MYoung 82 911SC

I'm 6'4" tall with a long torso and I have a stock 82' 911 SC. There is not enough headroom for daily driving, let alone wearing a helmet for track use. I want to keep the car as stock as possible for now, and I am currently thinking about removing the stock seat sliders and bolting the seat directly to the mounts on the floorboard. This will require the drilling of several holes and some new mounting hardware, and it appears as though I can gain almost an inch of clearance. This is the first option that I am exploring before I consider Plan B of lowering the factory seat mounts. I really do not want to invest in racing seats at this time.

Any suggestions or experience in either of these methods to improve headroom?

If anyone has had either of these methods implemented at a professional shop, what did it cost?

Thanks!

Paul H

My car had BMW Recarro seats that used two frames and a hinge to pivot forward. Just yesterday I removed the old frame and put the sliders directly onto the Porsche mount. As you suggested I gained about 1". If you have a similar frame you only need to drill four clearance holes and switch the stock screws (M6) from socket head cap screws to hex head.

Worked fine for me. Don't pay more than two hours labour per seat. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

8 Canary

I am also "clearance challenged" (6'-4"). My 85 911 coupe did not have the lower seat height of the later 86+. I paid for the rails (in the chassis mount platforms) to be "chopped" (Hotrod style) like the later cars. This was driver seat only. I gained almost two inches of extra headroom. The limit for me was the black box (DME) under the seat. Might have been able to get 2.5+ inches otherwise.

The work was part of an elaborate trade of work/Porsche-models/cash etc.. (read Ponzi scheme). I would estimate that $200.00 should do it by any ones standards. The factory carpets get peeled back, two cuts-then section, then re-weld. The carpets will cover the welds -like nothing ever happened.

Chris Martin

Thanks for the info 8 Canary. Any chance you have a pic of the seat/frame? There are several posts on increasing headroom and it always seems to go to aftermarket seats and custom mounting, this sounds like a good option.

MYoung 82 911SC

Canary 8,

Your solution sounds like the best I've heard so far to help keep the car as close to stock as possible and gain up to 2"-2.5". My first option of removing the sliders and bolting the seat to the mounts will only give me an extra inch at most...not really enough. If can add over 2" in headroom I should be able to drive the car comfortably and participate in DE events with a helmet. If you have any pictures of the work that you had done that would be great! Thanks!

Matt

addictionms

One question, are you trying to keep the car stock to maintain its value or you do want ot maintain a stock look even if it is no longer stock and could be considered unmodified?

If you are after the former, why not put a race set in the car, it is easy to fab a bracket that fits the stock mount points and drops the seat down as low as you like. You will loose the sliding adjustment and the flipping forward of the seat back, but you will get a better seat. Not being able to move the seat forward has its benefits, keeps shorter "friends" from asking to drive the car :-)

8 Canary

Hey guys. I do not have any in progress photos.

I tried to capture what was done with a photo last night. After peeling the carpet back there is not much to see except a weld seam where the outwardly facing vertical part of the left side platform (now shorter) re-joins the old horizontal part of inner door.

pig4bill

A buddy of mine (6'10") did something similar to the above in a 944 turbo. It seemed like a simple operation, modifying the seat rails. You couldn't tell from looking at it that it had been changed and I think it still adjusted.

Martin S.

One really sanitary way to get headroom is to install a Porsche Sport Seat(s). You can have the center section cut out and re-made of thinner material. I had the seat cut out and had velcro strips installed. At the track I sat on a thin pad over the springs...on the street, the thin pad came out, and the nice leather section was velcro'd back in....sweet!

Chris Martin

Good idea with the sport seat. I have seen a few 914 guys do a similar thing, most of the them just leave the pad out for that seat of the pants feel. My biggest problem is that I am on a budget; that really is a bad word when it comes to anything Porsche. I would love to buy the Kirkey Road Race and mount it correctly. But when I think how many events I would do per year, maybe 3-4, including DE and auto-x I really cant justify the expense. But, in order to fit in my car with a helmet I need to slump down and that's not too comfortable either. The more I read about this it seems all the fit is in the mounting. Several folks have said installing Sparco's or SRD's will only add 1/2" of headroom unless you fabricate the mounts. Sport seats are a great idea, but the prices I have seen are ususally much more than comparable Recaro or like seats.

Kevin McD

Matt, I have an '82 SC with stock Porsche sport seats. When I was shopping for SC's, I initially wanted the standard seat because the bolstering was less aggressive and more comfortable for me. But I did notice that the sport seats do sit down lower than the standard seats. I have plenty of headroom (I am 6'1"), but had some headroom issues with the standard seats (I have long torso as well). Do not know how easy it is to find a set but it would be worth the search.
Kevin

Ed Bighi

The sport seats seat you a lot lower than the stock seats. They are also great seats all around and excellent for the track. I made the mistake of selling a set I had recovered years ago. I just drove a car with them last month and found them to be almost as good as my Sparco EVO's for holding me in at the track.

MYoung 82 911SC

Great feedback with many options to gain headroom. As mentioned, I want to keep the car as close to stock as possible should I eventually decide to sell. Also, I am on a limited budget with lots of things that I would like to do to the car such as add a chin spoiler (to compliment the Carrera tail on the car), short shift kit, turbo tie rods, new tires, etc. Switching out to new sport seats or racing seats is a fairly expensive solution (but a good one!). However, I think that lowering the seat mounting brackets may be the most affordable way to go while maintaining the original look of the car and gaining the most headroom. If I ever decide to resell, seat spacers can be put in if a buyer decides that the seat is too low.

Oxford_Hippo

Hi,
I'm trying to get xtra headroom for a 911sc.
ONly 6'2", but touching the roof all the time!

Been offered a pair of 928 s4 seats - but not been to see them yet.

will these fit in - are they any lower?
Are the bolsters similar to 911sc Sports?
THnx