Restoring 12-way Seats
#1
Restoring 12-way Seats
My 94' 968 came with 8-way driver and 4-way passenger. I am in the process of recovering the seats using the only944 covers. I have completed the passenger seat with little difficulty and it came out better than I was anticipating. I wasn't thrilled about the piping that came on the covers, but am am happy with the correct stitch pattern, perforations, quality, and feel. In my opinion this vinyl feels more like leather, than the leather seats in our 17' Ford. The driver seat had foam damage to the top and bottom bolsters (as shown below) which I tried to repair with new foam, but could not get the foam density to match to my satisfaction and was waiting for the right donor seats with new foam to come along. Fortunately, a 12-way driver + heat and, and 8-way passenger pair come up and I was able to get them. When I plugged the seats into the car, the electrics were not working, but between my driver and these two donors, I think I can get at least one good seat out of it. Unfortunately, I could not find very much information on the 12-way seats and was hoping to get some opinions here, as well as post some pictures for others to see.
First, the finished passenger seat and old driver seat. :
Here is a picture of the 12-way seat back with cover removed.
I applied power to all motor leads and was happy to see that they all work.
The difference between a seat with the lumbar mechanism and one without is this medieval looking metal bracket. I don't think the black strings at the top are factory and there is other evidence that suggests the seats have been worked on or recovered in the past.
Here is the front of the seat. I am not sure of the material of this fabric in the middle. It is black on the front side and silverish on the back side. This fabric is not present on the seats without the lumbar and appears is designed to allow the lumbar mechanism to slide along it. The bolster fabric was hogringed to the framing, but also was glued to the black side of the fabric. You can see the glue residue below.
Here is a closer look at the lumbar mechanism. I posted some youtube videos of this in operation.
,
Some Questions I have are:
1. In the last picture above, the top metal "finger' has a black rubber coating. Should this be on all the fingers?
2. I plan to lube up all the parts, what would be the recommended lube for inside a seat?
3. Is any special coating needed to be applied to the silver side of the fabric that lays over the lumbar mechanism?
4. What glue is recommended for the bolster fabric to black mechanism cover fabric?
Any other comments or recommendations for putting this back together are greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jax
First, the finished passenger seat and old driver seat. :
Here is a picture of the 12-way seat back with cover removed.
I applied power to all motor leads and was happy to see that they all work.
The difference between a seat with the lumbar mechanism and one without is this medieval looking metal bracket. I don't think the black strings at the top are factory and there is other evidence that suggests the seats have been worked on or recovered in the past.
Here is the front of the seat. I am not sure of the material of this fabric in the middle. It is black on the front side and silverish on the back side. This fabric is not present on the seats without the lumbar and appears is designed to allow the lumbar mechanism to slide along it. The bolster fabric was hogringed to the framing, but also was glued to the black side of the fabric. You can see the glue residue below.
Here is a closer look at the lumbar mechanism. I posted some youtube videos of this in operation.
Some Questions I have are:
1. In the last picture above, the top metal "finger' has a black rubber coating. Should this be on all the fingers?
2. I plan to lube up all the parts, what would be the recommended lube for inside a seat?
3. Is any special coating needed to be applied to the silver side of the fabric that lays over the lumbar mechanism?
4. What glue is recommended for the bolster fabric to black mechanism cover fabric?
Any other comments or recommendations for putting this back together are greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jax