Tall driver seat height question - 85 Carrera

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Apologies in advance, as I know this has been done before. Perhaps there's some new information out there and/or pulling this all together is valuable for some.

I have an 85 Carrera.



I'm close to 6'-4" w/ a 36" inseam and my head hits the roof if I sit up straight. If I slouch a bit, I'm OK. I don't want to slouch. I probably need 2 inches more to be comfortable.

Researching suggests the following options to get me more headroom (moving from least extensive to most extensive).

1. Identify any potential adjustments to the seat mounting that I need to make. It doesn't seem like there's anything here to help me.




2. Alter the springs in the seat as documented here. https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_tall_drivers/911_tall_drivers.htm
I'm not sure I totally understand this procedure and haven't found any photos. Does anyone have any or know of any?

3. Install different seats. I installed some Sparco Evo 2 Plus seats in my old 993 and found it to be a royal pain. I ended up designing some custom sidemounts and having them fabricated locally. It got me where I wanted, but was time-consuming. I'd love to avoid the hassle. Are there any relatively straightforward seat replacements that will buy me a couple inches of headroom?

4. Perform surgery on the mounting points. I understand the 85 seat mounts to be ~20mm taller than previous and later seat mounts. I'd like to avoid the cutting and rewelding, but would consider it if it's the only way to get there.

5. Sunroof removal. A slicktop would be great, but I'm leery of the extensive surgery (and cost) required. Who's done this one? Can you provide a rough cost? Do you have any regrets?

6. Trade it for a Cayman.

7. Something else? Did I miss any options?

Thanks in advance for any options you can provide.

[Jack Stands]

If you want to retain the original seats, then cutting and reselling the mounts is the proper way to deal with this. Though I’m only 6 ft. tall, I have a 29” inseam and have a lot of trouble with headroom. My solution was to only buy Cabriolets or Targas to have unlimited headroom! 😄

If you do decide to cut and weld the seat brackets, read upon the cautions regarding the fuel lines that run down the center tunnel.

[75 911s]

6’ 6” here. I did the following:

Lean the seat and install a 3” shifter ext from Seine systems.

Install a 3” spacer on the steering wheel , this allows you to lean the seat back and still comfortably reach the wheel. It also creates a bigger gap for your right knee and 1st gear selection.

Seat drop - big job- remove fuel lines and re weld brackets.

Sunroof delete- extreme but wow! So much headroom- seat is back to “normal guy angle”

Custom seat- just picked up a custom seat from another pelican who is also 6’6”. Its deeper in the seat bottom, longer in the leg, and has a taller headrest.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

I'm 6'3" and I once used a Corbeau seat on the street. It fits between the seatmount rails and is about 3" lower almost to the floor. Sparco mounts were used to retain seat

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Reddy Kilowatt

Apologies in advance, as I know this has been done before. Perhaps there's some new information out there and/or pulling this all together is valuable for some.

I have an 85 Carrera.



I'm close to 6'-4" w/ a 36" inseam and my head hits the roof if I sit up straight. If I slouch a bit, I'm OK. I don't want to slouch. I probably need 2 inches more to be comfortable.

Researching suggests the following options to get me more headroom (moving from least extensive to most extensive).

1. Identify any potential adjustments to the seat mounting that I need to make. It doesn't seem like there's anything here to help me.




2. Alter the springs in the seat as documented here. https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_tall_drivers/911_tall_drivers.htm
I'm not sure I totally understand this procedure and haven't found any photos. Does anyone have any or know of any?

3. Install different seats. I installed some Sparco Evo 2 Plus seats in my old 993 and found it to be a royal pain. I ended up designing some custom sidemounts and having them fabricated locally. It got me where I wanted, but was time-consuming. I'd love to avoid the hassle. Are there any relatively straightforward seat replacements that will buy me a couple inches of headroom?

4. Perform surgery on the mounting points. I understand the 85 seat mounts to be ~20mm taller than previous and later seat mounts. I'd like to avoid the cutting and rewelding, but would consider it if it's the only way to get there.

5. Sunroof removal. A slicktop would be great, but I'm leery of the extensive surgery (and cost) required. Who's done this one? Can you provide a rough cost? Do you have any regrets?

6. Trade it for a Cayman.

7. Something else? Did I miss any options?

Thanks in advance for any options you can provide.

In a stock 911 they mount the slider from the leading(forward most) hole. You can mount from the 2nd hole to gain soime legroom

Forward holes are at the bottom in this pic

[86911cab]

Look on the bright side... you could be driving a Miata.

[jlex]

I'm tall as well, and you're right, the '85 I owned for 15 years didn't provide adequate headroom. The '88 which I now have solved the problem w/ great headroom. Think about selling it off for a later model year w/ the G50 transmission. Believe me, the extra headroom and the superb G50 shifting is well worth the switch...

[ScottArizona]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned simply omitting the sliders and mounting the seat directly to the body mounting locations. On my non sport seats this looks to be super simple and reversible and could net about an inch. Are sports seats different?

