VanD

So the left seat frame in the '80 Euro "S" of the drivers side seat is "collapsed". I took the seat out and check it out - looks like the frame is broken - appears to be a thin metal frame that loops around and has a plate the electric controls bolt to. I assume some fatass sat on the edge and it gave way. Now being a fatass myself, and as my left leg is 70% paralyzed from a Motorcycle accident, I also 'plunk' myself down in the seat so I want to fix it but want to make sure the repair will hold. Anybody have this problem before? The entire interior including the seat is "mint" and I want to repair without ruining the cover or replacing the cover with new. I tempted to take to a local shop and have them remove cover and then re-weld the frame plus add angle iron for more support due to my fat ***. Any suggestions or ideas (to fix the seat, not to fix the fatness of my ***) would be appreciated..
Pic:



The controls are attached to the frame in this pic, it's the frame itself that's leaning left into the brake handle.

medipedicman

I have recovered a set of manual seats and the seat base was the easy part. I was looking for a image of an uncovered seat base but it was so straight forward I only took pictures of the seat back. If I remember correctly the "wings" of the seat base are one rod welded at the rear and the front with a formed pc of foam providing most of the shape. I actually bent mine back towards the center because my rear must be smaller than the PO.

If you have a local shop that you know and trust I would not hesitate taking it in to them. Removing the cover with out damage should not be a problem. Repairing the rod may be another story. It reminds me of someone here who converted comfort seats to sport seats. The rod in that case was on the back instead of the seat BUT the principle is the same.
The electrical switches are only held on by two screws.?.?.? I had to re-install these on my 83 back in the day.

How much play does the foam side have??

joejoe

My '81 had same problem, medipedicman is correct and I just removed cover and welded the wing back on. (I actually thought I had a special seat as it was very comfortable)

VanD

Tons of play in seat, four screws holding switches on. WIll go to my "guy" and get the seat cover off - does the bottom cushion separate from the seat or do I bring the entire seat in?

joejoe

Take whole seat. When out you will see the hog rings that need be removed. I have not separated top/bottom, but was not needed for this repair.

heinrich

Replace it with something 10% as heavy and more modern.

heinrich

If you don't want to do that, 944's have the exact same seat bottom IIRC. I did 911 944 and 928 seats, again I think they are too heavy to be worth it

medipedicman

As joejoe said, take the whole thing. The seat back could get tricky to reinstall. If you are paying some one I would just drop the whole thing off. The foam is in three pieces. Each wing and the bottom layer. The center section has extra padding in the cover itself. A skilled craftsman may just be able to loosen that one side and roll it up and toward the center. With that portion of the cover out of the way the foam wing just slides up. It may have inadvertently been hog ringed to the center foam or a spring. No biggie to remove. That should expose the metal rod that provides support to the foam. In theory, the rod is the problem. I might not be that surprised to learn that the rod has just bent way to side. On the drivers seat especially. Getting in and out puts down and out pressure on that PC. 25 or 30 years of that pressure could just bend it. That is a best case scenario & what I found on my 83. I also have an old set of power seats if you need a replacement base. Keep us posted. I am curious now.

James Bailey

Somewhat common and then the switches hit the e-brake handle....which can get interesting

VanD

It's happened.....

VanD

I know for sure it's broken, not bent. When I took the seat off (I removed it to mess with the switches and motors as the power seat recline and up/down was not working) I could see the frame was broken off. Having been in there before do you feel there is room to "reinforce" with angle iron or just TIG the old frame or better to replace the base?

medipedicman

There would be multiple places to reinforce the rod. You could cut additional rod and add two or three vertical braces that would be welded just the same as the front/back. That would give extra support. To reference the sport seat example I used earlier, I think they used a solid PC of metal rather than a rod. It was a much thinner material but easier to shape.?.?.?
I think adding a couple vertical rods would provide ample support for another 25 years, lol
Good luck Alex, once it comes apart it will be fairly straight forward.

VanD

Brian,
Thanks for the advice, will be taking it out soon and evaluating....will follow up with the progress when it happens..

medipedicman

I thought about this statement a little more and looked at the only seats I have that are not bolted in a car. They have the round controllers so they are not exactly the same, but similar. When I turned it over I could not see the "Rod" that I have been referencing. The rod I have been talking about this whole time is inside the support foam that forms the wings that touch the outside of your thigh when seated. If you can see a broken pc with the seat turned upside down then it is part of the box frame and is structural in nature. (which helps the angle iron comment make more sense to me) That makes it much easier to repair (IMHO) and gives you a lot of more options to reinforce. The prep time will be increased greatly since you will have to remove ALL fabric and ALL foam from the seat base and probably remove the seat back just as a precaution.

That may sound daunting but a professional could do it in a third of the time that it would take a hack like me and have the end results infinitely better. CHEERS

ltoolio

Same problem in my '82.

I'm not ready yet to take the covers off, so I rigged up a temporary solution that seems to be working (albeit I'm not in the car too much):

IIRC, there are some holes in the mounting plate. I used some heavier gauge wire (not too heavy, though, as you need to be able to get it through the hole and be able to tie it) to weave through the hole in plate and then around the frame. I was able to do this from under the seat.

This isn't my long term plan, but is working out here in the short term.