Restored Porsche 356 Seat Hinge Assembly

My 356 is back and driving again. Here's how to assemble Porsche 356 seat hinges with all original parts restored. The seat hinge chrome took forever and I'm still not happy with the workmanship. But we have to keep going and most importantly drive this car again! I want to use up the tank of old gas before the weekend is over, yay!
Patreon / ahhgaragetime
Insta @ahhgaragetime
FB / ahhgaragetime
Website www.ahhgaragetime.com
Ahh Garage Time Email Stories:
mailchi.mp/b63353737df0/sign-...
00:00 Porsche 356 Seat Hinge Assembly
00:41 New Seat Upholstery
01:10 Internal Seat Hinge Hardware
02:03 Remove Chrome Flashing for Best Fit
03:36 Installing Gear
05:09 Clean Snap ring Grooves
07:42 Major Cover Fit Problems
10:14 Problem With Chrome Shop
11:40 Hinge Assembly Starts
13:19 Stake Hinge Pivot to Avoid loosening
14:11 Spring Tension Problem
15:57 Torsion Spring Installation Tool
20:13 Recline lever spring installation
21:35 Passenger Side Seat Hinge Hooks
23:32 Installing Restored Hinges to seat base
25:52 Instal Seat Backs
28:03 Drivers Seat Installed in Car

[@openhighwayproductions]

Lots of great how-to on the reinstallation of the seat hinges. It is always the unexpected that takes soooo much time. I just noticed how wide the door sills are on the 356.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

For sure there are big sills to climb over. One of the big differences versus the VW bug.

[@SpankysHotRodsandCustoms]

Tom, great job on the seats. Sorry to hear the chrome guys didn’t do their job.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Thanks, I'll give them another chance.

[@brendanhead7368]

Well done mate, Start making space in the trophy cabinet because this lil 356 is gonna come home with plenty of them!

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Ha ha, thx. I literally have no room for trophies 🏆

[@leemeyer3347]

Color combo is beautiful. The upholstered did an excellent job with how plush the seats look and how straight and even the seams look! Excellent instruction on reassembly. Thanks Tom!

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

I agree, the seats look great!

[@Zincaloom]

Nice job. Green with brown interior is going to really look great.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Agree and that's how it was delivered from Porsche. Great colors still today.

[@davidraeside]

amazing color combination Tom... very nice work

[@GregsGarage]

Great stuff Tom! This is going to come in handy when I get my seats ready for assembly.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Cool, best of luck! Before you send stuff out for chrome make sure the hinges work correctly and inspect for any loose pins/rivets. I welded a few.

[@GregsGarage]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto Unfortunately, all the chrome was done before I bought the project. The worst thing about it - I didn't get to see the car come apart... If I had, I would know A LOT more about how to put it back together! Your videos have been a HUGE help in that department.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Ahh an big kid puzzle then😀

[@GregsGarage]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto EXACTLY!

[@chrisgarside7974]

I feel your pain reassembling the re-chromed seat recliner mechanism. I believe they were made by Keiper in Germany. A similar Keiper design was used on the Aston Martin DB’s. I recently rebuilt the recline mechanisms on my DB6 and wished I had masked up many of the features before re-chroming. With hindsight, would have a serious discussion with the chroming company beforehand. Great job though and many thanks for sharing.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

You are probably right. Ive seen that name stamped on the door latches I believe. 356 seats were the start of Recaro. Not sure if Recaro makes hinges or outsourced it? Next time I get anything chromed I'm going strip and prep the critical areas myself. And leave a detailed instruction sheet on what I want done or not done. I made the mistake of thinking these were 356 guys, but nope they have no clue.

