCarFan]

They are used to lower the rear seat-backs (pull them out, I believe, to lower the seat-backs). My rear seat-backs are always down, & I bought a "floor-mat" for them. Very useful luggage space.

Welcome to Porsche 911 ownership. It is a wonderful thing.

[dienstuhr]

Originally Posted by Poor-sche Lover

I'm not sure what you mean by the leather straps with snaps, but that sounds like the luggage straps that you would use to secure your luggage to the back seat, once they have been folded down.

My '85 has a short leather strap on the top back outboard side of each seatback with a snap that attaches to the "firewall" and holds the seatbacks in the upright position... I think that is what the OP is referring to. Not luggage straps.

Regards,

d.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by panamericana

Recently purchased my first 911 (86 Carrera Coupe), and I am wondering what is the function of the little red buttons between the rear seat backs. I ask because my car does not have these -- do I need them? Are they to hold the rear seat backs up? If so, then why does the car also have those leather straps with the snaps?

I am retrofitting shoulder harness rear seat belts so my kids can sit in the back seat for the 2 km trip to school, so the plan is to use them.

Thanks.

They changed from the straps to the knobs at some point, I thought it was when the Carrera came along, but I guess it was later. It's also very possible that in classic Porsche style, cars came off the line during the transition period with either sort of "lock".

Or, some previous owner changed the rear seats to the earlier style.

[cyclistep]

Will you post an update, or simply email me, with details of how you are doing the conversion and what seats you are using for the kids? If they are booster seats, then I understand how to make that work. Been trying to figure out a proper child seat fitment with no luck yet.

And, yes, I have used the search function for this but haven't found the right combo of info and child seats.

Thanks.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

They changed from the straps to the knobs at some point, I ...

My 83 Cab has the Red "rather expensive to replace" knob but no leather strap.

[panamericana]

thanks for the responses -- there is no sign that my 86 ever had the red knobs, and now I see it might never have had them. My plan is to use a booster seat in the front for my younger kid and to put my older kid in the back without a booster.

[Wil Ferch]

Funny...my 85 ( build date Feb 85) has the leather straps to hold the seat-backs up.... but the owners manual shows the red buttons. Strange, when I read that someone's 83 cab has the red buttons...odd.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Wil Ferch

Funny...my 85 ( build date Feb 85) has the leather straps to hold the seat-backs up.... but the owners manual shows the red buttons. Strange, when I read that someone's 83 cab has the red buttons...odd.

... Nothing in the owner manual but back then we did not need all the instructions that were needed it later years

[panamericana]

The manual for my 86 (in service date of Jun3 86) also shows the red buttons, but not the straps. Hmmm....

[Wil Ferch]

JJ:
Maybe I don't understand your response. Certainly we don't "need" instructions how to raise or lower seats.....the question is date-matching when the change-over occured and why the owner's manuals with the delivered cars are out of time-sequence.

[ben parrish]

My 86 has the leather straps....no red knob BUT the mount for the red knob is there...just not the knob or receiver. Weird!

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Wil Ferch

JJ:
Maybe I don't understand your response. Certainly we don't "need" instructions how to raise or lower seats.....the question is date-matching when the change-over occured and why the owner's manuals with the delivered cars are out of time-sequence.

Wil

That was the (apparently not) funny part of the answer.

I went through the owners manual again and nothing on the back seat at all.

As usual, there is always something strange with the Pcar. I also got the Cabriolet "supplement to Owner's Manual '83" which show how the open and close the top. It's a bilingual version (English/French) published in Nov 82 for the 83 Cabs. Das Babe was completed on the 27 of Nov 82. It certainly does not have a Interior Light between the 2 sun visors but they show it in the supplement.

In the 83 CAT they show the Red Buttons on Illustration 807-07 and in the 86 CAT on Illustration 808-50.

Another Cadbury secret

[Wil Ferch]

JJ.... I *thought* it may be a joke.....

Let me relate to you why I'm not laughing....

Porsche owner's manual, for 1985 models. Page 65, about the oil tank drain plug. Says to tighten to...." 95 lb-ft or 70 Nm."

WRONG !...... for us "English" speaking people, we gravitate straight to the English units. I can't tell you how many reports I've heard from others that they damaged the threads of their oil tanks.... by tightening to the factory-recommended 95 ft-lbs.

Apparently Porsche took their mother language system ( 70 Nm) and multiplied by 1.35 to yield 95 ft-lbs. However, for the proper conversion.....they SHOULD HAVE DIVIDED by 1.35 to yield the CORRECT 50-52 ft-lbs.

50-52 ft-lbs is not even close to the 95 ft-lbs they quote.

Moral of the story.....NEVER trust the b%^tards...ALWAYS start from the metric numbers as being correct and ALWAYS check the math conversions.

So...the red buttons vs leather straps is indeed "amusing" , especially as you search in vain for features your car doesn't have.....but their continued errors are not amusing.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Wil Ferch

JJ.... I *thought* it may be a joke.....

Let me relate to you why I'm not laughing....

Porsche owner's manual, for 1985 models. Page 65, about the oil tank drain plug. Says to tighten to...." 95 lb-ft or 70 Nm."

WRONG !...... for us "English" speaking people, we gravitate straight to the English units. I can't tell you how many reports I've heard from others that they damaged the threads of their oil tanks.... by tightening to the factory-recommended 95 ft-lbs.

Apparently Porsche took their mother language system ( 70 Nm) and multiplied by 1.35 to yield 95 ft-lbs. However, for the proper conversion.....they SHOULD HAVE DIVIDED by 1.35 to yield the CORRECT 50-52 ft-lbs.

50-52 ft-lbs is not even close to the 95 ft-lbs they quote.

Moral of the story.....NEVER trust the b%^tards...ALWAYS start from the metric numbers as being correct and ALWAYS check the math conversions.

So...the red buttons vs leather straps is indeed "amusing" , especially as you search in vain for features your car doesn't have.....but their continued errors are not amusing.

Wil

I feel for you. Thank God my electronic torque wrench have both standard so I usually pick the native one. While my English is far from being perfect, I'm bilingual as my mother is French (from Quebec) and did not learned English until I join the Navy. That was some learning curve... hard on the knuckles .

Anyway, I always end-up reading instructions in both language. One day we were doing strawberry jam using Bernadin Serto... and in English it said to sterilized the jar by the putting them either in the dishwasher or by the boiling method. Low and behold in French it was "putting them in the dishwasher and boiling after... I did contact them and they did update their instruction sheet.

Unfortunately this is not limited to translation, when I was looking for a Digital Torque Wrench, I came across the top producer in the US (according to them) and came across the following statement; "... you will be please with the accuracy of our toque wrench..." If you are a smoker I guess I did e-mail them and they did correct it in less them 10 hours.

Back the the seat, I'll check the others CAT to see if something change at some point.

Cheers

J.J.

[nesslar]

Change occurred for '87....but perhaps some late '86s as well.

[Canada Kev]

My '87 has the red knobs.