914 seat removal

[tahoward]

Can anyone please help with 914 seat removal? I want to install new carpet and it looks like the seats should come off their runners without unbolting them, but I can't figure it out. Is this possible? Thanks in advance!

[paulhagedorn]

Yes, the seats can come off the runners, but it would be pretty hard to do while the seats are in the car.

It would be much easier to undo the four bolts for each seat. Just undo those bolts and lean the seat forward and life...fairly simple.

Are you afraid that rust will cause the bracket to break?

Paul

[John Rogers]

On the side oposite the adjuster handle there is a stop way back inside the rail. Tilt the seat up some, then if you push a very long screw driver in between the upper and lower rails, it will push up on the stopper so the seat can slide off. You can see it if you shine a light in that area and are a pretty good contortionist...Good luck.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I just slide the seat as far forward on the rails as I can with the regular adjuster. Then I reach under the OTHER rail with my fingers (gloves on, 'cause the rails are often kinda greasy) and push up on the little tab. The seat then will slide the rest of the way forward and out.

I think it's even easier than unbolting the seat brackets.

--DD

[Dave Bell]

Due to a leaky side targa seal and lots of rain while the car sat in the parking lot at work yesterday, I had to pull both seats to dry stuff out... arrrgh!... Dave Darling has it right... it takes less than 30 seconds to pull each seat out with the finger lift on the tab... I just hate to have to do it because of water...

- Dave

[dbeardsl]

On the subject of rain and leaks, the same thing happened to me, but I found out(after searching for a while) that it wasn't a targa seal lik I thought, but there was a small hole in the firewall below the battery tray, only about 1/4 in. but still big enough to let water seep in when it rains. I'm going to plug it up with some RTV or Caulking sealant.

Danny Beardsley

[JP Noonan]

DOing that may only push the water somewhere else, where it will cause rust.
At the very least see if the drains in the bottome corners are clean before you plug anything up.

[dbeardsl]

Oh, I know, believe me, they were plugged. I cleaned them out, scraped as much rust as I could from the area, coated it with WD-40 then sprayed some rustoleum on it (anti-rust primer). Then I plugged it up. A little water still gets in, I don't know where from though.

[JP Noonan]

If you are talking about the bottom of the firewall then look at the seal between the window and the engine lid. It is a rubber seal that can go bad. Also look at the window seal itself (the sticky rope one). My 74 had rotted out around the bottom edge allowing water to get inside the firewall and flow to the bottom of the firewall where it managed to rot everything out.

[Dave Bell]

After drying out my car a little, I tore out the carpet and some of the sound proofing rubber gunk over the weekend to get a look at the sheet metal on the rear passenger side... argh!... found orange rot and black death!... a little poking and I now have some holes where I can see the ground and a hole in the lower fire wall... Where most of the water must have been coming in.

Out comes the grinder with wire brush and grinding attachments... now I have some bigger holes and I am truely a member of fraternity of 914 owners.

The drivers side gets checked, and if necessary, prepped over this week.... What a mess... but better to find in now than later.
... and I can't complain, the car only cost me $500 to start with.... somehow that cost keeps going up

Maybe I will post a picture at some point for the leering crowds....

Somehow my engine idle problem no longer seems important...

- Dave

[malcolm2]

Originally Posted by Dave at Pelican Parts

I just slide the seat as far forward on the rails as I can with the regular adjuster. Then I reach under the OTHER rail with my fingers (gloves on, 'cause the rails are often kinda greasy) and push up on the little tab. The seat then will slide the rest of the way forward and out.

I think it's even easier than unbolting the seat brackets.

--DD

Yes it is very easy to take the seats out of a 914. Just like removing a filing cabinet drawer and requires no tools. Thanks so much for sharing your seat removal method. ( I threw in a few key words so it will be easy for the next guy to find ) Of course to remove the seat mount, just use a 10 mm socket and remove the bolts on the hinge in the back. Once the bolts are out, I just pulled the tilt lever to free the front.

[Rush]

what if the seat wont slide?

[David McLaughlin]

Soak the seat rails in WD40 or similar. A few taps with a hammer free up the seats.

[911bruce]

How about on a 71 with the right fixed seat - how does the rear insert pop off?