ScubaJKD

Guys,

I am contacting Rod Birch today to see if he can build me a rear seat delete kit that uses factory carpet, saves a ton of wieght, will work with his sub enclosures, and does not have front doors. This will be for my 95 Cab.

Need 2 things:

1. Are any cab owners near him and willing to drive by so he could get the measurements he needs?

2. Is anyone else interested in this kit? we may be able to get a group purchase and I will coordinate.

Thanks!

PS my complete black rear seat setup will be available soon to a good home. PM me.

David in LA

the dimensions for such a RSD should be the same for either a cab or a coupe, and IMHO it would be much easier to take measurements using a coupe rather than a cab.

in high school I made a RSD for my '81 toyota celica using plywood and it was not that difficult...are you talking about an RSD which is also a sub enclosure?. IMHO a RSD w/o bin doors may actually be better than the factory one as the doors make the RSD too high and you lose a lot of useable space.

ScubaJKD

Thanks David was not sure if there were any differences in measurement. I already have the sub enclosures so they will mount in front of the seat delete. If someone can get over to him I am sure he can build a very nice kit at a reasonable price. Does not look like a hard thing to build. I am wanting more useable space back there and the wieght savings will just be a plus.

fullbooker

Would a Targa work? I'm about 20 miles from his shop.

ScubaJKD

I think so. Thanks for the help! I will let you know.

porscheralph

I would be interested in the same thing for my Cab. ScubaJKD I am in Herndon so perhaps we could work together.

smddanny

I'd be interested in a better RSD.. It would have to look good though... and what about the doors under the package tray? How would those be dealt with?

I am a cashmere coupe...

ScubaJKD

Called Rod and he is out until monday and going to call me back. Guy I talked to said that they could easily do this and were very interested in the project for Rennlist members since they already build sub enclosures for us this would be a great additional product if the interest was there. I am not interested in doors but I am sure they could do that as well. Back to you shortly.

Slow Guy

I would love a RSD in Classic Gray for a '97 Cab.

DocTock993

993BillW - email sent

air eater

Count me in.I would like a RSD for a 98 C4s with Classic grey interior.
Why not put together a Group Buy?

David in LA

Just to be clear, I think what ScubaJKD is talking about here is an RSD WITHOUT the storage compartment...so more or less a package shelf....which IMHO could be interesting if it had subwoofers built-in as well. For those of you looking for a copy of the factory RSD you need to figure out a solution to substitute for the bin doors.

ScubaJKD

Yep David that is exactly what I am thinking as I already have his sub enclosures that sit in the footwell front of what the would be the RSD custom kit.

TroyN

I'm sure it's out there somewhere but I'm being a lazybones - how much weight would this save? The rear seats seem pretty flimsy, they can't weigh that much so it doesn't seem like you'd save much weight especially if you're adding back wood for a tray.

DocTock993

The weight "loss" by simply removing the rear seats (and I only know about the cab) is significant due to a very heavy steel under-structure to which the seat belts attach.
If you use the factory RSD, the weight replacement is approximately equal to what has been removed, and as noted before, possibly less.

I looked for over 2 years for a RSD and finally found one - amazingly in Classic Grey. It was insanely expensive. You can always do what DavidInLA did and re-cover a black one when you find one.

That said, mine is always for sale if the price is right...
(Hint: No offers under 4 digits will be considered!)


If I had not found one, I would consider a Rod Birch solution. I am very pleased with his sub box construction (and he is a SUPER guy!). If you want to maintain the footwell space, especially if you need to push the seat all the way back, he could probably fabricate a fantastic sub box as a pseudo-RSD. He has done a similar box for the 996.
Otherwise, reducing the "height" of a psudo-RSD is limited by a need to clear the middle hump where the center bracket for the rear seats attached. You will also need to determine a new method with which to attach the box. The OEM RSD uses the seat belt bolt attachments to attach a bracket that attaches to the RSD. I did find, fortunately, that these bracket pieces are still available from Porsche, especially as they are often missing from an RSD sale.

A Rennlister from Atlanta area (shatterguard ?) had a custom sub box made for the rear seat area, but never removed the central seat holder and IMHO it looked "weird". If you do a search with "custom sub enclosure" you should find it.

NB: Again, all my experience is with a cab. I do not know how the coupe or targa rear seats are attached and leave that info to the real experts on Rennlist.