Chrome Seat Rail Trim

Antar

Antar

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I have been wondering for a few years now but the Left and Right seat rail chrome trim is a piece that is broken or missing from many E9 coupes. This piece would seem to be a great candidate for reproduction in aluminum or some other light weight metal that can be polished. These pieces are originally made of a plastic material that easily breaks when either sliding your seat back and forth or when being removed. I am sure we as a group would be able to offset the cost of having a batch produced. I have attached a copy of the part from a link from ebay for further clarification. If I had the time and or skill, I would do it myself. Just wondering if anyone has reproduced these parts before.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-BMW-3-0...ies&fits=Make:BMW&hash=item3cd2ec71f3&vxp=mtr
 
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I believe a member from the 2002 forum , Ebay user name "Rimspoke" had a set or 2 that he made and sold on Ebay. This was probably 6,7 years ago.
 
Thanks all. I actually have a replacement set, which I will install after I get my body and paint work done hopefully this fall. I was just thinking it might be a good candidate for reproduction in aluminum instead of plastic.
 
I think there was another thread going on this recently where someone was going to take a crack at making them in metal again. Anybody know what became of that effort ? or what the link to that thread is ?

TIA
 
BarryG sent me some samples from his coupe several weeks ago and I have confirmed they are exactly the same as the ones I took out of the rotted out 73 Bavaria I scraped over a year ago. After looking at them I’m 99% sure I could duplicate them in 24 or maybe 26 gauge polished stainless. I even have a way to roll the edge on the thin stainless so it looks like the radiused edge of the thicker original plastic parts. Polished (not brushed finish) stainless will look very close to original parts and will not require the constant polishing the suggested aluminum would.

My only problem right now is finding the time to do these. I just spent almost 4 months gutting out & installing a new shower / whirlpool where I live. Because of that I’m behind on promised customer work and taking care of my 90 year old mother eats up a lot of my time too. I’d like to say I should be able to get to these before the end of the year but I know if I do, there is the possibility of me disappointing people. Right now I’ve got a ton of stress in my life with my senile mom so I don’t want to make any time promises I can’t keep :oops: but I am sincerely interested in doing these and I have the equipment in my shop right now to do the job. ~ John Buchtenkirch
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John
There is nothing more important than your mother at this time. The BMW was there and will be there again.
She needs your love and help in her final time on earth. The BMW doesn't.

I say this because my mother passed away 2 years ago, and I miss her everyday!

steve
 
Stainless

I had a friend make a set from stainless and then polish them. I'll ask him if he's interested in making any more.
 

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    Coupe Seat Rail Side 1.JPG
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Wow those are very nice seat trim rails that you won't have to worry about breaking. That is what I had in mind. Also, looks like you also had the seat rails cleaned up. Thank for posting these Doug! Please Let us know if your source is interested in making a few more of those.
 
DougE said:
I had a friend make a set from stainless and then polish them. I'll ask him if he's interested in making any more.
Click to expand...

Was your friend able to do the rolled edge on the sheet where the 2 corners are rounded off ? If he can then he should take on the job because it will be a month or two before I can get to it. I have 2 possible ways to make the corners look just like the original part which is the challenge or the fun part of the job for me….. I’m thinking both will work but you never know for sure till you actually make a piece. ~ John Buchtenkirch

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John Buchtenkirch said:
Was your friend able to do the rolled edge on the sheet where the 2 corners are rounded off ? If he can then he should take on the job because it will be a month or two before I can get to it. I have 2 possible ways to make the corners look just like the original part which is the challenge or the fun part of the job for me….. I’m thinking both will work but you never know for sure till you actually make a piece. ~ John Buchtenkirch

View attachment 8793
Click to expand...

no, john, you can clearly see in the photo there are straight angled corners, not rounded
 
Got a set from Walloth!

Just wanted to post the set of the plastic chrome rails I received from Walloth. Really fast shipping and they even sent me a E9 notepad as a gift! Also, when is the last time you saw an actual signature on a receipt? Love the German efficiency and thoughtfulness. Quality seems ok but I haven't installed them yet. Anything special I need to know or are they just bolt on?

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