Weight Reduction Project: Rear Seat Delete
 

Hi guys. some of you out there are in a pursuit of weight reduction for competition purposes, others just want to get rid of the rear seats they don't use anymore....or both.

The process of deleting rear seats is quite easy to for the novice mechanic and enthusiast. The model Porsche used in this project was a 1986 Porsche 944. Removing the rear seats on a 944, which includes the lower cushioning and the upper retractable seat back will save up to 35 lbs of weight. From here you have 2 choices:

1. You can leave it the way it is after removal with sheet metal showing. This will also increase the amount of road noise and drivetrain noise DRAMATICALLY.

2. You can replace the rear seats with carpet and some insulation to quiet down the interior and give it a nice 'sport group' or 'Clubsport' look. :bowdown:

I ended up going with Option 2 since I'd like to still keep the car looking presentable, streetable and at the same time, making it a more authentic M637 clone.

Below is what you will need for your deletion:

NOTE: BE SURE YOU GET ABOUT 3 FT x 4-5 FT SO YOU CAN HAVE ENOUGH TO TINKER AROUND WITH FOR SIZING. REMEMBER WE HAVE BENDS AND ANGLES WE NEED TO GET A PROPER CONTOUR ON.

-Insulation with a foil heat sheet, very similar to Dynomat.

-Automotive carpet colored to match your interior (unless you want like red or blue or yellow or some other color in a bag of Skittles to make your car look unique).

-1/4"-1/2" thick foam to lay over the insulation to dampen the sound more. This will also build up that huge dip molded into the unibody for the rear seats. With the addition of the foam, it's easier to get a more proper angle on carpet and it won't look tacky back there.

ADHESIVES AND REMOVERS:

-3M Fabric or Carpet Spray-on Adhesive

-Adhesive Remover or GOO-GONE.

-High-strength fabric glue (for nooks and crannies to glue carpet). This can be found at craft stores such as Michael's, Walmarts, Jo-Ann's Crafts.

-Thread colored to carpet and an upholstry needle curved.

TOOLS

-Needle Nose Pliers

-Small flat-head screwdriver

-3/8" drive Ratchet

-10mm wrench

-17mm socket for seat belt bolts

-6mm hex key (allen wrench) OR 6mm hex key socket for faster work

-proper extentions

-razor blades

-exacto knife

-Putty Knife

-BEER AND MUSIC!! :rockon:

Time to complete project: 4-5 hours.

Forgive me guys for not taking any pics during the process of removal. I had no batteries in my digital camera.

PROCEDURE:

1) Remove your driver and passenger seats to allow better access to your rear deck. This can be done by moving your seats all the way forward to access the 4 hex bolts (2 on each side) of the seat track. These hex bolts take a 6mm hex key to remove.

When finished with the rear bolts, slide the seat back and remove the front two. The seat should pull out easily. Some of you with 5 or 6 point harnesses may want to remove the harness or seatbelt bolting point right by the door. That bolt is a 17mm so you will need the ratchet and socket. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL REMOVING YOUR SEAT. THE TRACK CAN EASILY PUNCTURE YOUR CARPET AND SCRATCH THE PAINT ON YOUR DOORS!

2) Now to remove the upper seat back on your 944. This is incredibly easy. Start with your seats positioned down. Pull your rear hatch carpet back and the seat back's carpet back to reveal the mounting points of the rear seat. You will need that 10mm wrench now on the 2 bolts. Remove the 2 bolts and lift the rear upper seat back from the rear of the car and out the hatch.

3) To remove the lower seat back you should be able to see the brass clips holding the leather to the sheet metal. These clips are probably the hardest part of the project. First thing you wanna do is spread the clips with a flat head screwdriver, then pull them with the needle nose. There should be 10 clips. Careful with your screwdriver not to poke or tear the leather. After spreading, carefully use the needle nose and pull side to side to inch the clips off the mounting point.

4) If you've made it this far without cursing about the clips you have good will power and determination to get this project done in 1 day. Without the clips we're now ready to remove the lower part of the rear seat. Hop in the car and remove the rear seat belts using a 17mm socket.

Now that you removed the belts, we are going to literally pull the seat out and out of the car. Grab the rear of the seat from the top and gently pull towards you. Some of the insulation is glued pretty good to the body and you may want to use a box cutter or razor blade to separate some of the fibers from the body. The seat should pull out easy. Note the leather being stitched to the carpet on the lower part of the cushions. Use your knife to trim the stitches but DO NOT cut the leather seam or your carpet in the rear will come apart in the later years!

5) Wohoo! Seat is out finally! You should see the sheet metal. Now if you'd like you can remove some of that with a putty knife and Goo-Gone or WD40. Be sure to clean the surface with some sort of alcohol type solution to make sure the carpet/fabric adhesive will stick.

This is the part where we install the insulation. I cannot tell you an exact cutting pattern since I never used one. You should have enough insulation to size around the contours of the transmission and torque tube tunnel. You are going to cut to fit around the seat dip area and make proper cuts in order to round the insulation around the tunnel. When done sizing, use the spray adhesive to stick the insulation to the sheet metal.

6) Use the same procedure above for the foam. I'd recommend using some thicker foam about 1" thick before using the 1/4"-1/2" thick over it. Reason why to use the thicker foam is to build up the valley where the person's butt would usually sit in the rear seats (very small area huh? Confucious say man who stuck in pantry have ass in jam.) :roflmao:

After building up with foam, lay the thinner foam over it and glue to fit.

7) Now it's time for the carpet! Be sure NOT TO GLUE ANY CARPET DOWN UNTIL YOU HAVE THE PROPER SIZE AND FIT. Cut the carpet enough to tuck it between the foam and the factory carpet over the wheel wells. Where the leather seams are on the bottom of rear foot wells is where you want to tuck the carpet to hide it under the seam. You will glue the carpet in this area to achieve a factory and clean look. After your sizing you may begin your gluing. For the rear deck don't glue the carpet over the sheet metal since there is a harness that goes to the fuel tank sensor. You will need access for that in the event your fuel gauge goes bananas. Instead, just tuck the rear hatch carpet over it. I used a little glue on the areas of carpet in the wheel well to tuck the new carpet under.

8) Ok, we're done with the re-upholstry back there, so time to put your seats back in. Repeat the same procedure for seat removal to install. REMEMBER TO VACUUM! YOUR CAR IS PROBABLY A MESS RIGHT NOW!

Congratulations, you've completed your rear seat delete! Give yourself a pat on the back and make use of that 12 pack of beer in the fridge if you haven't already you alcoholic! :p http://members.roadfly.org/thestig/smilies/drunk.gif

Your results should look like this or better:

https://members.rennlist.com/thestig/csrear1.jpg

https://members.rennlist.com/thestig/csrear2.jpg


Happy Porsche-ing! :bigbye: