My project (http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/bmw-3-0-csi-being-restored-in-ireland.25097/) is progressing well... A colour has been decided upon, and it will be contentious for some.... By way of a quick recap, the car that was purchased was red. It had a makeover in the UK in the late 80's when it was painted red. It's original colour as confirmed by BMW is Ceylon. The wife (who the car is actually for) has decided that she wants it in Nacht Blue. So, I am considering that to be a closed chapter, Nacht Blue it is.... The interior also needs a make over, it's currently in black cloth... It looks like I am going to have it done in tan leather. Question is, do I go with a bespoke job by an upholsterer or do I buy a kit for a more guaranteed outcome. World Upholstery are quoting $3,650 (EUR3,355) for seats and door cards front and back to include headrests and the section between the rear seats. The car is not going to be a daily driver and I am definitely not paying any more than this for the job. Below is the intended outcome. As always, I'm interested to hear peoples thoughts on my plan, perhaps specifically on any merit there may be in having a bespoke job done. For the record, I am advised of a cost of EUR500 + materials for a bespoke job in Dublin, Ireland which sounds way too cheap to me...
Interior dilema
- Thread starter Ian_fegan
- Start date
I don't remember which year your coupe is but 74 seats are different, bottoms are longer.
i would save up and get the leather you'll never regret it.
the look and feel cant be beat.
the look and feel cant be beat.
Keep looking here for a complete interior- it might be less expensive for one from a parts car that needs to be redone, thinking you could get away with half the cost and it might look better after it's restored. Just a thought..
Rek
Well-Known Member
It sounds very expensive. Try asking what the labour only fee will be and source the leather from UK Hides.
Thanks for this, the existing seats are pictured below. From what you can see in the picture, do you think the covers are wrong for my seats?
Yes, committed to putting leather in it. Both options mentioned in my post are for leather...
Presumably it is the $3,650 option you are referring to as expensive? This US company provide seat kits, no option for me to provide them with material...
Other option is labour for €500 and me supplying leather hides. Interested to hear peoples experiences of having bespoke work done....
I haven't really considered this, as I figured that it might take years if indeed I ever found a suitable interior. I also have a 1982 Mercedes SL500 with a navy mbtex interior which I would love to replace with a blue leather interior. I have been looking for years but have yet to find a suitable one. Needless to say, there are a lot more SL's out there than there are E9's.
I think that given your location, it could in fact take years. I haven't seen many cars under $15K with an interior that is read-to-go. The rear seat maybe, but the front seats not so much. Most are just completely ragged at the parts-car price point. Now, if you are willing to roll with an early e24 set of seats, it is much more likely that you can find something on the cheap. Also, you can spray your door cards tan if you wish.
First - I do like the color combination of Nachtblau and tan. I had a '73 from 1975 to 1981 that was that exact combination (the leather had a pigskin look to it with small indentations as hog hairs leave when pigskin is tanned). Having liked that car so much is the primary reason I bought my '74 two years ago.
I too had the interior color dilemma, as my car originally had medium grey interior with Konig front seats. I wanted it original. I too had the dilemma of 'kit vs bespoke'. I suggest you ask for samples of leather from Leather World, GAHH, and ask the bespoke guy for a sample of the leather they would use. I did the same. I was not happy with the quality of the Leather World sample, and thought GAHH was significantly better. But, I ended up with 'custom', as I have a friend about 500 miles away who is in the business of leather renewals in classic German cars. He uses only top level automobile leathers. Very pleased with the result on my OE front and rear seats (I re-dyed the rest of the interior to match the new leather). It probably cost a few hundred dollars more, but I know it will last far longer than I will be living.
Good luck with your continued project.
Gary
I too had the interior color dilemma, as my car originally had medium grey interior with Konig front seats. I wanted it original. I too had the dilemma of 'kit vs bespoke'. I suggest you ask for samples of leather from Leather World, GAHH, and ask the bespoke guy for a sample of the leather they would use. I did the same. I was not happy with the quality of the Leather World sample, and thought GAHH was significantly better. But, I ended up with 'custom', as I have a friend about 500 miles away who is in the business of leather renewals in classic German cars. He uses only top level automobile leathers. Very pleased with the result on my OE front and rear seats (I re-dyed the rest of the interior to match the new leather). It probably cost a few hundred dollars more, but I know it will last far longer than I will be living.
Good luck with your continued project.
Gary
Ian, the picture is helpful, what I would do (again this is me) would be to remove the front and rear seats and take them to a good upholsterer and have the horse hair mess removed and new foam put in and re-covered in leather, I think that would cost about 2K US. Then I would do the door cards yourself, since the seats will probably take a few weeks. If you take your time and follow DeQ's instructions you may find it really rewarding. I like stock, but using fresher materials can add to the comfort and no one here will share your secret. I had very good quality marine carpet sewn like the stock pieces, mine is a 74, and it's what I like and no one ever says "that's not correct", well maybe SF Don, but that's another story. Many of us do engine and transmission upgrades as well as suspension work. Many folks here I believe like to keep the e9 "looking" stock, but in 40 years comfort technology and engine management technology has advanced quite a bit.
And please put that steering wheel on the proper side of the car!
And please put that steering wheel on the proper side of the car!
Simufly
Well-Known Member
Seem expensive to me. I got my front and rear seats plus rear arm rests and centre arm rest superbly done for £2.0k What is your chassis number BTW.
door cards that bad? If not, they can be dyed professionally. New ones only come in black and must be dyed anyways.
i completely agree on the leather from GAHH is much, much better than anything from world upholstery. have you looked at pix of deQ's dark blue (not positive if it is nacht or atlantik - sorry Jesus) with the blue / warm gray light interior. do a search on deQuincey's door panel refinishing ... i think you will find more pics of his interior.
my guy guess is biscuit ... cinnamon antique is also nice. before you make a decision try to find a good vinyl paint for the door pulls (such as SEM color coat) .... and see if you can find one that is close
I presume by yours and other contributors references to spray painting the door cards that this is a necessary part of the process? What parts of the door card can I replace with new leather and what parts are to be sprayed?
I think the point is to reuse your door cards to save money. You can redo the horizontal stripes in leather, but the pattern up top is vinyl. If you are very careful you can separate it. They are 'welded' together.
Also, you will likely need to wrap the arm rests in leather.
You can easily re-dye the leather or vinyl to a different color. Actually, the original color in almost all leather and much vinyl is actually a paint. Many places in the US and Europe sell leather dye. Lots of info in the internet about how to do it. I actually ended up using a procedure I found on a Ferrari web site to dye several seats in various Porsche's I've owned (greatest change was from very dark brown to very light grey). I've dyed the door (and rear seat) panels in my current e9 from medium grey to the same color as my new seat leather - essentially a MB Bamboo. I've used products from Leatherique, Leather Magic and Color Plus for re-dyeing automobile leather.
Gary
Gary