Understanding Scheel seats for Porsche 914, 914-6, There are a lot of threads, not a lot of answers… Options

[horizontally-opposed]

I just found a pair of Scheel seats for my 914 that I couldn't pass up. They are thought to have never been installed, and the underside and 914 seat rails suggest that might be true. The little damage that the seats do have topside looks like it could indeed be shop wear. Whatever the case, the price was right and the corduroy looked good, so I decided to buy them.

I've sat in Scheels here and there over the years, and some seemed really nice while others were pretty tight. Well, wouldn't you know it: The one wearing the driver's side 914 seat rails is very nice but a bit tight while the one wearing passenger seat rails is loooooovely. That's funny, as taking a tape measure to the width of the seat centers suggests it should be the other way around. And that's when I started to notice the differences between the heights of the pleats in both the back rests and the seat bottoms.

But both seats have 914 headrests that exactly match the material on the bolsters and backs (which looks super original and in generally great shape...in line with the underside of the seats) and both seats came on 914 seat rails that look like they could be NOS. I know all that may not prove much, but…

I've looked through a lot of threads on Scheel seats, and looked around the internet too. Not a lot of great information so far—though maybe you know a better source? Gerrit looks to have let his website go, and the Scheel Austria site seems to be focused on later Scheel seats for Ford Escorts, etc. Any go-to sites or experts now?

I will be installing these seats in my 1973 914 in the weeks to come, and will report back about fit with the factory back pad. And while the corduroy is nice now, I am thinking about buying some of the stuff used in the 991.2 GT3 Touring, as it looks very similar but is sure to be quite a bit more durable given modern wear requirements.

[wes]

I think the washers are as a spacer because the seats or mine anyway catch on the back at the point where the material is folded on each corner and won’t let the slider move all the way back to remove the seats. I used a flat bar of aluminum I think a 1/4 thick by 3/4 wide 18” long, enough to cover the puffed up corners front and rear. The front corner puffs up so the handle to release the sliders don’t have enough movement to release the slider nicely. Also on mine the metal clamp things that tied the material were holding the rails at an angle which would not let the rails slide nicely so adding the aluminum bars just off to the side enough to avoid the clamps helped there as well. Also Larmo mentioned he used the hex heads great idea because I wasn’t bright enough to think of that and I used a regular bolt head leaving little room for my fat fingers to start them, that’s experience.
Without bar catch’s material
With bar holding puffy corner down