Interior changes
- Thread starter RichenFamous
- Start date
They are recovered e21 Recaro’s. I believe they were reupholstered in Marine Blue (very close match to the original interior) by Aardvarc Racing some years ago by previous owner, I picked them up a few months ago. I’d like to get Dave and team do redo the back seat in the same vertical pattern.
Love the Nardi, right diameter and wheel thickness for me.
I fell into the collect as many cool parts as possible and now I have the cars to put them in, so it’s been fun.
Love the Nardi, right diameter and wheel thickness for me.
I fell into the collect as many cool parts as possible and now I have the cars to put them in, so it’s been fun.
Oh man, I really like the look of those in the E3!
Thanks! @StephenZ
Passenger seat is in!
As well as the @RTHLSS1 polished stainless seat rail covers. Due to breaking one original. Needed to twist the stainless slightly to match the original, but installed easily and look great.
Dare I say one small project complete?! Should’ve cleaned the seat rails up, but that wasn’t on my punch list for the day and I suffer from mission creep something fierce. Guess I’ll add seat rail cleaning to the list.
Passenger seat is in!
As well as the @RTHLSS1 polished stainless seat rail covers. Due to breaking one original. Needed to twist the stainless slightly to match the original, but installed easily and look great.
Dare I say one small project complete?! Should’ve cleaned the seat rails up, but that wasn’t on my punch list for the day and I suffer from mission creep something fierce. Guess I’ll add seat rail cleaning to the list.
Attachments
Sharp! Good to see pics of the carpet around that area...when I put mine back together, I'll all the reference pics I can get! I'll also note to be very careful with the plastic covers there...
e30strube
Well-Known Member
Great look! Love the blue.
Hmm those do look quite nice. How are they comfort-wise compared to the original seats? I haven't yet driven the car enough (or a long enough distance) to fully decide on whether I'd pull this trigger, but at least on first assessment there is clearly a difference in comfort between the stock seat in the E9 and the stock seat in my E39 sport...
And while the pictures are good, in real life as you look in the car, do these seats look "out-of-place" or do they blend in and would only be noticed by someone who knew what stock seats look like?
And while the pictures are good, in real life as you look in the car, do these seats look "out-of-place" or do they blend in and would only be noticed by someone who knew what stock seats look like?
My daily is an e39 540 6 speed. In terms of support and comfort, there is no comparison between the original e9 seats and the e39 sport seats. Moreover, for either the e9 or the e3, once you know what the stock seats look like, there are no other seats that "blend in." Even period correct aftermarket seats like mine create a much different look.
Looks like you and I both love the E39 seats. I would assume (perhaps incorrectly?) that since these are Recaro seats, these E21 would be somewhere in between? Anyone who has done longer distance driving on these vs the stock want to comment?
i'm not a huge fan of the e21 recaros. had them in the last 2002 ... better than stock 2002 seats but not by that much. i much prefer the e30 sport seats which are basically the same as the e24 + e28 sport seats ... but some of those had power where the e30 were manual. haven't tried the e39 seats.
Original seats were completely flat and need to be reupholstered = not comfy. Cost to reupholster was 2x what I paid for the Recaro’s, so that’s the route I took. Since so many 2002 guys (me included) run them, I think they do have a look that fits the e3. I’ve seen them in coupes as well and think they look great. Most comfy? No. Comfy, supportive, great look, and than what I had, yes! Especially with the leg extender, must have. I am saving my Scheel 400 seats for the coupe.
I had e21 sport seats in my 2002 and I thought they were great, but did not do more than 150 miles at a time with no real long stretch, mostly canyon and around town driving. Versus nice reupholstered stock seats, not sure. Versus 40+ year old stock seats, no comparison, a night and day difference in my butt and backs opinion.
Agree with e39 sport seats are fantastic, had them in our e39 touring; 1000 mile trips were no issue in that car.
I think this is an important point when thinking about the seats you want to put in an older BMW. I drive my car to events. When I was in DC, five hours to the Pittsburgh Grand Prix or to the Vintage or to Sharkfest were things I did regularly. Doing that in the stock seats was uncomfortable. If most of your driving events are fairly close to where you live, or if you trailer your car to events, stock seats can work and as I noted earlier, they look great.
I guess as can be expected the older the seat the more “original” it may look while not having quite the comfort. I think that the E21s shown here look good, and if I were to go this route I like that they seem readily obtainable from Aardvarc, albeit at some cost for new leather seat. I’d also need to ensure that their red matches my interior. The later model seats start to look much more modern on the sides with more plastic levers, large covers, etc. But good to know that there are choices
A really skilled upholsterer can rebuild stock seats from the frame up with varying types, grades and densities of foam. This can result in a way more comfortable seat that looks original. Not cheap but the best of both worlds.
Also good to know. And while costs always vary (by a lot) what has been your experience for such a build. It looks like I could often find a beat-up pair of seats for under $1k or order a completely finished set in leather for $3k. Is that $2k difference anywhere in the ballpark of a complete seat rebuild, custom, etc? This is a world I haven’t ventured into at any point
With really goood hides I would budget 2-3x that. Big difference with factory made seats or kits and custom. But the custom look entirely different if done correctly. Most of the pictures guys post here of their kit or home upholstery jobs look awful. Upholstery is really hard to be great at.
for seats alone, you probably need 3 hides ... the average hide (50-55 sf) is 500 to 600 bucks. sure you can buy some cheaper, but some are much more. you just want a automotive or aviation quality leather that will hold up to U/V. then there is the labor and just doing the seats will probably cost you 2k to 3k ... you have to do the seats + 3 rear arm rests. if you do door / side panels, then you need another hide or 2 and more labor.
I used four hides for seats, rear arm rests and door cards. Some hides are less than 50 sq ft and will have imperfections that are not usable.
Custom upholstery gets expensive very quickly. We have a few really good upholstery shops here in Sacramento and I was quoted $2k if I supplied the covers. When the Recaro’s popped up for sale on the 2002FAQ, sellers price helped make my mind up pretty quickly which direction I wanted to go. If they didn’t quite work out in the e3, they’d fit well in my 2002.