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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
I am look ing for any imformation anybody might have regarding a Recaro edition Trans am built in 1986. ie. production numbers. rarity of. I bought one of these gems when I was 17. Unfortunately I had no idea what the signifigance of this car might be at the time. I sold it a year later. The gentleman that bought the car from me still has it, and I might be able to get it back. He only drove it for about 6 months, and parked it. It has sat for the last 13 years. The car had the factory black and gold Recaro seats and gold wheels. Any information on these cars would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I haven't seen any information on the 85/86 Recaro production numbers.
Were the seating surface inserts black or gray?
I have never seen black inserts in the 85/86 Recaro seats.
I picked these up a week ago for my TTA.
Sorry, the seats did have the gray inserts and not the black as i previously mentioned. They were identical to the ones you have. Another item of interest i have found, is that any T/A's I've found with the Recaro package, seem to be fuel injected with automatics. The one I had was carburated with a 5 speed
It had the L69. The guy who bought it pulled the engine out and replaced it with a 350. I aqquired the original 305, and have had it sitting in my shop for years now, 'just in case'.
An 86 L69 Recaro Trans Am ! If I read okfoz's thread correctly, that's one of the rarest Third Gen as only 26 1986 Trans Am were built with the L69. Of those 26, 22 were Players Cars...
I saw one for sale last year 86 with red paint it had recaro seats and digital dash but the engine was 5.0 TPI or EFI it had gold stripes and GTA wheels, i wish i bough it , i didnt know it was that rare
There was no Recaro Editions in 85-86, just the option to have the seats - RPO AS5
The seats were included under RPO B20, thats all that would show on the sticker. They were available on all 85-86 Firebirds, but from what I have seen all are in Trans Ams.
I have tried to get numbers from Recaro, how many seats shipped to PMD but no luck, they didnt have the info. Some box in PMD storage with old purchase orders to Recaro is where the answer is.
Those seats are close but not stock simo, good score though. Those have been reupholstered as you may know already. There are gaps between the graphite and camel pallex and the grahpite insert has the old stich pattern from 83 and 84, and they murdered the headrests, at least the netting is still there.
Here is how a 85/86 seat should look, no gaps , square corners, and straight bolsters.
Not my car, but an example from my archives. You see the dark spot on the drivers left bolster in last pic, this spot is the first to go, it wears out as people tend to drag across this when they get in and out of the car. Also sun kills the seats and most birds have the T-Tops so that compunds the problem. The Pallex just didnt hold up to the wear and tear.
These seats are a pain to restore, there is always foam to be replaced and to be done correctly, the original fabric patterns must be un-sewn and copied, you just cant make the patterns up.
The 85/86 WS6 cars are kidney busters, very stiff, the AS5 should have been mandatory with W6S, you really need these seats to keep you in place
An 86 AS5 would be a nice find, they are still out there, rare from a survival point IMHO.
Last edited by 85 T/A WS6; 11-02-2009 at 06:43 PM.
Are the seats in SIMOs post really that far off with the stitching? I have no clue as I'm not a Firebird guy, but in the above pic, the back seat has a front-to-back stitching, while the front is flat. Is the above picture correct? Just a questions since I don't know.
I am kicking myself because a few years back (Ok its been 8 years) I found a local junkyard that had a set of Recaro seats in a TA... they were beat up, but all there... I should have grabbed them... I wanted the more common GTA seats at the time, plus the Recaro seats would not have been appropriate for an 87 (I thought)... I regret my decision to let them go... just like I regret the decision to not grab a pair of almost perfect GTA molded door panels in an 87 Formula for $10 for the set... I did not have the time that day... I came back a week later and someone slashed the crap out of the panels to get the door windows out... I was bummed..
Back to the topic.
What is the difference in the seats that (85 T/A WS6) has pictures of and Simo has pictures of? I am not seeing it, both are Palex...
BTW, the 26 number is for the L69, not the Recaro seats.
