The 993 Cabriolet Rear Seat Delete DIY
07-07-2008, 03:43 PM
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The 993 Cabriolet Rear Seat Delete DIY
Start by leaving the Cabriolet top UP - this will allow easier access to bolts you will be removing
Begin the Rear Seat removal by moving the front seats all the way forward.
Remove the plastic covers and unbolt the seat belts.
Remove the back cover from the rear seat assembly (2 Phillips screws)
This panel is glued at the bottom so removal will meet with resistance
Remove the back rest bolts (3 per side) and take off back rests. This picture is taken with the RSD already removed for clarity.
Once the back rests have been removed, remove the small bolt on the backside at the very top of the Rear Seat frame.
Remove the plastic covers and screws on the very front of the seat assembly
Remove the remaining Phillips screws that hold the frame cover to the frame, and then remove the frame cover.
Remove the rear carpet panel – the one attached with the big plastic screw.
You will also have to unbolt the seat belt retractors and remove them to set the frame cover aside.
The heavy sturdy frame is bolted into place in 6 places. – 4 in back 2 in front.
Feel for the bolt heads under the carpet and make “X” cuts across the tops of the bolts.
The 6 frame attachment bolts are highly torqued & the same bolts will be surrounded by gooey carpet cement, so be forewarned.
Once all the bolts have been removed, you will need to carefully cut the carpeting and fill padding to remove the Rear Seat frame. In the front section there is a large amount of foam that is attached to the metal frame yoke. Separate this foam from the frame carefully, then remove the frame.
Try to preplan your carpet cuts in advance. I had not made X cuts on the front bolts, so this may have resulted in more carpet cutting than was necessary.
All of this area will be / is covered by the RSD deck, so I have not replaced the carpet – yet. You can buy replacement OEM carpeting by the yard from World Upholstery.
The seat bottoms are simply glued in. I did not remove mine and the cubby space is not drastically reduced – plus your stuff gets a bit of padding during transport.
Also, some RSD kits come w/ microswitches that tie into the alarm system. If the alarm is armed and the cubby doors are opened the alarm sounds. Mine did not have the switches so I don’t know how the alarm connection is made.
As stated before the RSD deck covers up most all of the cut carpeting and if you have a windstop the three small carpet cuts at the very rear will not be seen. That being said I will likely get carpet to recover the cuts underneath the deck.
At this point, put the top down, and lower your windows, it will make getting the deck in easier.
Carefully remove the LH and RH Cab. arm covers and disconnect the rear speakers. Set aside the cover / speakers.
Before attempting to install the deck, make sure the LH - RH attaching brackets are loosely bolted to the bottom of the deck.
Grab the deck and place it in the rear of the car. Push it as far back as possible.
Align the RSD brackets with the seat belt attachment point and reinstall the seat belt bolts
This part of the install was the most difficult for me. The problem was getting the bracket to align at the bottom so the seat belt attaching bolt could be threaded in.
As you can see in the following picture, the bracket is secured by a single nut at the top. In order to properly attach the top with two nuts, I will need to make a sub arm at the bottom to easily attach the seat belt bolt.
Once installed, you can easily place a couple of roller type carry on bags and take off for the weekend.
After fixing the huge speaker voids, my next purchase will be some nice leather straps and brass buckles for tie downs.
The whole DIY can be done in a few hours, hope this helps.
Begin the Rear Seat removal by moving the front seats all the way forward.
Remove the plastic covers and unbolt the seat belts.
Remove the back cover from the rear seat assembly (2 Phillips screws)
This panel is glued at the bottom so removal will meet with resistance
Remove the back rest bolts (3 per side) and take off back rests. This picture is taken with the RSD already removed for clarity.
Once the back rests have been removed, remove the small bolt on the backside at the very top of the Rear Seat frame.
Remove the plastic covers and screws on the very front of the seat assembly
Remove the remaining Phillips screws that hold the frame cover to the frame, and then remove the frame cover.
Remove the rear carpet panel – the one attached with the big plastic screw.
You will also have to unbolt the seat belt retractors and remove them to set the frame cover aside.
The heavy sturdy frame is bolted into place in 6 places. – 4 in back 2 in front.
Feel for the bolt heads under the carpet and make “X” cuts across the tops of the bolts.
The 6 frame attachment bolts are highly torqued & the same bolts will be surrounded by gooey carpet cement, so be forewarned.
Once all the bolts have been removed, you will need to carefully cut the carpeting and fill padding to remove the Rear Seat frame. In the front section there is a large amount of foam that is attached to the metal frame yoke. Separate this foam from the frame carefully, then remove the frame.
Try to preplan your carpet cuts in advance. I had not made X cuts on the front bolts, so this may have resulted in more carpet cutting than was necessary.
All of this area will be / is covered by the RSD deck, so I have not replaced the carpet – yet. You can buy replacement OEM carpeting by the yard from World Upholstery.
The seat bottoms are simply glued in. I did not remove mine and the cubby space is not drastically reduced – plus your stuff gets a bit of padding during transport.
Also, some RSD kits come w/ microswitches that tie into the alarm system. If the alarm is armed and the cubby doors are opened the alarm sounds. Mine did not have the switches so I don’t know how the alarm connection is made.
As stated before the RSD deck covers up most all of the cut carpeting and if you have a windstop the three small carpet cuts at the very rear will not be seen. That being said I will likely get carpet to recover the cuts underneath the deck.
At this point, put the top down, and lower your windows, it will make getting the deck in easier.
Carefully remove the LH and RH Cab. arm covers and disconnect the rear speakers. Set aside the cover / speakers.
Before attempting to install the deck, make sure the LH - RH attaching brackets are loosely bolted to the bottom of the deck.
Grab the deck and place it in the rear of the car. Push it as far back as possible.
Align the RSD brackets with the seat belt attachment point and reinstall the seat belt bolts
This part of the install was the most difficult for me. The problem was getting the bracket to align at the bottom so the seat belt attaching bolt could be threaded in.
As you can see in the following picture, the bracket is secured by a single nut at the top. In order to properly attach the top with two nuts, I will need to make a sub arm at the bottom to easily attach the seat belt bolt.
Once installed, you can easily place a couple of roller type carry on bags and take off for the weekend.
After fixing the huge speaker voids, my next purchase will be some nice leather straps and brass buckles for tie downs.
The whole DIY can be done in a few hours, hope this helps.
