Corbeau Classic Retro Series Install, RSR Look 911

[rennch]

I did a random search for "Porsche Seat" on Craigslist, and, much to my (happy) surprise, there were a set of brand new, vintage (looking) Corbeau seats that someone was getting rid of. After some finagling, we agreed on a price and I went and picked them up.

First of all, they are LIGHT! In my car, I had a Momo race seat in the driver's side, and a stock recaro (circa 1969) passenger seat that weighed a metric ton.

I got a killer deal on them...brand new with brackets for $500. Unfortunately, the brackets supplied were for 74-89 Porsches, and I was going to have to figure something out. Now, I could have just been patient, and gotten the correct seat bases for my year. But how fun is that? I haven't fabbed anything for a while, so I decided to channel my inner Speedo, and make a custom base to bolt these brackets to.

First, it was off to the hardware store to pick up some 2" flat steel. The seat bases had 1/8" steel, so I decided to match that. I first cut 4 19" pieces:



Then I had to figure out exactly where the bolt holes were going to be, so I laid a sheet of paper on them and scratched them in with a pencil. Oh...and I didn't have a pencil sharpener, so I improvised:





A couple of shots with a punch to make sure my bit stayed centered:



And the first test fit:



Once I established the first fit, I flipped it over and made sure it bolted to the driver's side. I then used it as a template and drilled through the holes to get the driver's side.

Repeat the process for the front, and end up with all 4:



I decided to use the existing bolt holes of the bases, and go all the way through. Here I am, clamping the base to my fabbed steel so I could drill through. The fit was perfect:



Here's the interior with everything bolted up. Talk about an improvement! It was always so unfinished before...and now it feels much better:



Now that it fits well, I'll paint (or powdercoat) the bases, and finish everything off with some nice stainless steel hardware.

After bolting it up, I took the car to a local alley for some "Magnus" shots:





Still a lot to do, but a major item crossed off the list!

[MMiller]

Looks great! Car looks fantastic too

Mike

[redturbo911]

Looks awesome.

[pu911]

Corbeau makes some terrific looking vintage seats at very attractive prices, suprised these aren't used more often, congrats they look great.
Phil

[kkinzli]

Fantastic! I might do the same for the Rat!

[Dublinoh]

Like it

[Cory M]

nice score, they look right at home in your car

[Quinlan]

How comfortable are the seats? i have looked at them online, and I was a bit concerned that the vinyl might get a little "griddle-like" in the summer.

[rennch]

Quinlan...the seats feel really nice and supportive, but I think any leather or vinyl is going to feel hot in the summertime! My long term plan is to go with red perforated leather.

One cool feature of the seat is that the entire bottom cushion is velcro'ed in. If you pull the cushion out, you get killer side bolstering for a race/DE day. I may have to make up a cushion for those days, but it looks like a winner.

[ClickClickBoom]

I love to see guys fabricating, awesome job! Ok now for the debrief, HOLES!, steel weighs a ton, lets see some HOLES, hole saws are cheap and with a little cutting oil for cooling will do alot of holes before dulling. I prefer Lennox holesaws, they last the longest.
Nice Job!
eric

[rennch]

Eric, you've read my mind. Don't worry...one of my good buddies is a race engineer. We are going to have a hole-cutting party when I decided to disassemble/paint and replace the hardware with stainless. Plus, it's gotta look cool, right?

:P

[ClickClickBoom]

Originally Posted by emptyo

Eric, you've read my mind. Don't worry...one of my good buddies is a race engineer. We are going to have a hole-cutting party when I decided to disassemble/paint and replace the hardware with stainless. Plus, it's gotta look cool, right?

:P

Schweet,
The holes are really only for you, we just get the side benefit of watching. Next time try cold rolled steel! Much nicer to work with. I don't like SS, but Ti is another story!
eric