There is additional stitching along the length of the seat inserts. Here is a leather version from my friends 84 Recaro T/A, you can see the stitching. It seems perhaps the upholsterer may have not had any info on the 85/86 seat and duplicated the previous version.
I once had an additional Recaro set, was going into my wifes 85 L69 WS6 T/A but I would up selling both
I see. the 1.25" vertically spaced pleets are "incorrect"? for all years? or just 85 & 86? I want to remember that the Mustang also had a recar seat option, were they the same seats?
There was no Recaro Editions in 85-86, just the option to have the seats - RPO AS5
The seats were included under RPO B20, thats all that would show on the sticker. They were available on all 85-86 Firebirds, but from what I have seen all are in Trans Ams.
I have tried to get numbers from Recaro, how many seats shipped to PMD but no luck, they didnt have the info. Some box in PMD storage with old purchase orders to Recaro is where the answer is.
Those seats are close but not stock simo, good score though. Those have been reupholstered as you may know already. There are gaps between the graphite and camel pallex and the grahpite insert has the old stich pattern from 83 and 84, and they murdered the headrests, at least the netting is still there.
Here is how a 85/86 seat should look, no gaps , square corners, and straight bolsters.
Not my car, but an example from my archives. You see the dark spot on the drivers left bolster in last pic, this spot is the first to go, it wears out as people tend to drag across this when they get in and out of the car. Also sun kills the seats and most birds have the T-Tops so that compunds the problem. The Pallex just didnt hold up to the wear and tear.
These seats are a pain to restore, there is always foam to be replaced and to be done correctly, the original fabric patterns must be un-sewn and copied, you just cant make the patterns up.
The 85/86 WS6 cars are kidney busters, very stiff, the AS5 should have been mandatory with W6S, you really need these seats to keep you in place
An 86 AS5 would be a nice find, they are still out there, rare from a survival point IMHO.
Cool pictures.......
I didn't care about originality since they are going in my TTA as a place holder until I can get a set of 83/84 Recaro seats reupholstered in the TTA leather and patterns late next year.
The 85/86 Recaro's were sewn like the 15th seats.....except the rear seats are flat like the Recaro's.
Pictures to follow...........
I think it is the Year One catalog that has a 25th Anniversary in it with white leather Recaro's. I do plan to put Recaro's in my 25th in 2012.
The 85/86 Recaros also did not have the piping on edges of the seats as the rear seats do.
The cloth Recaro's seem to do better with wear and tear than the leather ones.
The piping and leather get destroyed from the belt loops on pants getting in and out when wearing jeans and not slacks.
I know some car manufactures will not honor any seat claims when the owners tend to wear jeans but will cover it if they wear slacks.
The gaps in my new seats are from the way they attach as they do not use hog rings as my DT500's and 15th's do to secure the center back insert to the seat frame.
It uses two plastic channel pieces that interlock, one along the back edge of the seat insert and one on the underside of the bottom portion of the top of the seat.
Pictures to come when I have some time.
I have seldom seen any one who can reupholster the head rests correctly.
The patterns do need to be traced out from the original seat material as I don't think a pattern exists.
It would be great if someone would do a pattern and digitize it and sell them. Maybe next year when I get the other set of Recaro's reupholstered.
I'm new to the forum and looking for help.
I have recently purchased a 1986 Trans Am. The RPO label has been removed from the console. The car is untouched original. No rust anywhere with original paint. My questions is this. I think I might have something here. It has 305 tpi, recaro seats, factory rear louvers with 1985 rear spoiler. Does anybody know where I could find a build sheet on this car? Is there anyway to find out what this car has for options? I would like to get all the RPO codes that my car has and make a reproduction RPO sticker and place it back in the console.
I just
picked up another set of recaro's in excellent condition. After researching and finding your thread, I have determined they are out of an T/A 85-86. is anyone interested in them. I was going to put them in one of my euro cars but since the are original unrestored and from a T/a thought maybe someone would want them. I paid a pretty penny for them.
10-31-2009, 04:17 AM
