those are 350 a pair as they sit
those are 350 a pair as they sit
84FSP said:those are 350 a pair as they sit
Agreed, but I'd even put some extra value on the gray ones because of the "Ideal" seat backs. That adjustability is really nice to have for some vintage Porsche and Mercedes owners. One of the things I like about Recaros of this vintage is the fact that they're the LEGO of automotive seating and parts swapping is so easy.
Just got home with the seats. They are dusty, but they’re much better than they look in the photos. The bolsters were kind of smooshed down because they were stacked on top of one another. They are already beginning to spring back to life. Bolster wear is negligible. The brown ones are almost perfect
More details later.
Man I need those for my coupe
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:
Oh! They're black, not gray. Cool
So, I was wrong about the RV and the plane. He said that he put the brown ones in the box truck that he used to drive his race car to the track, and he couldn't really remember what he had the black ones in, maybe a Saab. None of them appear to have been used much, so any wear you see is from storage more than anything else.
One of the black seats had a slider on it that I don't really recognize, so that might be from a Saab, possibly a 99 EMS.
There was also one adapter bracket which, fortunately, has a label on it.
As luck would have it, there is a vehicle matching that description in my garage, and I even have its original seats down in the basement, so I can experiment with this stuff without even taking anything apart.
Oh man, what a score! I had been on the hunt for vintage Recaros for my Trans Am for years. I gave up a while back due to the crazy prices.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:
One of the things I like about Recaros of this vintage is the fact that they're the LEGO of automotive seating and parts swapping is so easy.
The Lego aspect is immediately apparent as soon as you flip one over. This is a good thing. They also look like they are very easy to take apart. I've done a few Miata foamectomies and these seats look way, way simpler. Few, if any, hog rings to deal with. And I've heard that a lot of parts are still available.
The plan for the immediate future is to clean them up and take a closer look. The brown ones don't need much. I'll clean them and then set them aside until I find the right car for them.
I lusted after these seats back in the 80s, but the price was so far out of reach that I never even considered having a full pair of them in any car. So I'll disassemble and clean the black ones, and then try to build one super driver's seat out of the best parts. It will probably find its way into the V70R . Even though that car has a really nice original interior right now, that seems like the most suitable home for one. While I wouldn't call that car my daily driver, I do drive it every day, and having an aftermarket Recaro seat in it would make me smile on every drive.
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
Recaros have one thing I love and that's the fact that generally the foam pieces are symmetrical, making it much easier to build a good driver's seat by moving the passenger foam bits if necessary. I worked in the seating industry up until my retirement and I was constantly trying to get the number of part numbers reduced, to no avail. We'd make a left and right version that would be so close, but not exactly the same and it just added complexity. You'll find that the cushion and back frames are fully interchangeable between the various models of Recaro. Your black backs will bolt right up to my black cushion to create a different model, for example. The mechanisms are straight forward,too. If you disassemble one of the black ones you'll see how simple the width adjusters for the bolsters are. Other than the upholstery fabrics of that era tending to separate and go baggy, they're great durable seats.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Thanks for the info.
I think I'm going to try to disassemble the black seats, wash the fabric in Woolite, and then reassemble them with new elastic for the bottoms.
I will start a new thread for this project.
To illustrate my LEGO comment....
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
Careful with the fabric. Don't be surprised to find that the outer cloth is no longer bonded to the substrate, or that it's very fragile.
I'll be following your seat project so I can possibly rebuild my Ideal-C seat. I can envision it as the driver's seat in my GMC Canyon.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Have you searched for VW GTI or GLI seats from 1991-92? They're Recaro LSBs.
Oh man those are so cool!!
I know the perfect Inka 2002 for sale too ;).
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:To illustrate my LEGO comment....
Ha! Thank you for posting that. I have a copy of it, but it's covered with watermarks. I was planning to look for a better version today.
The brown seats didn't need anything more than some vacuuming. The fabric is a little loose, but they are super comfy. I don't think these really need anything more at this point. The black ones will require a little more work.
I think the brown ones are LXBs.
A 401 CJ said:Take an Alitalia flight. Every. Single. Seat is a Recaro.
There are far more planes like this than most people realize. Recaro Aircraft Seating has a pretty decent chunk of the market.
(and btw, if you think those car seats are expensive, you should see what the aircraft seats cost)
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:I think the brown ones are LXBs.
Yes, and the black ones look like the same cushion to me. I'm not sure what the back designation for the black ones is though. They might be "Ideal B", but I've never seen those backs with anything other than the "C" cushion.
Edit:https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/692972-seats-id-vintage-recaro.html They may be "Classic C" seats according to people in the attached thread.
Ohhhh! Woody....you need some of these for a seat project....
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
I may actually need those.
But I think I'm going to try restoring what I have first. One... because I actually prefer cloth, but Two...because I'm a cheap bastard. Let's see how this goes.
Funny that the might have been in a Saab because I kept thinking about how nice those brown ones would be in my kid's 89 900
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