Porsche Recaro Seat Hinge !!Full Rebuild!!

In This video we will go over the complete reassembly and installation process
on early Porsche Recaro hinge sets.
Easy to follow along and completely understand how these unique hinges work
A must see for the Porsche aficionado!
For materials and supplies used in this video and all other videos please visit
www.amazon.com/shop/mikesrest...

[@guitarplumber1973]

Let me start by saying your work is truly inspiring! I purchased a 68 912 in May from a Restoration shop in Nebraska. A friend of mine here in Michigan spent around 200 hours on when he worked at the the shop. It was intended to be a driver for this older gentleman but at 84 he needed to go into a nursing facility. I am 74 myself and have been a car guy my entire life. Anyway on the trip back my back rest seat on both the driver and passenger side kept popping out of position! I kept wondering what in the heck am I going to do to make them right. Then I ran across your video’s, Wow, there was my answer. I followed your instructions to the letter. I purchased some new rebuild parts from Stoddard, including new covers and I was on my way. The results transformed both seats to new condition! First drive this morning and they are butter smooth. Thank you so much for the fine work you do and for being caring enough to share it with us. I am taking on the window regulators next!

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank you! Im so glad this video was able to help with your seats.. They can be difficult. Sometimes all we need is to see how things come apart and we can go from there. Wishing you the best of luck with your 68 restoration! Cheers

[@suzannemay6779]

Very clear and easy to follow video Thank you Roy

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank Roy, I hope it can be helpful Cheers!

[@derekmats]

Great stuff as always Mike!

[@MikesRestorations]

Season's Greetings Derek Thank you and wishing you all the best for the New Year!

[@danknox9986]

Beautiful work.

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Dundertaker1]

Masterful as always! Love your attention to detail. Thanks for sharing.

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank you Dan Its always good to see your smile!=)

[@mooney0086]

Almost missed this video. Another amazingly detailed job.

[@MikesRestorations]

Thanks Mooney!

[@danwood1047]

Stellar work as usual, Mike. Can't wait to see the seats in the car.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Dan Thank you and Season's greetings Im with you on that I can't wait!!=) Keep safe and Best wishes for the New Year!

[@mutley748916]

Love watching Mike's videos, so relaxing. Merry Christmas to you Mike and family.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Mutley thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours Best Wishes for the New Year!

[@namenotavailable11]

Happy holidays Mike. It's been a pleasure watching you restore her.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Jeff Season's Greetings Thank you and Best wishes for the coming Year!

[@andershallberg6668]

Great work as always Mike! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Anders thank you and Merry Christmas Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

[@guzf344]

Such beautiful work. It's a joy to watch Mike. I hope you have a safe and happy holidays.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Gary Thanks and Season's Greetings Best wishes for a happy healthy 2021

[@rsgjjghend]

Once again, your work is incredible. I can’t believe how good the Porsche looks!

[@MikesRestorations]

Thanks Dr Gifford! I really enjoyed the other day Your Truck is so cool!!

[@graham6229]

Hi Mike. Brilliant yet again. I mentioned this before but can you imagine today's Porsches being made like that ? Unbelievable ingenuity and skill all done by hand back in the day. Well done.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Graham thank you and Season's Greetings! Yes it sure is an absolute hidden treasure with these vintage Porsche's.. The craftsmanship, quality of build and high quality materials. Today's Porsche is quite a machine and top level quality but there is something about the classic build style that is so appealing. Even I look at these seats restored I just can't believe it.. They are gorgeous. If you are not familiar with RECARO'S history its facinating : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recaro Best Wishes for the New Year!

[@pippiperade4030]

Another restoration MasterClass from Mike.. I tip my hat to you.. Just superb work..

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Pip Thank you and a big Season's greetings Best Wishes for the New Year!

[@1ocean515]

Superb attention to detail, as always. Lots more bits and pieces than I imagined would be used.

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank you 1ocean and Season's Greetings Yes its quite a package of parts for sure.. Amazing craftsmanship and ingenuity by RECARO

[@k0zyr]

finaly! was waiting for a video of your restoration project for a while. dont make us wait so long, Mike, pls!

