Help with seats.

[LordThor]

Well my c900 restoration is coming along right smart. But im at a junction now where I need to get rid of my old disgusting seats.

Right now im looking at a few diffrent options.

1) trying to find decent cloth seats from a wrecker and dye the cloth black to match my black interior I am making.

2) getting my existing seats reupholstered in a black leather. Id rather not do this because of the extreme cost and as a college student price is very important.

3) going with some cheapo racing seats from ebay and drilling new mounting holes.

I really need help with this guys because the seats are hideous and I cant stand looking at them anymore.

Oh and by the way I got my FMIC on and my greddy type s knockoff on. Ive also ordered my 3" downpipe which is en route, and im getting ready to order drilled and slotted brake rotors and new ceramic pads.

[900t]

You can get some cheap covers

[LordThor]

Ill go buy some of the multicolored "racing" seat covers off ebay and throw em on...

[900t]

Shop around, do it right. Or you can just get some fabric and upholster them yourself...

[grif900]

seat covers with big horny flames on them, or trendy asian looking writing on them (that i cant read,probably says horrible things about saabs for all i know) or i guess you could just settle for a solid color like black or gray ,if you can find them.

[LordThor]

Does anyone on here have a 900 with cloth seats? What is the comfort of the leather seats like compared to the comfort of the cloth seats?? is there any noticeable diffrence??

[900t]

Cloth are great. Actually my 87 900 S driver seat is crappy because the cushion has literally disintegrated and the springs are popped out and all kinds of crap, but the velour seats in my 86 900 S are the best seats I've ever had the pleasure of parking my butt on. Of course, said 900 S is no longer roadworthy

The velour is a lot grippier than my 90 900 Turbo's leather (which I stole from my 87 SPG).

Really, the comfort of the seat IMO depends on the condition of the cushion, it can go from literally amazing to, well, less impressive. Though I guess you can burn your legs on a hot day, hell if I know I wear jeans all the time

[cdaly]

Leather is slippery, cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. However, it does have a nice look and feel. It can get sweaty as you get warm. You absolutely must have your seat heaters working for leather.

The velour is hard wearing, long lasting and comfy too. I like the leather better.

I presume leather started out as a hard-wearing but not very comfortable upholstery material and only acquired the prestige later when it became cheaper to use cloth that would last.

[philb]

Leather with suede inserts - not slippery. Must investigate the seat heaters alright

[LordThor]

Oka I have another question about Interior work so I figured Id go ahead and ask it in my old thread instead of making a new one.

Someone locally is selling a 1986 saab 900 4 door on the cheap. The interior is cloth which is a plus because its what I wanted. My question is are the front and rear seats in the 4 door a direct replacement for the seats in my 88 besides the fact that the front seats wont fold forward in the 4 door, but thats fine with me.

Also the seatbelts in the 4 door are active seat belts, would these be a drop in replacement for the passive seat belts in my turbo?

[SteveTheFolkie]

if you don't care about people getting into the back seats, the non-folding option is fine - but you could remove the skins from the new seats and put them on your old (2door) seats (that's covered somewhere around here - townsends imports page?) -


I don't THINK the seatbelts are a direct replacement - but I've been wrong before (many people have told me so, in fact) -

you might consider something like this:

http://www.seatcovers.net/tweed_seat_covers.html

not the "generic" seat covers that never look right - a lot cheaper than the premium ones - I'm looking into them for my '85 (the interior is fine - but it's a lousy color that always looks filthy - to be fair it is 22 model years old - and has 233,000 miles on it - )

[Gerben]

I did mention this already in former posts, the result I got from this site, i.e. leather covers, in May 2005, still is great!
http://www.saabstuff.com

[900t]

Thor, the front seats will not fit without some notable massaging!

[LordThor]

Originally Posted by SteveTheFolkie

if you don't care about people getting into the back seats, the non-folding option is fine - but you could remove the skins from the new seats and put them on your old (2door) seats (that's covered somewhere around here - townsends imports page?)

I wish I could just remove the skins and put on my two door seats, but the seats in my two door are really busted up.

The hinge that holds the back in place is broke on both of them so they just fold forward at will, and my drivers seat cushion has got chunks missing from it..

So steve says the 4 door seats will fit, and 900t says they wont....
does anyone know for sure???

[900t]

Yes... I do

Power belt cars have a different mounting platform, same as 91-93 cars and 9000's.

[woywitka]

IMO don't drop the leather, if your trying to "restore the car". Howeve I have found that you painted the interior black so then it really doesn't matter. As long as your happy with the results that is the most important part. Black velour has a terrible thing with turning purple, ICK!

The leather seat covers from saabstuff are amazing looking, I have seen them in lots of photos and unlike the originals they are 100% leather. As long as you have good seat fom they will look incredible.

Good leather is great, poor leather is less desireable than cloth. My vert has super soft bridge of wear; whereas, my 89' t163dr has more dehydrated elmo, tought stuff but a little more tough to sit on. Of course it still looks great with no cracks or tears and even minimal wear but it has a horrid tendency to go a little carboardish.

Bear in mind that the Bridge of Wear is not as durable as the Elmo; however, it is softer than any Elmo in my experience. You can also pick up leather seat covers OEM from e-bay quite often. Bridge of Wear or Elmo, whatever you fancy.

Leather adds $500-$1,000 to a 900T around here.