MkII GTi Recaros in an E30

[dave87325is]

woot..! i only got one though.. which works out for now.
(quick pic before taking off to work)


gotta get the brackets done.

im excited!!!

[Jand3rson]

So I said fuck that place in the UK and paying $200-something dollars for new bolsters, I'll do this myself. So I started today.

Turns out the bolster on the side of one of the seats didn't even need to be replaced, just repaired. The foam was just torn through in a couple of places by the support bar that holds it up. So I sprayed 3M adhesive in the cracked parts and let it tack up, then smashed it together. Once I had all the broken parts fixed, I wrapped the whole bolster in vinyl-backed soft felt/carpet material, to hold it altogether, and to give the bolsters a little more thickness.

Here's what they look like all repaired and wrapped in the felt:





This stuff made the bolsters about another 1/8-1/4" thick all the way around, making the material fit much tighter, and the bolsters are much firmer now. Here's the finished seat:



Tomorrow, I start on the bolster that actually is destroyed. Should be fun.

[Nicademus]

Looks really nice; way to be innovative.

[M42Technik]

I applaud your efforts, mine are sadly in worse condition...

I'm coming into some $$ and can finally get my damn bolster! Luckily its just the one...

Anyways awesome DIY again Josh!

[Kwaaahhh]

So most of these seats are found on later 80's - early 90's VW? What model thought? Thanks! Guess I should start hitting up the junkyard over winter break.

[Jand3rson]

Did you even BOTHER to READ the post a few posts back about the different styles of seats and the years they came in?

[Kwaaahhh]

My bad, looked on the first few pgs and jump to the last. :up:

[der affe]

josh, here is another tip for you.
line the INSIDE of the bolster also. that will keep the metal suppert bar from tearing through the foam so easily.

[der affe]

I was browsing through, and couldn't help but cringe at some of the misinformation in this thread. I'll try to clear up some for future reference...

These are Recaro "Trophy" seats. The Trophy designation is for the fabric pattern (black vinyl bolsters with grey cloth insert); not the seat itself. These came in '87 GLI 16v's, with some carry-over into '88's.

(hopefully der affe won't mind me stealing his pic)


These Recaro's are the exact same body/frame as the "Trophy", but obviously, in grey cloth. These were found in '88-'92 GLI 16v's, and *some* '91-'92 16v GTIs. (never mind the cigar burn.. I only paid $44 for the pair ;) )



Helios edition Recaros are the same body/frame as the grey cloth or Trophies. They were found *only* in the '89 Helios Edition Jetta GLI 16v (featured Helios blue paint, with blue-centered BBS RA's, and of course, the matching blue Recaro interior.)



All these aforementioned seats use a power height adjusting base and seat track that's removeable via 4 bolts. Several aftermarket Recaro seat brackets fit these seats directly.

Now the oddball; the non-power grey cloth Recaros. These were found in most '91-'92 16v GTIs, and occasionally, in a 16v GLI as well. They're rare, and completely useless to the E30 crowd, as they use a Recaro upper portion, but a VW base. This means the slider assembly is all part of the lower base, and not removeable, or easily modified to work with anything other than a VW; just like any other regular VW seat.




Note the smaller upper bolsters compared to the power models, as well as the narrow headrests. The lower seat is a completely different shape than full Recaros, with much smaller lower bolsters. Obviously also distinguished by the lack of a power base.

Hope this helps!

are the bottom seats the corrado recaros i had always heard about but never actually saw that came in the Vr-6 corrado?

[Jand3rson]

josh, here is another tip for you.
line the INSIDE of the bolster also. that will keep the metal suppert bar from tearing through the foam so easily.

I tried that with a test piece, and with it on the outside also, it wouldn't fit inside the cloth.

On another note, my brother in law was nosing around on Vortex, and found a thread about a GREAT way to repair the sagging seat base caused by the support webbing on the underside becoming damaged. I'm going to do it tomorrow, and I'll post pics for all y'all. Until then, consider this a teaser. :D

[Kwaaahhh]

woot..! i only got one though.. which works out for now.
(quick pic before taking off to work)


gotta get the brackets done.

im excited!!!

What car is this out of?

[der affe]

those are recaros from recaro ^^^^^

[der affe]

I tried that with a test piece, and with it on the outside also, it wouldn't fit inside the cloth.

On another note, my brother in law was nosing around on Vortex, and found a thread about a GREAT way to repair the sagging seat base caused by the support webbing on the underside becoming damaged. I'm going to do it tomorrow, and I'll post pics for all y'all. Until then, consider this a teaser. :D

post it up!!!
both of mine are sagging/torn

[Kwaaahhh]

those are recaros from recaro ^^^^^

Thanks!

Hey der affe, a friend of mine in WA has a pair of recaro LX. He doesn't know much about them, but they came with his beater. Do you know if they will fit into a e30?

[Nicademus]

Thanks!

Hey der affe, a friend of mine in WA has a pair of recaro LX. He doesn't know much about them, but they came with his beater. Do you know if they will fit into a e30?

Basically you're going to need to buy or make brackets for any Recaro seats that aren't OEM e30 BMW. The seats should technically fit fine, its mounting them in the car that can be a bit tricky and cost money.