Interior swap complete....

[GraphicRage]

I just completed an interior swap on my e30 last night so I figured I'd share some pics. Took much longer than I expected (2 weeks) because of the unfortunate discovery of the rusted floor pan on the passenger front due to a leaky a/c drain. It's POR-15d for now, planning on having a new floor pan welded in over the winter since it's off the road then anyway.

So I went forward with the rest of the swap, here's some crappy cell pics. SOOOO much nicer, the seats are awesome (out of an 89 325is). I have a 320i non-s so my seats pretty much felt like springy folding chairs and the rain and snow for a year into the car didn't help matters. They are actually heated too, but I don't have any of the wiring for that and it's only a summer car...

I had intended on making the windows power, but I decided to keep them manual.

All the parts for the swap were found here!!

Before....


After....

[bimmer_E30]

much better

[e30 Luv]

damn, thats gotta feel good. looks way better

[Simon S]

noice !

(i woulda kept it roll-up too.. love the clutter-free way a no-button console looks like)

[silversleeper]

sexy! time for a new sig?

[Sean5294]

looks great!

[metalix1021]

Looks good. Now time for a leather ebrake boot to replace that accordion. ;)

[GraphicRage]

haha Yeah, someone had an mtech one in the for sale section not too long ago, but I missed it, it was already sold. :-( It's on the list!

I've got some bits in the engine apart right now, putting on some new belts this weekend. So once we get some nice sunny weather again, I'll take it out for some new pics!

[metalix1021]

haha Yeah, someone had an mtech one in the for sale section not too long ago, but I missed it, it was already sold. :-( It's on the list!

I've got some bits in the engine apart right now, putting on some new belts this weekend. So once we get some nice sunny weather again, I'll take it out for some new pics!

I bought a set online; ebrake boot plus shifter boot for $40 shipped. I'll take pics if you are interested....

[GraphicRage]

Really? Yeah, post some pics... I already did a swap from the OEM shifter boot to the lighted mtech one piece shifter. I really like the look of the leather handle/boot on the ebrake though...

[87Blue325iC]

If those sport seats are heated, the hard part is done. A wiring harness and switches are easy to install (would have been even easier while you did the carpet - but oh well). The center console should have an outline on the bottom where the holes for the switches could be cut out. I swear by my heated seats - even in the summer for late night drives with the top down. BMW has an OEM E30 handbrake boot (M3 I think) - looks great. I also have the lighted M-Tech shifter knob - love it. Nice work on the car.

[crunk3]

Nice my heater core Just fucking shit on its self and my tan carpets are effed LOL how hard was it getting the carpet back in?

[bignate948]

looks really good

[seth325.i]

how much did that run you? i want to do that myself.

[GraphicRage]

Yeah, I thought about it momentarily to get the wiring harness for the seats, but I was getting impatient. That interior sat in my garage since early March and I just wanted it in. Plus, since I have to pull it all back out over the winter when I have a new passenger floor pan welded in, I figured if I wanted to get it done I'd just do it then... I just want to get out and drive this thing this summer! It was off the road most of last year waiting for my bro to get it running, then it suddenly became his car for a minute... He worked out all the kinks so I don't mind, but I think I put maybe 100 miles on it last year before it had to go away for the winter.

The original carpet in the car had a separate pad, so it was really easy pulling it out. The charcoal carpet has the padding molded to it so it was definitely more difficult getting it in. Took about 30 minutes of massaging it into place. I'm not going to lie, I didn't remove the a/c stuff, I cut around it since it's all not visible anyway under the center console. If you wanted to do it the "proper" way and take out the dash, it's a very lengthy project...

Cost:
I believe I spent $550 and had to drive down to Pennsylvania to get the seats, door cards, kick panels (mine had beige carpet in place of the kick panels), the auto window set up I didn't end up using and a mtech wheel sans badges to replace mine which is rotting.

After shipping which was a tad obnoxious, I spent $175 on the carpet, but it's spotless so I'm glad I did.

I already had black Baur panels but the PO cut out speaker holes on them in stupid places so I didn't use the fronts, but I'm glad I had the rears because it turns out the rear panels are slightly different, with a notch cut out to accomodate the targa top. I could have modded the other ones, but it made life easier.

I do need to still find a Baur type rear deck (no brake light, seat belt attachment or rear defrosters and a couple snaps for the targa cover), but since it's completely covered when the rear is down, not a huge rush. I may end up recovering the one I have.