[@50zoomie]

Very nice job explaining that complicated mechanism. This will be a great addition to your 356C video series. I can't wait until you do the door threshold.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Cool thx, Are you referring to the rubber strips on the door areas

[@matlecomte]

I think you are missing the tube covering the bar for the recliner mechanism, the one on the passenger side has two 'ears' because it has a locking mechanism that can be accessed from the back or by the passenger, while the driver seat does not (i.e. there is always a drive in the car and his/her weight prevents the seats from folding forward while driving, but not the passenger side). This is similar to the Recaro seats that were installed in early 911/912s

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

I have the passenger side with ears and I see it on the parts diagram, but I don't see it on the driver's side diagram. The function is to release both hooks at the same time and the driver's side doesn't have any hooks. I'll have a look in the owners manual and see if there are any clear pics.

[@Wanix11]

I worked in a factory which galvanized electrical connectors and similar stuff. It is mandatory to strip the old plating before adding a new one. New plating has to consist of a layer of copper on the steel and chrome as final layer. If not, it is a mistake in craftmanship.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Usually nickel between copper and chrome, but yes I agree that it's best strip off the old 60 year plating before adding more. Seems like common sense, but apparently I need to spell it out to the plater.

[@user-gy3ot8nw7o]

These videos are excellent - thank you.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Glad you like them!

[@bin_chicken80]

Looks great! Thanks!

[@jeffharrison5265]

Looks fantastic, but how frustrating. The car is going to look stunning when done.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Frustrated! and I don't get frustrated often, but when it comes to the so called experts and they drop the ball it angers me.

[@jeffharrison5265]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto agreed! It's why I'm making the effort to follow in your footsteps and learn all these new skills.

[@olegregersen1024]

It is fast looking like a factory new 356. Fantastic beautiful upholstery, You must be very satisfied. Just have question about the crome, I think I can remember the crome-company I have used back in the day chemicaly removed the old crome from the items worked on?

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

That's the goal, I can tell you it drives like a new car! So fun.

[@Wanix11]

I hope you did not add galvanic plating to the spring. During galvanisation atomic hydrogen will diffuse into the spring. Without thermal treatment after the galvanic treatment the soring will break. Greatings from Bavaria

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

The black spring? No plating there. Hydrogen embrittlement is real, I agree.

[@superbear617]

Tough luck on the chroming, but you adapted well. Are you planning to add head restraints on the seats? I believe they were optional on these models. BTW, I really like the color combination, too - classic.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

The headrests are optional. My seats never had them

[@superbear617]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto I was thinking they would provide a margin of safety (whiplash, etc.) and they are stock items. I understand the internal back seat hardware was installed in all the seat backs, at least for the later models.

[@craighanson8598]

Awesome job, as usual. I am in the process of restoring my original 1963 356B T6. I took lots of pics and videos when I disassembled, and practiced reassembling, the seat hinges. The only other video I could find online that demonstrates re-assembly is this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y168qq17bNuZjJosi=pt5fLu2SpmSq-Fsi Of note, instead of having to make a special tool to install the large spring, Mike simply used a Vise-Grip pliers. Interestingly, he doesn't mention anything about the slotted bolt that holds the spring having to be in a particular orientation. Thanks for pointing that out. Also, as with your car, on mine the passenger side has a sleeved bar between the hinges, but the driver side does not.

[@ChuckJ1944]

Nice review. We did ours, but since we're owned the car, the passenger seat back self adjusts back. Do you think the spring might be in bsckward? It's a 65C.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

It's very possible to assemble the spring or pivot bolts backwards. So when you lift the lever up it just falls back?

[@ChuckJ1944]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto No, the seats do spring forward, I just thought there wasn't enough tension on the spring, perhaps.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

Probably the pivot bolts are swapped left and right then. Or it could be the gear is dragging on the new chrome, rivet pins are bent or loose etc.

[@jeffhammond8969]

Unfortunate that you fort someone's to plate that doesn't know or understand quality work on these parts!

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

They do lots of 356 parts for the so cal shops around here unfortunately. This was not a Chevy shop. Nothing against Chevy's 🤣

[@jeffhammond8969]

@@GarageTimeAutoResto hmm, then they need to own up to a poor job in this instance.

[@GarageTimeAutoResto]

I will speak to them about it for sure and ask them to fix it. They. Also had these parts since early December! Not good.