IronJoe's back in an e30... 1989 M3!

[IronJoe]

The most obvious upgrade in the interior are the seats.
Before:
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

After:
E30 M3 Sport Evolution interior by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr



I thought a lot about what I was going to do regarding seats. My original front seats were in Ok shape, too nice to recover but not nice enough for what I wanted my interior to look like. I looked into Lseat and GAHH covers, but for a nice full set of GAHH covers I could get a recovered set of Recaro SRDs and a matching back seat leather cover from Jean on S14.net.

The Sport Evo-style interior was a no-brainer for me since this car has a 2.5L, it felt only appropriate. So I went with the M stripe recaros in leather, and sold my front seats along with other tan parts locally.

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


I used Massive's seat brackets to adapt my factory E30 rails to the Recaros and it was a breeze to install.
E30 M3 Sport Evolution interior by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


The rear seats were a different story... this was a tough job. I started by removing the original skins by clipping all the hog rings, removing the rods, and transferring them over to the new seat skins. I didn't get a lot of photos of the process, but it involved a lot of patience in stretching and smoothing the bolsters.
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


Back seat installed:
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Great attention to detail. I've been enjoying following your progress on IG!

[IronJoe]

Wow that is quite a difference from tan to your custom work!

Agree that the wrapped board approach just doesn't look correct.

Great job on the panels Joe, that looks great. Most people don't take the time to do that so they opt for the quick and easy solution but it's all in the details.

Thank you both! I'm so happy this is coming together.

[reelizmpro]

Great job on the panels Joe, that looks great. Most people don't take the time to do that so they opt for the quick and easy solution but it's all in the details.

[Panici]

Wow that is quite a difference from tan to your custom work!

Agree that the wrapped board approach just doesn't look correct.

[IronJoe]

Interior update! I had a lot of fun with this project, as the old tan interior was a major sticking point when buying this car. Now I feel like it's pretty much where I want it, I'll be making a few small changes here and there but this is where I've ended up:

E30 M3 Sport Evolution interior by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


My first job was working on the door panels, I knew I wanted to go with the Sport Evo style Mtech cloth inserts. I've seen a lot of folks simply wrap a board with fabric and insert it into the door panel, but it always looks wrong to me compared to the factory style, which is inlaid behind the vinyl.
See here (not my car, obviously):

Door panel insert example - not my car. by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

vs the real deal:
sport_evo_door_cards by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


So I took it upon myself to cut out the horizontal line sections of a good set of black donor door cards, and got to work:

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr



I sourced replica fabric from Relicate which is super nice and comes with a foam backing, that saved me a tedious step! I carefully traced patterns based on the angle of the Mtech lines using a protractor and several photos from the real thing. EAG's website was very helpful here. I was able to fit everything onto one yard of fabric!

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr



Here's the test of the cloth panel set in, loose. This inlay requires two steps: first, gluing the foam to the carboard backing. Second, gluing down the vinyl edge to the cloth.

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

For the first step I used a foam-specific spray adhesive, taping off the edges of the vinyl so I didn't overspray any glue onto the black part. For the second step, I used Gorilla Glue super glue tape as I was afraid of glue residue seeping out. I am not fully confident about the glue tape so I might go back and redo this with Barge or some similar adhesive. Here's the first panel all done:
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


Finishing the other rear, I moved onto the fronts. Same process.

Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

Fabric inlaid loose, taped off:
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

I peeled back one side at a time, spraying both sides with adhesive, letting it tack up, then pressing down into place.
Untitled by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


Both halves glued down:
by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

And installed on the car:
E30 M3 Sport Evolution interior by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

More to come!

[kronus]

Can I mail you a non-tan one? I can’t find a tan one and aiming to keep my interior original.

[IronJoe]

Nice to read up on this. Wild story on the motor. I remember you trying to figure out WTF was going on in the S14 FB group.

Are you going to be dyeing the rear parcel shelf or finding a black one? I've been on the hunt for a tan M3 one for months..

Yes I'm either going to dye it or recover it in black material. Pretty simple either way and I'm not too crazy about that part being original.

[kronus]

Nice to read up on this. Wild story on the motor. I remember you trying to figure out WTF was going on in the S14 FB group.

Are you going to be dyeing the rear parcel shelf or finding a black one? I've been on the hunt for a tan M3 one for months..

[Donkeyshins]

Not much in the way of updates, but I took my M3 to Griot's Garage for their monthly Caffeine & Gasoline meet this month and it was a good time. I was the only E30 M3 there but there were a good showing of BMWs and a few other E30s.

1458AC4F-7CD9-406C-89B9-D46109C476C7 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


I also swapped out the BMW center caps for BBS ones I had lying around, just for kicks. I'll probably switch them back before show season starts.
IMG_5020 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


Lastly, I'm starting my interior project soon, looking forward to getting rid of the Natur interior altogether. I've never been a fan of tan interior, these front seats have seen better days so I'm using it as an excuse to swap everything over to black. Currently in the parts-gathering phase, fun!
20231030_112027 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

You're in the Puget Sound region? Sweet! We need more E30 M3's up here!

[Mazi!]

that's a beauty!

[reelizmpro]

I'm the same way. Tan interior is nice when clean but easily looks terrible when it's not. Then there is the discoloration that often happens. However, yours doesn't look bad. A nice cleaning and treatment would have it looking fresh again.

[BlackbirdM3]

Wow, nice score. That engine sounds like fun. I have to admit, its giving me ideas for my S14 rebuild.

I wouldn't go any lower on the suspension. You are already close to having the roll centers below ground level.

Will

[IronJoe]

Not much in the way of updates, but I took my M3 to Griot's Garage for their monthly Caffeine & Gasoline meet this month and it was a good time. I was the only E30 M3 there but there were a good showing of BMWs and a few other E30s.

1458AC4F-7CD9-406C-89B9-D46109C476C7 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


I also swapped out the BMW center caps for BBS ones I had lying around, just for kicks. I'll probably switch them back before show season starts.
IMG_5020 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr


Lastly, I'm starting my interior project soon, looking forward to getting rid of the Natur interior altogether. I've never been a fan of tan interior, these front seats have seen better days so I'm using it as an excuse to swap everything over to black. Currently in the parts-gathering phase, fun!
20231030_112027 by IronJoeT16S, on Flickr

[IronJoe]

New wheel looks good.
IMO the M-Tech 2 wheel needs at least a plastic bumper car otherwise it looks too "new" for the chassis. M3 works even better!
Agree that the 370mm feels just right. Stock steering rack in there still? What's the lock-to-lock on an M3?

I have the H&R / Billy combo on my E30 and E36 328i.
I increasingly feel like the Billy Sports (now called B8s?) are valved too aggressively for the soft H&R Sport rates.

Actually switching the E36 to a set of Koni STR.T in the near future to try and get some more comfort.

I agree with you about the Mtech 2 wheel... to me they feel much more "90s" than what belongs in an '80s BMW. In fact I didn't originally want one, I wanted a 370mm Mtech 1 wheel which I had for the M3 cabrio tribute project but had to sell it before enjoying it. In the end, the thicker hand grips won out, and I wasn't about to pay $1000+ for a used steering wheel so this deal was the way to go.

I re-soldered the connections for the horn contacts in the pad and it's a little better, but I think I'll need to come up with a better solution long-term. Two of the three horn contact "spring" plates are cracked which makes for intermittent horn activation, which in my opinion is a safety item and needs to "just work". More to come on that.