924Board.org

safe · Joined: 18 Mar 2017 Posts: 588 Location: Sweden

Looks near perfektion!!
Good job!

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Thanks for the comments.

I installed the seats and recovered steering wheel. Really need to work on the carpets next. And then the dashboard. It's a long list!

_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

I've been meaning to finish this write up.

Step 5 - recover the top half of the seat.

This part was more difficult partly because the instructions posted at only944.com are for 85.5+ seats. The top half of the early seats are different.

But first, here is a picture of the donor seat and the new cover.

Before removing the old cover I took this picture to remind me how the final assembly should look. Note how the cover is stretched over the pins and the use of the hog rings.

Here is a picture with the cover removed.

The center section is attached to the frame, I think with hog rings. Note the stripes...that is old glue.

And that is different than the late seats.

This picture from only944.com illustrates the difference.

Here's a link to the instructions on only944.com:
https://www.only944.com/instructions/seatcover-944-855-91-page3/

I found it helpful to review these instructions to get the big picture....but then I had to figure the rest out myself.

The later seat covers are two pieces; the early seats are one cover that slips over the whole top section...and it's a PITA to get everything tight....but it's doable.
_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Like the seat bottom, metal rods are used to pull the seat cover tight. Don't lose these when you remove the old cover.

Two of the rods run down the sides; there is another one at the top (and was easiest to see it from behind).

Here's something interesting....they used a carpet scrap to wrap the seat release mechanism.

_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Looking at the directions for the late seats and thinking about how I recovered the bottom seats, my next step was to prepare the new cover with cable ties. Lots of cable ties. Maybe too many...but figured that they would be key to pulling the seat cover tight.

So here is the cover...inside out. I have more pictures from when I did the second seat...but essentially I took the inside out cover and unrolled it over the seat foam. You can't put it on like you would a sock.

This is what is looked like before I pulled everything tight.

It took a while to move the cover into place.

Here comes the tricky part....you have to pull all those cable ties through and loop them around the rods. You have to hold up the rear flap and do it all by hand. I recommend pulling each cable tie a bit at a time similar to how you'd tighten lug nuts.

_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

As I was working on the seat I was really focused on how to get everything tight. The factory used glue for the center section. I couldn't figure out how to get spray adhesive up in there. But then it occurred to me that I could use a cardboard tube to hold up the cover and shoot the adhesive. I pressed the cover into place and left a stack of books on top of it over night.

Once the cable ties are all tight, the next step is to add hog rings. I decided to leave the cable ties in place. It is a bit tricky to get the hog ring pliers under the cover but it can be done.
_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Buttoning up the bottom end is also a bit tricky...need to pull everything tight.
I used cable ties to hold the ends of the rods in place. It's important to pull the center of the seat cover tight as you impale it on those spikes. And don't forget the rod that runs across the bottom flap. If yours is missing...a coat hanger will do the trick.

_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Now that the top seat half is recovered, you'll need to poke some holes in it.

The seat release wire need to be fished through on of these holes up to the seat release mechanism. I used a cable tie.

Attaching the cable to the seat release mechanism takes some patiennce. If you have a helper, they can hold the bottom lever up to provide more slack in the cable. This isn't the best picture...but pushing up on this metal tab where the cable attaches creates more slack. Also, you can undo the seat cover flap to allow better access to seat release mechanism. I didn't figure that out right away.

Once the cable is attached you can reinstall the seat bolts and cover.

Reinstalling the knob was the easiest part.

_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler

chuck21401 · Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 526 Location: Annapolis, MD

Here is the final result. There were a bit wrinkled so I used a hobby grade heat gun on them..and then set them in the sun for a couple of hours and the vinyl tightened up nicely.

I have some additional pictures and more observations from when I recovered the driver's seat.
_________________
1981 Porsche 931 w/S1 engine & g31 transmission. Water-cooled intercooler