[@MikesRestorations]

Lol..I'll try harder next time=) Its been a busy few weeks!

[@pascaljeske7307]

Wow that's so very crazy good job I love it very I wait on that next perfect video ❤️😍❤️👍

[@MikesRestorations]

Season's Greetings Pascal Thank you and Best Wishes for the New Year!

[@kaplanmb]

Thanks for publishing this! The timing is great for me. I’ve been rebuilding the seats on a 1973 BMW 2002, and these seat mechanisms are very similar. This answers a lot of my questions. Thank you!

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Michael Yes good timing! I think the principle should be very close in comparison. Good Luck!

[@nickgeorgiakakis7249]

Excellent as always Mike. Thanks for another entertaining year. Looking forward to the first start next year. Merry Xmas to you and your family.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Nick Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours Wishing you all the best for the New Year!

[@martinback187]

Merry Christmas my friend 🎄

[@MikesRestorations]

Thank you Martin Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for the New year!

[@restoblast1387]

Great to see a new post Mike, i have been patiently waiting like the other's & I'm looking forward to the next 1 already. Keep safe everyone & mask up, wish you all well from us Down Under. 🇦🇺 🤞😷👍

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Resto Blast Season's Greetings! Thank you for your patience..Its been crazy busy the past few weeks and difficult to get any work done on our project. Slowly moving forward now though=) Wishing you good health happiness and all the best for 2021!

[@malibuquest]

Looking great as always Mike. Don’t forget the little rubber bumpers that seat into the horizontal brackets with the small hole on the seat pans. They make a big difference with how the seat backs settle into place.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Andrew season's greetings! Yes thank you for the heads up. At the moment I'm not able to acquire any from any of the major suppliers or ebay. Currently out of stock on all fronts and scheduled for another run. Will go over them as we install the seats in the car. Definitely a must as the seats need to settle into something for shock and vibration.

[@peem1244]

Hi Mike, hope you are keeping well. New chroming just looks amazing, super job. You can tell by the components that these are quality items and will last another lifetime. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe and keep up the good work. 👍🖖😎🏍🦼

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Pedro Season Greetings! I think at this point the car will outlast me=) You too keep safe and best wishes for the New year!

[@brettshields1018]

Another fascinating video Mike. I hope and your family have a great Christmas and holiday. (Post script; I acquired a really interesting car a couple of months ago. I'll send you an email with the details and some photos).

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Brett Season's Greetings! Thank you and same too you..I am looking forward to your email on new car! Wishing you good health and happiness for the New Year!

[@rennch.]

That just looks...painful. You do museum quality work Mike.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Mike thank you Season's Greetings and Best wishes for the New Year!

[@polloloci21]

Mike- you should also have a podcast where you read children’s bedtime stories. Your voice is quite soothing.

[@MikesRestorations]

Thanks polloloci21...Thats flattering Maybe I could read them Porsche stories=)

[@jonsigurdsen4683]

Great Video! I think there are some rubber stops for the backrest available, so you don't ruin the chrome. Part 901.521.192.00

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Jon Yes thank you for bringing light to those..Not able to acquire any from the major suppliers but possible down the road as Sierra Madre has some in production. Will fit and show them in a future video Best wishes for the New Year!

[@remcotissink]

It is good to see an other video. Was wondering if the virus gotten to you. Stay safe...

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Remco Season's Greetings I've been lucky so far with that terrible virus but work projects and honey do list overwhelming thew past few weeks Keep Safe and Best Wishes in the New Year!

[@remcotissink]

@@MikesRestorations A happy Christmas to you too 🎅 All the best for 2021 !

[@gjdettore5028]

This video gave me the courage to duplicate your job. Off to the chrome shop, a five month wait list, then reassembly. My ride is a late 1967 912 build for the '68 introduction. The recliner setup for the driver side has the same rivet mounted lever (11.22) as the passenger! Will have to tap four screws not two. What is the length of your 4mm pan head machine screw? Thank you for the continued assistance.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello gj That's great you will give them a go! I couldn't say for sure what length those screws are as it has been a couple years since working that area of the car. Sometimes when Im working something like this a buy an assortment of sizes and try them out. You can never have too much stock on hand for misc things.. Good luck!

