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Dingchowping
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Seattle, WA.
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 Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:06 pm Post subject: Porsche 911 Seats in a Vanagon |
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With the front brake project finished and our need to reinvent the wheel apparently unsatisfied, my friend Alex and I spent last night grafting a pair of stock seats out of a 1996 Porsche 911 C4S into the Vanagon. Only the passenger seat is installed at the moment because we ran out of time and daylight so managed to complete only one adapter assembly and wire up the power adjuster functions.
The setup is pretty straightforward, using the stock sliders bolted to a pair of steel cross members, which are bolted to the seat rails. There are no permanent cuts or welds so everything is reversible. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me but I'll snap some pictures when we get around to building the driver's side rig...if anyone's interested. In the mean time here's a crappy iPhone pic I shot today at lunch:
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TTFN,
Adam
"For once you have tasted flight,
You walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci |
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autostick73
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2007
Posts: 120
Location: Adel, Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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Nice!!!
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73 VW Beetle Autostick |
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syncrodoka
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005
Posts: 12005
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Now you need to mod some armrests to work with it and you are done! |
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ProvoCyclist
Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2004
Posts: 593
Location: Murray, Utah
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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beautiful seats man! 2nd on the armrests tho...my undying love for them keeps me from getting new chairs in mine
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Clark
Current: 1986 Tintop GL 2wd, stock 2.1L, manual trans, Flash Silver LP7Y.
Past: 1985 Sunroof GL, 2wd, Subaru 3.3L, manual trans, resprayed to Diamond Silver L97A |
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Does it swivel?
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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Dingchowping
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Seattle, WA.
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| Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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| syncrodoka wrote: |
| Now you need to mod some armrests to work with it and you are done! |
| ProvoCyclist wrote: |
| beautiful seats man! 2nd on the armrests tho...my undying love for them keeps me from getting new chairs in mine |
I think adapting the arm rests won't be a problem. In fact the hardest part of the process will be recovering them in matching leather.
| r39o wrote: |
| Does it swivel? |
Nope. Never did.
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TTFN,
Adam
"For once you have tasted flight,
You walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci |
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914 mike
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2005
Posts: 431
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:50 am Post subject: |
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I have seen it done where instead of attaching arm rests to the seats, they use one on the door and the other is part of a box between the two seats.....in the box could be a sub or storage or a cooler or ?....and then cover the box in black matching leather and padding for the arm.
Just one more way to skin a cat.... |
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914 mike
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Joined: May 03, 2005
Posts: 431
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Dingchowping
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Seattle, WA.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| 914 mike wrote: |
I have seen it done where instead of attaching arm rests to the seats, they use one on the door and the other is part of a box between the two seats.....in the box could be a sub or storage or a cooler or ?....and then cover the box in black matching leather and padding for the arm.
Just one more way to skin a cat.... |
Hmmm...that's food for thought. Putting the sub enclosure between the front seats would open up a lot of storage space under the rear bench, and it would be a lot easier to build the box...its a tight squeeze getting a 1.25 cu. ft. box under the rear seat. My stock seats came with only the inner armrests, the outer ones being attached to the doors from the factory. I've heard this was an option on some vans, and I've heard that's how all Multivans came. Anyone know for sure?
I'd really like to keep the pass through functional though, and the height adjustability of the stock armrest is something I use frequently. I just need to look into what it will take to graft the mounts onto the Porsche seats. Its all about tradeoffs. Thanks for the suggestion, mike.
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TTFN,
Adam
"For once you have tasted flight,
You walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci |
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BlackDogVan
Samba Member
Joined: December 21, 2007
Posts: 855
Location: Vancouver Island
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Hmmmm..... You've got Porsche brakes, seats... now what other porsche part in a van would be cool... ya I just can't put my finger on it. |
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240Gordy
Samba Member
Joined: May 15, 2008
Posts: 2354
Location: Vancouver, BC
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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I'd like a box/ottoman (should we call it an automan?) like Santana's but how do you operate the parking brake?
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Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
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SteveVanB
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Joined: June 01, 2008
Posts: 1645
Location: This side of Daytona
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| Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmm....Is it bigger than a (4cyl) bread box?
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:45 am Post subject: |
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| BlackDogVan wrote: |
| Hmmmm..... You've got Porsche brakes, seats... now what other porsche part in a van would be cool... ya I just can't put my finger on it. |
My brother wants to build a Porsche 5 speed up for my van......
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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Dingchowping
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Seattle, WA.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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| BlackDogVan wrote: |
| Hmmmm..... You've got Porsche brakes, seats... now what other porsche part in a van would be cool... ya I just can't put my finger on it. |
Ashtray? Parking brake lever? OH...you mean ENGINE.
Its all about what Alex has laying around his garage that he's willing to part with. That's how I got the seats. There was a Porsche 3.6 lump sitting on a stand for several months, but it went back into an appropriate car. But that reminds me...there IS a freshly rebuilt AAN longblock with JE pistons, Carillo rods, and Raceware fasteners sitting on a stand in his garage. But that would require a regeared transmission and AWD. Its very tempting, but I'm trying to save money for flight school.
Alex really wants me to do the conversion though...primarily because HE wants to get a Vanagon and drop a 5 cylinder in it, but wants to use my van to iron out all the bugs. But if my existing engine goes pop I'll need to do something...question is do I do the smart thing and drop in a Tencent engine or do I continue on the reinventing the wheel theme?
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TTFN,
Adam
"For once you have tasted flight,
You walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci |
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levi
Samba Member
Joined: February 11, 2005
Posts: 5522
Location: Las Vegas
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Dingchowping wrote: |
...question is do I do the smart thing and drop in a Tencent engine or do I continue on the reinventing the wheel theme? |
continue reinventing of course, where's the fun in being on the safe path? 
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Santana
Samba Member
Joined: March 18, 2008
Posts: 146
Location: T-Town, WA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks 914 mike!
I haven't logged into the samba for awhile now, and i have been missing some great topics.
Dingchowping those seats look perfect for your vanagon. I love seeing what people do with these amazing vans. Your porsche big brake setup is awesome as well. Can't wait to see pics of when you have them both installed.
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Dingchowping
Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Seattle, WA.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Santana wrote: |
| Dingchowping those seats look perfect for your vanagon. I love seeing what people do with these amazing vans. Your porsche big brake setup is awesome as well. Can't wait to see pics of when you have them both installed. |
Thanks man. I appreciate the kudos. I just hope I can get my interior to look half as good as yours!
I got the other seat installed friday night. As you requested, here's a pic:
You do sit a touch higher than with the stock seats, which necessitates sitting a tad closer for the pedal reach to be the same. This reduces ingress/egress room between the seat's front edge and the bottom of the steering wheel. I have to scooch the seat back a few inches to ease the climb in and out. If the van were lower it wouldn't be an issue. Yet another reason the GW lift springs need to go buhbye.
Its interesting how perspective affects perception. Before these seats were removed from the donor car they felt nice, but nothing particularly special...because when you climb into an 911 you expect the seats to be good. But the same seats in the Vanagon feel AMAZING! You don't expect this level of comfort and support in an old VW van. Makes me smile every time I get in it.
_________________
TTFN,
Adam
"For once you have tasted flight,
You walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci |
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914 mike
Samba Member
Joined: May 03, 2005
Posts: 431
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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Very nice!
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