TravisB

So I stumbled in to an original Reacro Profi SPG that the seller claimed was from an RSR. All I had to go by was the crest embroidered under the Recaro logo, but I was fairly happy with the deal even if it wasn't OE Porsche as I was just using it for a non-car project anyway.

Well, fast forward to last week and it arrives...in much better condition than I expected (unflattering pictures!), and it also has an in-tact 964 part number sticker on the bottom of the shell. It turns out this guy was the original owner of the RSR, so that pretty much leaves no question about it being real. But now that I have it, and see it's in good shape, and still I plan on using it as a seat..would I be wise to take measures to preserve the condition of the seat? It's not perfect..it has some *slight* fading, you can tell the foam is starting to deteriorate, and there are a few holes on one side from welding door bars in, as well as some minor scratching and scuffing from R&R'ing..but from a few feet it looks nearly perfect. I am just thinking long term it's possible it could be something special, though right now it's just an expired race seat with a Porsche sticker and logo that I probably paid too much for, and maybe I am nuts, but..the less common seats seem to turn in to almost collector items sooner or later (original sport seats, hardbacks...probably more?).

Pics, for a slightly more entertaining post:

gonzilla

I have no idea if you should stuff it in mothballs in your attic or not, but if you aren't putting it in a car, what are you planning on doing with it?

PecosBill

make a conversation starting office chair out of it.

V

Sell this one seat and for what you get for it you can buy two PP's in leather..

NickyP

It's too bad that you don't have a matching pair; the value equation is much different. Single seats are much more difficult to assess. That said, most of my "part" experience is in the older (pre 74') world. Anything that came from an R, RS, RSR or ST is very desirable and wildly expensive. This is especially true of seats, body panels (priced an original ducktail or aluminum deck lid recently!!??), steering wheels, gas tanks and other accessories. If history repeats itself then at some point this seat may be worth a bunch, but since its a single...I'm not so sure. I imagine that 10-15 years from now somone will be preparing their 964/993 RS for a future Rennsport Reunion and they just have to have the correct seat that came with the car....

I just sold a pair of original Recaro fiberglass race buckets for close to $4,000. They sold on the Early S Registry in less than a day. Certain seats command crazy money...

If its me, since you only have a single, I'd be more inclined to use it and enjoy it.

Nick

gonzilla

Cool. Your conversation with me would start out with "why isn't that in your car?!?!?!"

CorrdoBrit

Odd. The date stamp of 11/96 is after the 964 era. The other odd thing is that the Recaro trademark is plastered all over the cover and runner. Doesn't seem a very Porsche way of going about things.

Possibly an SPG recover on a 964 RS shell. Notice the extra contour around the lower rib cage area. That was never on the true Porsche RS seats.

gonzilla

The part number on the DME relays was a 944 part number for a while. Just sayin'.

daedton

Are you sure it wasn't a 993 RSR. They used many 964 part numbers but it would fit with that year. That is the correct seat by the way that most 993 Cups came with. The 993 RSR's used one similar with the same Porsche logo but it had the bigger side head to head restraints.

JPP

This.

TravisB

Close! More like..."Actually, yes, I am single..how did you guess?" winter entertainment. Obviously this was a mockup for be to better plan out a more...fitting...frame, haha.



I am pretty inclined to believe it is original. I am a bit of a skeptic by nature but the guy talked the talk, sent me pictures, and Googling his name confirmed that he had in fact raced a '97 993 3.8 RSR, YouTube videos of qualifying in the 997 cup car he said he sold it for, so on and so fourth (says he's trying to dig up some of his 993 footage for me). Actually I found an old classified ad on Pelican of someone trying to sell one of his in-car videos back in 2000, hah. 60 minutes, VHS, ONLY $19.95!!

Perhaps he meant Cup, but he continually called it an RSR and Googling also backs that up; plus the holes in the cover from welding could imply the car did not originally have a cage in it (the Cup cars did, didn't they?). The crest shows light weathering that is consistent with the rest of the cover, so I don't think it was just tacked on after the fact. I thought I read somewhere around here that the channels/ribbing on the back aren't on normal aftermarket Profi's. Also the 964 part number didn't make me flinch, if I am not mistaken there are other parts on street 993's which were carried over and still have 964 (might even be a 911 part or two as well still?).

Now, all that said, if I am supposed to be able to sell this thing and pay for two leather PP's then I think my initial feeling of possibly paying a little too much couldn't be further from the truth though, holy cow... But not having the pair does make sense as far as being harder to determine if it's truly worth the trouble of mothballing or not. Either way, much like cars are for driving, seats are for sitting and I will be using it, it's just a manner of how careful I am with it now, hah!

MarkPcar

Collector value is a long shot. Modern race car seats have FIA date stamps and have limited age use (not sure how long). Increased value of the seat will depend on future demand for the model of car that is came from, but only from collector/museum/show car.

Vintage racers typically aren't concerned with the originality of parts on their cars. As long as a seat 'looks' original. I have used these seats in several race cars: http://www.vintage31.com/ and I probably wouldn't put 'original' seats in a race car as the fiberglass will have weakened over the years.

On the other hand, Porsche guys can be hardcore.

Knight

Off topic a bit but if your looking for something to bolt down your steering wheel and pedals, check this out Travis:

http://www.wheelstandpro.com/buy-online

I've had one for years now, perfect for those who need to pack it up in a closet after usage.

TravisB

That is what I would be counting on, haha. FIA is 10 years if I am not mistaken, this one is well past due. This is kind of an afterthought, definitely not why I got it in the first place (I was going to get a Pole Position but then found this and just thought it was neat!). But hey, if I can paint it RB and throw it on eBay in a year or two for $1.2M, who am I to complain..



I actually have started planning on putting something together based on a Harbor Freight hand truck. I've found buying things pre-made is usually better in the end, but making stuff is the fun part. So this might get interesting..

gonzilla

I was really hoping you weren't going to do that with it.

Put it in your real car, dammit.