I came across a car that had (for me) an odd seat trim combo. I'm trying to figure out if it is factory standard, special order or a retrofit. Car is a 79 North American vehicle that does have the "S" kit (not sure when this would have been added). The interior is black with typical standard 928 front seats (the ones with the round seatback release buttons) with black cloth inserts in the middle. These may not be the original seats, but nothing really strange here.

The odd part is the rear seats, door panel insert and door sill. All have multi-hue orange cloth inserts with Recaro printed on them. I remember that this type of thing was very popular with aftermaket Recaro seats in the early 80s...used to see it in car mags all the time.

Best I can tell, the interior is vinyl and I would have to assume that the front seats were either recoved or replaced for ones that had the same Recaro orange inserts. Is this a known interior trim type? Special order or part of a factory package? I have never heard of this combo coming up in discussion on the Board before. Anyone have any ideas? I'll see if I can find a picture of it for review.

Regards,
SteveCo in St.. John's

 

John, I have no info on the seats, but noticed you are located in Newfoundland. Have you participated in the Targa Newfoundland? Spectator? I'm considering a trip there to watch the race, and possibly participate in a couple years. Do you think a 928 could compete, or are the roads too rough? I've noticed that several 911's and 944's have competed in the past. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks, Rich.

 

Richard;
Yes, I do live in NF...St. John's to be exact. I am very familiar with the Targa and most of the roads it runs over. While I have not competed in the Targa NF, I have been a spectator in every year it has run. I also know several of the organizers and participants.

On suitability for a 928 to participate, I see no reason why it would not be. Not sure if you are interested in the Targa Class or the Touring Class. The later is suitable for any vehicle (and highly recommended for your initial time running in the event). The roads are all blacktop and vary in condition, but anything other than an extremely slammed track car would be fine. I recall one of the longtime racing participants broght a race-preped Viper to the race a few years ago, which was very low...he had issues with the roads, but did finish the race.

There were many Porsches in last year's event...mostly 911 varients...several 20+ year old cars, along with several brand new 996s. We even had a Caterham S7 and a Ferarri 250GTO in the 2004 event. No 928s in the race yet...I have thought about it many times, but have not taken the plunge yet. I think they would do fairly well...

It is a great event and I would highly recommend you consider attending, if you love going fast on public roads and like the time-speed-distance format! If you have not already done so, check out the info at http://www.targanewfoundland.com/. I'd be happy to answer any more specific questions you may have or hook you up with the organizers if you need more info. Just PM or e-mail me.

It is truely a great event...those that have participated have a great time and return again and again!

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

 

Here's a picture of the interior in question. You can see the front seats easy enough, but look closely at the rear seats, passenger's door panel and the driver's door sill trim.

Is this a common combination? Anyone else have experience with cloth inserts like this? Inquiring minds want to know...

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

 

Never seen anything like this.

 

Thanks, Nicole. I thought as much myself. I know that the Recaro material was sold to allow custom matching of vehicles that purchased their front seats in the mid-70s to mid-80s timeframe. Maybe this car had aftermarket seats installed and the rest of the interior matched to them. I guess the front seats in the picture could be the Porsche factory ones...replaced for the aftermarket ones sometime later...or simply recovered stock ones. I guess we would need to see the car in person to tell more.

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

 

front seats appear stock, rest is aftermarket

 

check PET for seat styles available for your model year

 

Yes, PET has lots of interior combos in it...too many some would say. For the record, this is not my car. I was just curious as I had never seen any 928 like this before.

Regards,
SteveCo