seat fitment

[Mike Arman]

>From: Ron Wainwright <ron_01056 at yahoo.com>
>Subject: seat fitment
>To: quattro at audifans.com
>
>  Hello list,
>
>  I have a question,
> I own an 87 5ksq with grey cloth manuel seats I'v
>been toying with the idea of gettin a set of seats in
>leather but I guess they did'nt make leather seats in
>manuel for my 5k or did they?
>  anyways It maybe a hassle to convert the seats to
>the manuel tracks and I'v allso toyed with the idea of
>splicing into some wiring and puttin the power seats
>in (I'm the only person who drives my car so the seat
>could be possitioned for me only) but theres a big
>bump at the floor so I'd have to get a special bracket
>to clear the hump 
> would anyother Audi model seats fit my 5k in front
>obviouslly the rear seat would be fine out of another
>5ktq.
> Any insite would be great.
>Thanks
>Ron

Both power and manual seats use the same rear rails, but the difference is
as the front. On the manual seats, there's a single, center bracket welded
to the floor, while the power seats use a pair of brackets, one on each
side. To convert manual to power, you need to cut off the center brackets
and weld on the two front brackets. Then you can bolt down the seats.

This may be more of a hassle than you expect. You can use a cut-off wheel
to remove the center bracket, but you'll have to roll back the carpet to
weld on the two side brackets. (A pair for each seat, total four brackets.)
You may also toast the undercoating on the bottom of the floor pan, and I
think I'd check fuel line location before I started to weld, too.

You can get the brackets in a junkyard, but be prepared to work for them as
they are *thoroughly* spot welded to the floor pan.

If you are not the world's best welder (as I am not), it might pay to have
a professional do the welding. These brackets are all that keeps the seats
from flying forward in an accident. You don't want a crappy weld here!
Also, when you push on the brakes, the load path is brake pedal, your leg,
your buns, the seat, the seat bracket, the floor pan. These welds are
crucial for your safety!

Once the mechanical details are done, you get to provide power to the
seats. A large red wire with a 20 amp fuse should do it. Take it from the
battery (much easeir than finding that kind of current capacity under the
dash!), and connect to each of the main power wires on the seats. You won't
get the seat memory positioning, and you won't have the controls for it
(they're in the driver's arm-rest), but you do have the controls to move
the seats - they're on the outboard edges of each seat.

The rear seat fits perfectly, but you have to remove the headrests and
their sockets to get the seat back out of the car. Minor PITA - four spring
clips, and then climb into the trunk to release the plastic tangs on the
sockets.

It's worth the trouble - the leather looks and feels NICE!!

Best Regards,

Mike Arman