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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ middle/3rd seat option
Posted by: thesey914 Jul 18 2006, 02:39 PM
Some of you 914 historians might have some info on this...in Europe I believe there was an option of a lap belt for children for the '3rd seat'. Any one have any pictures/data?
Posted by: 736conver Jul 18 2006, 02:44 PM
Part number
914 803 021 10
For the center belt
Posted by: GeorgeRud Jul 18 2006, 03:00 PM
The parts are (were) available in the USA, their is a part number for the center seatbelt assembly (914.803.025.10) for cars built through 12-31-71. The seating pad was also available in different leatherette finishes (914.521.053.09-11). I've never seen such a car delivered in the USA though. Anyone got one?
Posted by: Bleyseng Jul 18 2006, 04:25 PM
I pulled the seatbelts outta a wreck at the junkyard a few years ago, got tired of storing them and tossed em. They are just small belts....
Posted by: East coaster Jul 18 2006, 04:55 PM
I had a set in the first 914 I ever bought. Didn't realize they were rare and I pulle dthem out and chucked 'em. The things you do when your 19!
Oh yeah, it was a '72 model year.
Posted by: AZ914 Jul 18 2006, 05:58 PM
I think I remember seeing one of the retractors in my 75 stuffed back there.. I'll take a look tonight.
Posted by: AZ914 Jul 18 2006, 08:07 PM
Ok, nevermind. I do not have a 3rd seat bealt. What I do have appears to be an extra lap belt for the drivers seat.. ?@!#
Posted by: firstknight13 Jul 18 2006, 08:08 PM
i have a set, got them here last year. nothing special but not common. hoping to put them in and then i can fit 2 women in it 
Posted by: Gustl Jul 18 2006, 10:43 PM
M166 - seat belt for M570
M570 - Third center seat
Gustl
Posted by: rcrgrl Jul 18 2006, 10:51 PM
i got the seat pad out of my 70 and just bought a cheap lap belt and bolted it in. now i can & do fit both my kids in my car, legally. shifting, however, is another story !
Posted by: Mamacita Jul 19 2006, 09:47 AM
i have a set, got them here last year. nothing special but not common. hoping to put them in and then i can fit 2 women in it That made me think of the quote from Office Space..."two chicks at the same time"
Stacie
Posted by: So.Cal.914 Jul 19 2006, 09:52 AM
i got the seat pad out of my 70 and just bought a cheap lap belt and bolted it in. now i can & do fit both my kids in my car, legally. shifting, however, is another story !
I drove my boss and his wife from San Diego to LA. She put one leg on one side
of the tunnel and one on the other. This made shifting rather fun.
Posted by: dennisc Jul 19 2006, 10:20 AM
I have an early 73 that has the center lap belt.
Posted by: 1970 Neun vierzehn Jul 19 2006, 10:46 AM
My '70/4 was delivered with those center belts installed, and they're still there. I also have both the smooth vinyl and the seat matching vinyl pad inserts. Back in 1975, wifey, 5 yr old daughter and I drove from Cincy to Orlando and St. Pete/Tampa utilizing those belts and seat pad. In 1979, the three of us again took a road trip with our 914, this time to D.C. Given that our daughter was still small and my wife and I were a whole lot younger then, it wasn't a difficult situation.
Posted by: thesey914 Jul 19 2006, 11:30 AM
so....anyone have any pictures of seat + belt and how the middle belt fixes?
Posted by: SirAndy Jul 19 2006, 11:35 AM
so....anyone have any pictures of seat + belt and how the middle belt fixes?
there's two threaded mounting holes in the floorpan, one on each side of the center tunnel, near the rear firewall ...
only '70/'71 cars have those ...
Andy
Posted by: thesey914 Jul 19 2006, 11:56 AM
...yes but pictures...
Posted by: SirAndy Jul 19 2006, 12:09 PM
...yes but pictures...
location of the mounting holes:
closeup of a mounting hole:
from the factory, those holes are plugged with a black plastic bolt that can be unscrewed with a large philips screwdriver ...
mounting the belts uses the same hardware as the regular seatbelts. short bolt, big washer, two plastic spacers ...
Andy
Posted by: 1970 Neun vierzehn Jul 19 2006, 12:20 PM
I'd post pics of the seat pad(s) and belts installed, but my digital camera is in the "shop" being repaired. Estimated fix time, 1 to 8(!) weeks. 
Jeesh, you'd think it was a "914 camera".
Posted by: jimtab Jul 19 2006, 12:50 PM
i got the seat pad out of my 70 and just bought a cheap lap belt and bolted it in. now i can & do fit both my kids in my car, legally. shifting, however, is another story !
I drove my boss and his wife from San Diego to LA. She put one leg on one side
of the tunnel and one on the other. This made shifting rather fun.
You have to be careful not to "miss a shift" with the bosses wife...esp if he's there...
Posted by: thesey914 Jul 19 2006, 01:40 PM
Thanks Andy...I have those 
. I remember when I stripped out the tar matting wondering what those were. Thread size looks smaller than the M11x1.25 (which in itself is a wierd size).
I'll pull out this plug and see if it fits.
Would love to see a pic of the belt though...
Posted by: McMark Jul 19 2006, 02:05 PM
Posted by: SirAndy Jul 19 2006, 02:45 PM
from DGVWPB, page 25 and 28 ...
the final go for the project (of the 914) came on 09.02.1967 from VW. the decision to make the 914 a 3-seater came on 09.19.1967. at the same time karmann was included in the project as the builder of the cars. on the 20th of november (1967) all drawings were completed and the prototyping started. the first raw body was completed 03.01.1968. quote Herbert Linge: "the prototypes were build up fast." at the end of april (1968) the car #1 was standing on it's own suspension. btw. a 4-cylinder car. Richard Hetmann, later project manager for all new products at porsche: "before the first /6 was even completed, we already had 15 4-cylinder cars running in the testprogram."
here's a more refined version of the 3-seater interior, never made production. DGVPB, page 28:
Attached image(s)
Posted by: thesey914 Jul 19 2006, 04:30 PM
Wooaaa that is very nice.
