Period correct Recaro ??

[egbert]

Hello everybody,

I need some help in sorting out if this recaro is right for my 911S MY 1968 SWB

Is it wise to clean the adjusting mechanism and does anyone have some info about that?

Any help appreciated, don't know anything about recaro's

Thanks and rgds egbert from holland

[kllr901]

No headrests, elephant hide...I'm thinking earlier maybe 67? interesting

[Soterik]

In Europe you wouldn't necessarily have had a headrest in it. Also, some early cars in 1968 came that way, as I recall the DOT change didn't happen till sometime "in" 1968.... so an early "model" year 1968 car built in 1967 probably would not have had headrests unless they were ordered optionally, or that particular manufacturer decided to go early.

I've actually looked into this a little bit for other car manufacturers and have found similar threads about headrests on forums for Corvair and Pontiac GTO's. And in fact, everyone concurs that early 1968 model year cars don't necessarily have head rests. Note that I used to think the change over was model year, and it's not... so I've changed my opinion on this. Note that this was also a USA DOT mandate and not sure when European countries made this change.

All this being said... the seat looks great to me, I'd not hesitate to put it in a 1968 and feel comfortable with the accuracy. To generally determine what year the Sport Seat Police think the seat is for, you would have to take it apart to look at how what the framework looks like.

cheers,
Eric

[blucille]

agree with Eric, 68's could be with or without headrests, '69 seems to be the year that everyone had to have headrests

[egbert]

Thanks guys,

Maybe it's time to take it apart, I am going to sleep on that and decide in the near future

I was planning on checking the adjusting mechanism anyway. Do I need to pay extra attention to something when doing this?

Eric could be right as my vin no is 11800104 and was build somewhere in '67. My passenger standard seat was without headrest.

Thanks again and rgds egbert

[peekaboo]

I notice that the side bolster areas are not perforated vinyl ( are these original ? ).


I asked this question earlier in another thread :

When and what would initiate having the perforated vinyl , in the side bolster areas (or centers) on a 1967 or 68 sport seat ? (or more accurately , as I believe perforated side bolsters are more common , when would non-perforated vinyl be used......when conbined with elephant skin centers as seen above ??? Any other instances ? What is the rule of thumb for material on 1967-68 MY sport seats as delivered originally from the factory ??)


If I understood correctly, both these 1967 sport seat sets pictured below are original unrestored ? (or if restored ... done back to the material type they were originally ?) . And most 1968 sport seats i've seen that still had their original covers , were perforated material in bolster areas also.

[peekaboo]

OK. , once again (and I will expand the inquiry to 1968 MY also). What is the story as to what would be the correct vinyl on non-leather 1967 & 68 sport seats. What is the reason some would have perforated and some would have standard vinyl (leatherette/kunstleder).

Here is a photo of a set of early 1968 Sportseats (early 1968 by vitue of no headrests. And I do not think they are 1967 style). They are obviously original coverings . But did they come in this car (an elephant hide car) ? As per Egbert's car, wouldn't an elephant hide interior car always have elephant hide center coverings to match ?

And aqain my main question. Why do some 1968 (and 1967 ? ) original sport seats side bolsters come covered in perforated vinyl ? And some with plain non-perforated vinyl (as per Egbert's , and this set below). Seat police don't know ?? :

[911T1971]

Note that this was also a USA DOT mandate and not sure when European countries made this change.

Europe was much slower, headrest was for a long time not mandatory. It was more a upscale equipment article and by the mid-seventies most manufactors equipped them but not on basic models like Renault, VW etc.
Also, each country differed with security laws since there was no EU around....

OK. , once again What is the story as to what would be the correct vinyl on non-leather 1967 & 68 sport seats. What is the reason some would have perforated and some would have standard vinyl (leatherette/kunstleder).

Are you shure perforated vinyl bolsters existed ???
I thought only perforated leather (bolster) existed.
Vinyl bolsters were always plain.

A seat could therefore have:
*perforated leather bolsters but vinyl inserts.
*all in (perforated) leather.
*all in vinyl (plain vinyl for bolsters too)

I am not shure, I might learn something or my info is indeed, correct.

[peekaboo]

Thx 911T1971 ,

Here's what Autobahn interiors says (I probably should have started there) . Perforated VINYL on bolsters sections with houndstooth , corduroy , and dimpled rectangle kunstleder centers. Standard vinyl on side bolsters sections with elephant hide centers.

He says no perforated leather.

So in that photo I just posted (which was from a 68S Targa with elephant hide) , that would jive if thos seats are original to that car. Maybe center sections have been changed ? I cannot see the grain of the material to know what it actually is. And Egberts's seat goes along with Autobahn's information also.

[smedley]

The simple answer is that if you had cooperative and knowledgable dealer...or sat down with someone in the Casino in Zuffenhausen...you could order what you wanted. Smooth or perforated vinyl or leather....houndstooth, color or corduroy, color. Yes, there was perforated vinyl. I have an original sample taken from an original '72 911 during restoration project where we were going to have a perforator back East make some to match