914 seats...

ok, does anyone know of a decent place to get the reupholtery for the 914 seats? I need the cushions redone but an overall fix up is not a bad idea...any one redone theirs or have a good way to get them done?


Michael

Mike I originally had 914 seats, my local upholsterer redid them with premium material, added foam, and they were bitchin....cost about $450.00 to have them redone....about the same price as a NEW set in your choice of colors from Vintage in L.A.

Gclarke

I'm facing the same task. I'm thnking of just doing the seat and back cushions in red leather and leaving the trim (still looks near new) in black. I took those parts off and there is quite a bit of reinforcing/shaping material (like a thin hardboard) sewn in -- not just a simple cover. I'd like to also remove the head rest. I was surprized that there was no metal frame at all in the seats -- just fiberglass. If I cut the head rest off I will have to reinforce/shape the back area probably with wood covered with fiberglass. I've price a cow hide on ebay ($100 for 48 irregular square feet) - suspect just 1 would be tight. Ones listed on ebay are Chinese red - wonder if that is close to fire engine red? It does not appear that the 914 adjusters can be used so will use the CMC sliders with a wood spacer.

Wolfgang, chinese red is a bright red ,not quite as bright as guards red but brighter than fire engine red. Tom

humm - Chinese red may just be what the stock CMC came with then.

Hey Wolfgang,
if you want to sell those adjusters...give me an idea what you ant for them...

Michael

Do any of you have a source for 914 seats?? I'd be willing to trade my Scat's for them; recline, slide, tilt, vinyl and cloth in black...they just sit me too high at ~6'-2"

Tim, any foreign car "Junk Yard" should have a set or 20. I originally paid $100 for a set with all the slider stuff included.


Gclarke

Yeah, I paid about $150 USD for a pair with the glides and recline adjusters from a salvage yard just outside New York City - I found their ad on a PCA website and drove down one rainy afternoon. If I fell over in their yard I swear I would have been at Times Square, they were that close to the city!

BTW: if you really want BOTH 914 seats to recline (they don't recline much, anyway) then get the recline adjusters from a couple of drivers seats - the two cars I stole from didn't have recline adjusters for the passenger seats.

BTW, Wolfgang:
I used BOTH the 914 sliders AND recliners in my CMC and they worked out just fine. You have to fabricate a rear mount that acts like a hinge so the seats can recline (or "rock") as a unit - I used a strap hinge from Home Depot. They sit nicely low in the cockpit - in fact, the seat surface is almost flush with the door sill and looks like it belongs that way. You just flop in, slide across and you're in.

Hate to admit that mine came off ebay for less than $30 (the pair) --- shipping added another $30 (24# each so can be shipped in single box). The cushions do have to be recovered though. Humm - I'll try using the original slider/adjusters with the strap hinge idea. Assume you made a toothed bracket for the rocking part.

On the rocking part, I believe that 914's had something like a peg with notches in it that stuck up from the floor, but it was part of a solid cross-member. Instead, I bolted a 1 1/2" X 1 1/2"piece of angle iron cross-wise on the floor for strength, and then made up another angle iron piece (2 1/2" X 2 1/2" X 1/4" thick), toothed or notched to fit the adjuster tooth actuated by the lever on the side of the seat. That angle iron got welded to the cross-member and the whole thing replaced the adjuster peg on the 914, but is much stronger. I have three positions of adjustment, but find I like it mostly down (or more erect, since the whole seat rocks for "recline").

Just remember that the lever adjuster tooth is wedge shaped for a reason: It'll wedge itself into the toothed angle iron piece and not giggle or rattle. The notshes should look like a really big gear - If you make the notches square it'll rattle like hell and you'll feel it moving up and down - those designers thought of everything........

Wolfgang,
I'll give you $35, no questions asked !! Seriously, thanks for the encouragement; I'll keep my eyes open. From the comments on their fit in the car, sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.
-Tim