racing seat for tall people?

[L Sjoberg]

I'm thinking about picking up a '74 914 for PCA and SCCA autocross - the problem is that at 6'4" I barely fit in the car : ) Several people have told me that they've simply removed the seat cushion from the stock seat, but this doesn't sound very comfortable. I've also heard of people simply bolting the seat to the floor by removing the seat rails (no more fore and aft adjust). I've seen several seats offered for the other Porsche models, but not for 914's. Any suggestions on racing seats for the 914, preferably one that'll buy me 2 or 3 inches of headroom?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I'll join those in the "remove the seat cushion" camp. That is what I do. I have a fair amount of built-in padding, so it's not that uncomfortable.

For a while, I used a folded-up towel in place of the cushion. I recently replaced that with a piece of thin (3/8") closed-cell foam that I bought as part of a bedroll at my local army surplus place. I drive the car all the time this way, now. It's not bad for shorter trips, but gets old after 90 minutes or so.

I did have to switch to using the regular cushion on my 5+ hour trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to LA.

--DD

Say, this might be a little off the subject, but I thought I'd give this idea some wings. I recently looked at the interior of a Honda Del Sol (the ones w/ the 160 HP. V-TEC engines. . .) and I noticed that they had two very cool modern racing style seats w/ side bolsters and cut-away sections to accomidate a 5-point harness. I imagine they are much more comfortable than the spartan german tush-busters that MY 914 came with. This has very little bearing for those looking for more headroom or those striving for restoration authenticity, but I imagine that from a wrecking yard, they would be a very reasonably priced alternative to an expensive racing seat. I plan on finding a set and doing the conversion when I get some $ and time clear (August).

[Cthulhu]

This is another 6.4'' in denial of the exiguity of his otherwise lovely 914. Same problem. Any news on the subject of custom seats for giants, anyone?

Jules

[Kart54]

There are several racers (myself included) that use the Kirkey seat and bolt it directly to the floor. It is relatively inexpensive. Can be found for under $200 and will give you several inches of additional headroom.
I use the Kirkey intermediate layback and bolt it directly to the floor and my roll cage.
Randy

[GTSinLV]

Hi All,
our suggestion would be the ST seat mounted to the floor or with sliders to the floor or the RSR regards Stefan ClassicCarSeats.com

[Brother]

I removed the seat cushion and it isn't so bad because I have sheepskin covers on my seats.

Are there any short shifters available for the 914? I find that 1st and reverse hit my right leg.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

There's the Weltmeister one, which was quite popular for a while. Now there's the Rennshifter, which appears to be the cat's meow according to everyone I know who has tried it. The 33% throw reduction seems to be the one to get.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/9144/POR_9144_UP9144_pg1.htm#item4

--DD

[Brother]

How much of a difference is there between the tail shifter and side shifter.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Difference in what? Parts? A fair bit--the whole linkage is different, as well as some of the bits inside the transmission. Price? Side-shifter stuff tends to be regarded as more desirable than tail-shifter, so the prices tend to be a bit higher.

Acutal shift quality? Not sure... There are certainly a lot more parts in the TS linkage, which means more places for things to be wrong. The movement also changes direction a couple more times, which tends to introduce more uncertainty. But I don't have actual quantitative data on the difference in the feel.

--DD

[Brother]

I meant feel. I just wondered if spending the money on a short shifter is worth it over converting to a side shifter setup.