[dfhtrhjn]

Recaros have the same mount points as stock 911 seats, and they're about 1.5" lower. If you're not hell bent on stock seats, then that's an easy replacement option. I've put three sets of recaros in and I buy spacers for them to raise them to stock height because I'm only 5'9"

[75 911s]

Originally Posted by ScottArizona

I’m surprised no one has mentioned simply omitting the sliders and mounting the seat directly to the body mounting locations. On my non sport seats this looks to be super simple and reversible and could net about an inch. Are sports seats different?

On mine, there's a captive nut in the rail. I guess you would have to find some way to mount a bolt that is short, up through the rail from the bottom and into the seat? My sliders are about 1/4" tall. Not a great deal of headroom gained for the trouble of never being able to slide the seats around.

Tall guy problem with Recaros, even the leaned back set position is not great enough for head clearance with a sunroof car. Definitely not with a helmet unless you like slouching uncomfortably the entire time you drive. Also some race seats pin your leg in a straight forward position, You need to angle it out, for it to fit. I'm speaking from all the .00001% super tall guy porsche drivers lol.

[kc911s]

6'7" here. Have no issue with headroom in my targa.

[75 911s]

Originally Posted by kc911s

6'7" here. Have no issue with headroom in my targa.

lol

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Originally Posted by dfhtrhjn

Recaros have the same mount points as stock 911 seats, and they're about 1.5" lower. If you're not hell bent on stock seats, then that's an easy replacement option. I've put three sets of recaros in and I buy spacers for them to raise them to stock height because I'm only 5'9"

Which Recaros did you use? I'm currently looking at the GTS Monte Carlos.

[SkiVT]

I pulled the clips off several of the black z springs under the seat. In theory, it lets the springs sag more. It took a little time for the seat foam and springs to sag to their new low point but I can feel it (2inches max).

[ScottArizona]

Originally Posted by 75 911s

On mine, there's a captive nut in the rail. I guess you would have to find some way to mount a bolt that is short, up through the rail from the bottom and into the seat? My sliders are about 1/4" tall. Not a great deal of headroom gained for the trouble of never being able to slide the seats around.

Tall guy problem with Recaros, even the leaned back set position is not great enough for head clearance with a sunroof car. Definitely not with a helmet unless you like slouching uncomfortably the entire time you drive. Also some race seats pin your leg in a straight forward position, You need to angle it out, for it to fit. I'm speaking from all the .00001% super tall guy porsche drivers lol.

On mine, there is also a captive nut on the portion of the seat that bolts to the slider. And I may have been exaggerating a bit when I referred to 1" of additional room but the slider is definitely thicker than 1/4". If you unbolt the slider, you can drill a new hole in the seat rail welded to the floor pan, and insert a new bolt from underneath the seat rail and into the captive nut of the seat. I'm going to try this before I start cutting, etc....

[tomphot]

Or - get an ROW. I'm 6'6" with an '85 Euro - NO sunroof. I fit in the car just fine with no adjustments. I bought the car due to it's being an ROW sunroof delete. I'm now really glad due to it's superior performance vs an American version. My friend had an '85 with sunroof and my head would hit the roof due to the sunroof.
ZZZs are your friend!

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Originally Posted by tomphot

Or - get an ROW. I'm 6'6" with an '85 Euro - NO sunroof. I fit in the car just fine with no adjustments. I bought the car due to it's being an ROW sunroof delete. I'm now really glad due to it's superior performance vs an American version. My friend had an '85 with sunroof and my head would hit the roof with the room lost due to the sunroof.
ZZZs are your friend!

Yeah, I'm totally OK with a ROW slicktop but there aren't that many out there and I'm pretty happy with the car. It's well sorted and I'm a little leery of moving out of a good car (that needs tweaked) to someone else's car. But if you know of a great ROW option, send it my way!

[Dreamin]

OK, can I join in, I am 6'5" with 36 waist 34" inseam, I have an 82 Targa with factory seats, yes I "just" have enough head room, but the seat doesn't go back far enough (which I understand can be rectified through moving the rails), my biggest issue is the back of the seat is WAY to small and is very uncomfortable as it digs in between my shoulders.
Does anyone know of an aftermarket seat that is not a racing inspired seat, that is wider in the seat back and lower than the standard seat? I have searched a lot to no avail, it is nearly at the point where I want to get rid of the car.

[Canada Kev]

It's not just RoW cars that come with no sunroofs, there are some North American cars like that. Not many, but a few. But, yes, the sunroof uses lots of space.

At this point, I'd suggest exploring the idea of not using the slider which would gain you about an inch. It might be enough, though your seat would then be non-adjustable for and aft, which likely would not be an issue.

[75 911s]

Originally Posted by Canada Kev

At this point, I'd suggest exploring the idea of not using the slider which would gain you about an inch. It might be enough, though your seat would then be non-adjustable for and aft, which likely would not be an issue.

It's true, this would save you about an inch vertically. But you would lose 4 1/2" of horizontal slide (ie legroom). The rails provide that amount of travel beyond the body mounts. In other words, you know how you can slide the seat forward and backward on the rails? Position it exactly in the middle so the slides line up. That is where you would have to mount it if you remove the rail.

I suppose you could drill new holes in the seat for the back two holes, assuming the steel seat base inside the seat runs the length of the rail.