Period-correct seating options?

[Das Delfin]

Cabrio front seats work in a coupe except that the handles to move the seats forward are shaped differently. Also they don't recline as far as coupes. The rear seats will def not fit at all.

I went with ninestitch - great work and good business sense. The best combination.

There's another guy on here - Stitched - who does seat recovery as well. He seems to have good product but is somewhat finicky when it comes to getting info about your order.

I would avoid the ebay guy on all accounts. Materials, customer service, price, etc

You could also do vinyl bolsters and cloth centers. I went with vinyl outer bolsters and cloth centers and inner bolsters. Same price as all vinyl but much better to live with. It was an OEM style (just not for my convertible) but really if you're going to spend lots of money on seats, just do them the way you want them

Downside of having a kit made is it takes a few months to make. Upside is it's quality work for way way cheaper than an upholstery shop. And you're supporting the e30 small business community.

[tak7]

Seattle Craigslist always has multiple e30 sport seats. Close to budget, no affiliation or knowledge of them outside of seeing the ads.
Corbeau has a couple options as well.

[htx_e30]

Cabrio front seats work in a coupe except that the handles to move the seats forward are shaped differently. Also they don't recline as far as coupes. The rear seats will def not fit at all.



I went with ninestitch - great work and good business sense. The best combination.



There's another guy on here - Stitched - who does seat recovery as well. He seems to have good product but is somewhat finicky when it comes to getting info about your order.



I would avoid the ebay guy on all accounts. Materials, customer service, price, etc



You could also do vinyl bolsters and cloth centers. I went with vinyl outer bolsters and cloth centers and inner bolsters. Same price as all vinyl but much better to live with. It was an OEM style (just not for my convertible) but really if you're going to spend lots of money on seats, just do them the way you want them



Downside of having a kit made is it takes a few months to make. Upside is it's quality work for way way cheaper than an upholstery shop. And you're supporting the e30 small business community.

Damn I want that setup. Pm'ing you for details haha


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[EthirtyIS]

That looks so sweet, it came out great. I'm glad you went with the cloth on the inside of the bolster, I personally like it much better. Great job on the install.

[Vincent Brick]

Forgot about this thread. That red looks great! I really love red/cardinal/etc in E30s, could never do it with my Calypso though.

Here in SoCal it is VERY hard to find sport seats at all. You can buy freshly recovered sets on Craigslist for $900-1000, or from a guy with a small damp warehouse full of mostly original ones in various conditions mostly with rusty tracks. I think that's where mine came from, presumably he had a hookup to get them out of some junkyards. I NEVER see E30s with front seats in the in yards here.

So since I posted this post I did get a set of sport seats, but am not completely happy with them. Got front seats from '87 is, original black vinyl centers and headrests with freshly redone side bolsters, along with a late 4dr headrest rear seat and a spare tan pass seat rear panel for $375 which seemed fair, I just wanted nicer and would have paid a little more for it. Biggest problem is the drivers seat rocks real bad and I can't figure out how I am supposed to fix it. I have inquired with upholstery people and they don't seem to know anything about the frames, not even the guys who specialize in BMW stuff.

Not sure what to do about my rear, I have the sedan seat with headrests in it now, and have grown to like the headrests especially since they cover the ugly modern 6x9s added by a PO. I want to put my nice '83 euro rear seat back in, but I don't think I want to cut it up for headrests... Thoughts from any of yas?

So yeah, I got sport seats, but still trying to find something better without paying a ton.

[Das Delfin]

if the seat rocks back and forth when it shouldn't you can just replace the seat frame. Some of the mounting tabs get broken off over time. It's not a huge deal to swap the frame. Just a few bolts

[EthirtyIS]

Vincent brick, if your having a problem with your seats, you can shoot me a text or gimme a call. My number should be in my profile or on my website.

[Vincent Brick]

if the seat rocks back and forth when it shouldn't you can just replace the seat frame. Some of the mounting tabs get broken off over time. It's not a huge deal to swap the frame. Just a few bolts

Nothing is broken, its actually just se4ms like the pivot points for the height adjustment and forward told (rear seat access) have worn large or out of round, that is where the movement seems to be in comparison to my passenger seat. Are you saying that is a separate piece from the where the foam and upholstery attach that I can easily swap out?

Thanks for the info.

[Das Delfin]

You can take most of the seat apart. So you have the seat rails at the bottom. Then from there on the front are two arms about 4" long which attach to the seat bottom (the part with the upholstery). On mine what causes the rocking motion is one of the arms has broken where it was welded to its attachment on the seat bottom. Then at the back there's another arm or something (I wasn't focused on this so it's a bit hazy)

But you might try lubricating any moving parts first. Mainly the latches etc under the circular plastic piece on either side of the seat where the backrest meets the seat bottom.

Now I'm thinking.. there is a metal tab which holds a bolt hole which is used to attack the seat back to the seat bottom and that tab is prone to break off, which could be your problem

This is that tab


Which you can make out here next to the shock


Actually this page is a great guide for taking apart your seats and figuring stuff out

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82306

[cbouchez]

I'm in the same boat - waiting for a nice set of sports seats to come local or at least in ok shape.

[piwko98]

Hey Guys -

Do you think these seats are salvageable? The driver seat is in worse shape than the passenger and it has some serious rust on it.

(Don't mind my kid trying to help me out the other day)

[Vincent Brick]

You can take most of the seat apart. So you have the seat rails at the bottom. Then from there on the front are two arms about 4" long which attach to the seat bottom (the part with the upholstery). On mine what causes the rocking motion is one of the arms has broken where it was welded to its attachment on the seat bottom. Then at the back there's another arm or something (I wasn't focused on this so it's a bit hazy)

But you might try lubricating any moving parts first. Mainly the latches etc under the circular plastic piece on either side of the seat where the backrest meets the seat bottom.

Now I'm thinking.. there is a metal tab which holds a bolt hole which is used to attack the seat back to the seat bottom and that tab is prone to break off, which could be your problem

This is that tab



http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82306

It is at the bottom of those two 4" arms, where they attach to the rails with those expanding dowels, that is where my rocking issue seems to be. I tried swapping the expanding dowels from one of my other seats that didn't rock and it didn't help the problem. I already had to deal with a broken back rest tab, found it was broken as soon as I tried to install them (wasn't too happy) but had a buddy weld it up and that is solid, though there is a minor rock from the seatback that feels like its in the hinge. I removed/cleaned/lubed my recliner hinge mechanisms when I first got the seats too, those are good from what I can see except for the typical blown struts.

Really they aren't bad for as old as they are (came from an '87 325is), but they could be better.

[Das Delfin]

Aww bummer. I'm pretty sure you can swap out the entire folding mechanisms. At this point what else can you do?