[DeTomaso] Adding lumbar support for Pantera seats

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

Hi guys,

Everybody knows that Recaros are considered to be the best auto seats in the 
world.   They are normally a tight fit in a Pantera unless the floorpans are 
lowered, because the seat base cushions, and the seat back cushions, are both 
an inch or two thicker than the stock seats.   But they are so excellent, I 
felt it was worth the effort, and had my car modified to accept them comfortably.

I bought my Recaros back in 1992, and at the time, as an option I bought 
inflatable air bladders for extra lumbar support.   At some point over the years, 
the fellow that did the bulk of the restoration work on my car somehow lost 
them, but I wasn't overly concerned about it.

On my drive to and from the Las Vegas Fun Rally this year, I found that the 
shape of the cabin of the car was forcing me to adopt the standard Pantera 
seating position, where your butt and the top of your back are touching the seat, 
but your lower back is a few inches away from the seat back.

I bit the bullet and re-bought a pair of Recaro air bladders.   They weren't 
easy to find, as many Recaro dealers don't even know they exist.   I got mine 
from my nearest Recaro dealer, Griffen Motorwerke in Berkeley.   They are 
actually being marketed today primarily for the Recaro office chairs.   The part 
number for the air bladders is 30807007, and they sell for about $50 each.

Each of them consists of a thick white plastic base, with two bladders 
stitched to it.   One of the bladders has two chambers.   They are linked with clear 
plastic hose to a rubber squeeze bulb, like that used on a blood pressure 
collar.

There are two slots stamped into the plastic base, which engage a pair of 
tabs on the seat back frame.   On the first seat, I actually broke the plastic at 
the bottom of the seat back cushion, which is the only way I could pull the 
cushion away in order to get the photo.   On the second seat, I was able to 
slide the bladder in behind the cushion from the side and hang it on the tabs, 
without breaking the seat cushion mounting.

The plumbing needed a little bit of work.   I had to shorten one of the 
smaller hoses, and lengthen (replace) the single hose going from the “Y” to the 
squeeze bulb so that the hoses would exit the chambers and point down, rather 
than straight out to the side.

I'm happy to report that they work absolutely perfectly.   The squeeze bulb 
is positioned unobtrusively at the front of the seat, where it can easily be 
reached, but it isn't in the way.   The seats are much more comfortable than 
they were before, and the amount of lumbar support can easily be increased or 
decreased on the fly.

Although they are intended specifically for Recaros, these bladders will 
probably work with virtually any kind of seat, and thus I highly recommend them!

Here's some photos:

http://members.aol.com/mikeldrew/RecaroLumbarSupport.jpg

Cheers!




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