Andy's not wrong the M11x1.25 seat belts bolts do fit. The thread, once the plug is removed, goes right through so the bolts if long enough could poke out the bottom.
Posted by: So.Cal.914 Jul 19 2006, 08:10 PM
i got the seat pad out of my 70 and just bought a cheap lap belt and bolted it in. now i can & do fit both my kids in my car, legally. shifting, however, is another story !
I drove my boss and his wife from San Diego to LA. She put one leg on one side
of the tunnel and one on the other. This made shifting rather fun.
You have to be careful not to "miss a shift" with the bosses wife...esp if he's there...
I actually think he was enjoying it, I would apoligize when I did go to "far" (I could
tell cuz she let out a little squeel) and when I looked over he had a $hit eating
grin on his face.
Posted by: Pat Garvey Jul 19 2006, 08:26 PM
i got the seat pad out of my 70 and just bought a cheap lap belt and bolted it in. now i can & do fit both my kids in my car, legally. shifting, however, is another story !
I drove my boss and his wife from San Diego to LA. She put one leg on one side
of the tunnel and one on the other. This made shifting rather fun.
Wow!
Umm, would you mind shifting one leg or another...because my shifter's getting a little siff!
Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Jul 19 2006, 09:45 PM
If you are not concerned with authenticity, any old aftermarekt set of belts can be mounted using the same bolts that hold the female belt holders on either side of the center tunnel.
Andy, that 3-seater photo has always bugged me. It does not even look anything like a 914, look at any of the details, they are not even close to a 914. Is there anything in DBVWPB that suggests its not from a 914?
Posted by: SirAndy Jul 19 2006, 09:54 PM
If you are not concerned with authenticity, any old aftermarekt set of belts can be mounted using the same bolts that hold the female belt holders on either side of the center tunnel.
Andy, that 3-seater photo has always bugged me. It does not even look anything like a 914, look at any of the details, they are not even close to a 914. Is there anything in DBVWPB that suggests its not from a 914?
mhmmm, now that you mention it, that certainly looks like it's *NOT* a 914 at all!
the door-frame, lack of targa bar etc. hum, never even looked that close at the pic ...
the caption on the foto in DGVWPB says: "This configuration was only build once: 914 3-seater"
but the interior looks more like a Matra-Simca Bagheera !!!
Posted by: McMark Jul 19 2006, 10:21 PM
Uh, oh, inconsistencies in DGVWPB damage its credibility. (Although Luckie will disagree with me 
)
Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Jul 19 2006, 10:43 PM
Aha...I am glad you agree...
I didn't know if it was a one-off prototype or thought that maybe perhaps it was a car like the Goertz 914 or the other ugly one whose name escapes me at the moment. I have not seen one of those Matras...to know their details. Maybe DGVWPB just used that photo as an example of a 3-seater?
Posted by: SirAndy Jul 19 2006, 10:46 PM
Maybe DGVWPB just used that photo as an example of a 3-seater?
very plausible indeed. the Matra-Simca Bagheera was very popular in germany in the early 80s and as far as i know the only production 3-seater sportscar around at the time.
so they might just used the picture as a reference to the 3-seater concept ...
Andy
Posted by: johannes Jul 20 2006, 12:51 AM
I confirm it's a Bagheera interior. More pics ...
In 1980 The Bagheera was replaced by the Murena. Better built, better looking.
http://www.automobile-sportive.com/guide/matra/murena.php
Nice alternative to the 914 ... but targa roof is missing.
Posted by: (*)(*) Jul 20 2006, 12:59 AM
I had a set in my 70....real PITA to shift or do anything with three people.....
Matter of fact there was a thread on bench seats for a 356 tonight on the registry....most posters figured it was cool for going to the drive in...
WTF is a "drive in"?
Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jul 20 2006, 09:47 AM
The 3-seater picture, you can see the e-brake sticking up on the wrong side of the seat as well. Watch where you sit, ladies...
What's this "DGVWPB" or "DBVWPB" y'all speak of?
Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jul 20 2006, 09:51 AM
In my '75, I drove my buddy (just over 6' tall) and a girl we picked up at a bar. She was just shy of 5' and sat in the middle. Not the easiest shifting experience. I can't imagine anyone having anything larger than a house cat in that 3rd seat position for any consistent or occational use.
Posted by: Gustl Jul 20 2006, 12:13 PM
What's this "DGVWPB" or "DBVWPB" y'all speak of?
it stands for
DAS GROSSE VW-PORSCHE BUCH
probably the best book about the 914 that's ever written
only available in German
first edition 1989 - sold out shortly
second edition 1991 - sold out shortly
NLA since then
only via private sale - best place might be eBay ...
Attached image(s)
Posted by: Gustl Jul 20 2006, 12:39 PM
DAS GROSSE VW-PORSCHE BUCH
sorry, forgot the translation ...
The Big VW-Porsche Book
GustlPosted by: Stieve Jul 27 2006, 03:23 PM
I added one to my 75, from another german car, with same belts.
Posted by: davep Oct 12 2006, 05:45 PM
The Big VW-Porsche Book
So I have the 1989 edition. Was the 1991 edition much different?
Posted by: Brian Mifsud Oct 12 2006, 06:03 PM
EXACTLY! Where are the photos of the boss's wife's legs!!!
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