[@rodneynelson3862]

Hi Mike, Your seats are great looking. Perfection as usual. Good you give us a rough estimate on what it would cost to have the seat hinges re-chromed?

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Rodney Thank you and Season's Greetings! Both seat sets and levers ran about $1200.00 back in 2018..not sure what cost would be today as things are always changing..also depends on core condition..but would imagine very similar pricing Best Wishes in the New Year!

[@jeffhammond8969]

Mike, just amazing work! Will car be ready to go to parade in French lick? Would love to see you there.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Jeff Thank you and Season's Greetings! Im not familiar with French lick.. What is this event?

[@jeffhammond8969]

@@MikesRestorations that is where Porsche parade 2021 will be. Southern Indiana

[@jamesegan3547]

Mike, I am a big fan! I refer to you frequently as I restore my 66 911. Currently working on seat hinges, I notice that two of the hinge gears are very slightly longer than the other two; does it matter which seat hinge they are installed in? Thanks again, Jim.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello James I looked through some old photographs go my hinge disassembly and its difficult to conclude. However looking at its construction it would appear that the longer gear sets up on the lever side of the hinge. It worth a try to mock it up and see if things align properly. I wish I could give you something more concrete but my photos don't show any measure.

[@gaijinsumo]

Hey Mike, thank you as always! So to clarify my understanding: the extra mechanism on the passenger side is for tilt forward to allow rear access? I don't have my originals unfortunately.

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello John Season's Greetings! The passenger side locking bar keeps the seat from forward inertia if empty or small child in the seat. If you were to slam the brakes or sudden impact..It's possible for the seat to come forward. The bar prevents that from happening and has to be manually released to come up and forward. Drivers side doesn't need such a thing as the weight of the driver and seat belt keep it in place Great question! Wishing you a happy healthy and prosperous 2021! I hope to make a trip to Japan next year!!!

[@jamesmunson9087]

Mike, Excellent video! I am in the process of restoring my '67 and your video's have become instrumental in my restoration journey. Quick question, the rubber containment caps (as seen in your video at 13:45) on my seats, as well as the rubber inner bushings (as seen at 18:22) were old, cracked and just destroyed. Where were you able to find the replacement rubber parts? Any help locating them, especially a parts number(s), or vendors with them in a kit would be greatly appreciated...

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello James Thank you Regarding those parts, I was able to re-use the originals on my seat sets. I don't know if any of these are available from Porsche or after market. I would recommend calling Stoddard or Einmailig in Huntington Beach. If new parts can't be sourced Einmailig I think would be your best bet! Wishing you the best of luck on your 67!! Cheers!

[@danrose777]

Thank you for the great video. Really helped my project. I looked at two cars 1970 and 1973 911s and the e-clip on the splined shaft is under the rubber boot, not on top of it like you demonstrated. Seems logical to hide the e-clip but I see your point that it helps the rubber boot and plastic cover stay in place. Do you know if this assembly method is year specific?

[@MikesRestorations]

Hello Dan You're welcome I hope it can be helpful. Im not sure of any changes in assembly order specific to year or model..just referencing old photos and stock photos of other cars that look to be in original order. Its hard to say if anyone has played with the reassembly or if Porsche set it up that way. The purpose of the rubber boot is to keep pressure on the plastic cover as the lever will press against it and pop off the cover if something isn't holding it secure while being actuated. The e-clip will not allow the cover to pop off if adjusted properly with the rubber pressure seal under the e-clip

[@danrose777]

@@MikesRestorations Thank you Mike! One more question if you don't mind. I'm missing the plastic knob on the seat adjustment (slides the seat up and back, not the recline). Is there a source for that knob? Replacing the entire mechanism is a little costly.

[@MikesRestorations]

@@danrose777 Dan I would try Einmailig..They have an incredible supply of Porsche seating parts. einmalig.com. Good Luck!

[@d.spillett2682]

Mike, where did you purchase any parts needed for your hinge restoration?

[@MikesRestorations]

Stoddard was my supplier for the gray covers...everything else was original resorted and replated