1800: Seat Swap...

[EJH]

Following a nasty whiplash accident some years ago when a Suffolk farmer ran into the back of me at 50 plus mph at some traffic lights, I have, perhaps understandably, been uncomfortable driving cars, especially sporting ones, with no head restraints. Consequently, I have searched long and hard for some suitable replacements for my 1800S. I eventually found these leather Recaro seats from the Porsche 911/944 range on EBay and have at last got around to fitting them. The problem with most seats is that they are too wide to fit between the transmission tunnel and the handbrake but these are exactly the same width (50cms) as the originals and slot in a treat! By bolting a flat plate to the existing Recaro runners I could use the same floor fixings so the original seats can be quickly popped back in at any time. Apart from the obvious head protection, these seats provide superb lateral support and are electrically adjustable for height front and back, so, for the first time, my wife can actually see over the dashboard...! Due to my wide angle lens They look a bit strange in the photos but great in real life. I just though the info might be useful.

[222s]

Have they been retrimmed, or is that as Porsche built them? Either way, the pleating etc matches the rest of the interior very nicely

[JIM C]

The seats look fantastic and suit the car perfectly.
Jim

[EJH]

Thanks for the positive comments. The seats are exactly as Porsche (or Recaro) made them ... and perhaps as Volvo should have done too ...!?! The pleats are, indeed, a very good match to the rest of the interior.

[Andrew (UK)]

Those look great. Do you have a reference or part number for them?

How do you find the rear view mirror works as you still have it mounted to the dash? Do the head rests obscure the rear view at all?

Thanks,
Andrew

[EJH]

Andrew, I'm sorry I don't have a reference number but they come up for sale pretty regularly on EBay. There are a couple of pairs available now:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Porsche-944-le...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PORSCHE-BLACK-...QQcmdZViewItem

The seat backs block the outermost centimeter of each edge of the dash mirror but, to be honest, I find that the drivers side door mirror gives a better field of view anyway.

[caliwagon]

How did you run the wiring for the power functions? Did you add a fuse somewhere?

[EJH]

Yes, the installation is protected by a 10amp in-line fuse. The power runs from a spare terminal on one of the fuse blocks, through the bulkhead and to the power side of all four seat motors. The return side of the motors are earthed to the seat brackets...seems to work fine. While on the subject, attached is a photo of another seat swap on my previous 1800. These seats are from an Audi TT. They were a bit of a struggle to fit and although superbly comfortable, lacked the classic look of the Recaros.