Vlad's Interior Upgrade Thread

[tig]

Whew. That was hard work. I now consider myself an expert in E34 sport seats.

My goal today was to transfer one of the perfect bolsters from the 2nd set of seats I got to the driver's seat of the 1st set. This would make both seatbacks from that 1st set primo. As I said before I didn't really grok that the seat's I was getting via Ireland would be RHD; pretty silly I know. But it turned out awesome because it meant that I have two left hand side bolsters that are in pretty good shape.

Here's the 1st set's driver's seat 'before':


Here's the donor:




First step was to take the leather off the LH bolster of the good seat. I screwed up and took the RH side off first (I was focusing on the back of the seat, not the front so didn't notice until I had it off...duh). Good news is it was good practice.



The foam is toast too, so that was transplanted from the other seat too.

Ta-da!


Notice the stitching? I didn't notice until after I'd finished. I didn't notice the 2nd set of seats have exterior stitching on them (while the ones from the later car don't).

Older seats (Europe):


Newer seats (a '95 540 M-Sport I think):


It's too bad. For now I'm just going to live with it. If I decide to recover these seats it'll get fixed (but that seems very unlikely now given how good of shape the leather is in).

I also decided I was going to transplant the bottom center section from the passenger side of the Ireland seats to my new driver's seat. As you can see the leather of the Ireland seat is in better condition.



Tomorrow my plan is to get the set going in Vlad all tidied up and maybe even test-installed (I need to so some wiring work for the seat-heaters and I know I don't have time for that).

[tig]

I also decided I was going to transplant the bottom center section from the passenger side of the Ireland seats to my new driver's seat. As you can see the leather of the Ireland seat is in better condition.

Well, so much for that plan. The 1st set are heated (and I want that bad). The 2nd set are not. Without completely pulling the leather off of the center section; removing dozens of staples, there's no way to transplant the heating element.



I could probably get it all back together again, but I'm sure the leather will not be as tight. It appears the staples are put in with some sort of tool that causes them to expand and I don't have a means of doing that.

Oh, well, the center section there now is actually just fine; the other one is better, but not THAT much better.

Moving on...

[tig]

Driver's seat mechanism. Before.


After.

[tig]

I have the driver's seat all back together. Everything is tested and ready to go.

I spent several hours trying to get the memory module to function. I grounded the potentiometer inputs for the memory mirrors hoping that would fool it, but it didn't. Either the module in this seat of seats is bad or I'm not seeing something obvious. Either way, I'm giving up and just won't have the memory function. No biggie.

Note no memory seat buttons...





I treated the leather while it was apart.

No time to actually install it today...

[tig]

Woo-hoo!

Got the driver's seat installed today. Man, it is fantastic to (a) not driving in a rocking chair and (b) having the more comfortable E34 seats.

From reading other's threads on installing E34 sport seats I knew the factory bolts would not work; they sit too high in the E34 sports seat rails and interfere with the seat moving forward/backwards. ACE hardware to the rescue: rounded hex head bolts:



Also, since the E28 seats have elevated pedestals on the rails that attach to the frame, some washers are needed on the front of the E34 seats to ensure the rails sit above the carpet. I ended up using two per side.



My handy-dandy son did most of the hard work



Tomorrow I'll drop in the passenger seat. Right now I consider the fitting "rough". I have not wired in wire for the heated seats and have not removed the wiring for the E28 seat switches. Also, the center console and e-brake boot that I bought from Mike in Seattle will be recovered.





I love it when a plan comes together...

[tig]

[DMS]

You seem to have the same safety problem I have: the top seat belt mount is to far forward in reference with the seat. What's your view on that?

[tig]

You seem to have the same safety problem I have: the top seat belt mount is to far forward in reference with the seat. What's your view on that?

The seats are pretty far back (all the way?) in these pics.

There's nothing different here compared to the E28 seats.

Mountain out of a mole-hill?

[genzox]

I've been folowing your post for a while, why did you decide to change your seats that were in really good condition to start with? I can understand that the e34 seats are more comfortable however, the new seats to me look worn and tired compared to the originals. Do you plan on getting new seat foam? Or possibly dying the seats?

[tig]

I've been folowing your post for a while, why did you decide to change your seats that were in really good condition to start with? I can understand that the e34 seats are more comfortable however, the new seats to me look worn and tired compared to the originals. Do you plan on getting new seat foam? Or possibly dying the seats?

You've not been paying close enough attention. My driver's seat mechanism was shot and rocked like grandma's chair. It is so bad I don't feel right selling that seat for anything but a pittance.

The leather on both the side bolster and center bolster needed replacing. The stitching on center butt section had all pulled out.

Finally, the E34 leather is a little looser than e28; I don't like that, but other than that, these new seats are in far better shape.

Finally, finally, I wanted heated seats.

And very finally, E34 seats have better lumbar support and are generally more comfy.

[genzox]

makes more sense now. I can't lie the e34 seats are much more comfortable. I have a set of black ones for my rear seats although, they don't quite fit properly even if I've trimmed some of the original seat down. The top part of the seat is sticking up too high. I always thought the standard e28 rear seat didn't look/feel all that nice.

[DMS]

You seem to have the same safety problem I have: the top seat belt mount is to far forward in reference with the seat. What's your view on that?

The seats are pretty far back (all the way?) in these pics.

There's nothing different here compared to the E28 seats.

Mountain out of a mole-hill?

I've similar E34 seats in my E12 and I'm a tall guy. Made a new mount bracket so the seats are at my prefered position low and far back. The problem I've is that the belt is about 3-4 inches loose of my shoulder. I'm renovating the car and was hoping others had thought about this as well. Since you seem quite concerned about your savety I hoped you'd be one of them. But if it's not an problem for you, there is no need fixing it

[wkohler]

Somehow I thought those wouldn't look too out of place in the car. I guess I didn't realize how much bigger they are than E28 seats. Quite a difference. Not a fan of the look, but aaa long as they're comfortable, I guess that's what matters.

[tig]

You seem to have the same safety problem I have: the top seat belt mount is to far forward in reference with the seat. What's your view on that?

The seats are pretty far back (all the way?) in these pics.

There's nothing different here compared to the E28 seats.

Mountain out of a mole-hill?

I've similar E34 seats in my E12 and I'm a tall guy. Made a new mount bracket so the seats are at my prefered position low and far back. The problem I've is that the belt is about 3-4 inches loose of my shoulder. I'm renovating the car and was hoping others had thought about this as well. Since you seem quite concerned about your savety I hoped you'd be one of them. But if it's not an problem for you, there is no need fixing it

I can totally see how that would be a problem for you, especially if you had to mount your seats further back. For me, where I have the seat positioned, the seatbelt is touching my shoulder when I drive.

[Pavel]

The different stitching is called french stitching. It came in the ///M5s. The rear bench gets it too.

The other seats, as you know, are out of regular 540i/6 or M-Sport.

As far as the memory module (not relevant to this swap imo), the cut-off year is '93. Same in the E32. Everything is different even the button for the mirrors. I have a detailed document on the late memory module and wiring.

Just another E34 specialist, here

I like the look - Sherman rocks the same setup including the rears. Very comfortable for sure. E34 sport seats >> E28 sport seats proven by driving both my cars on long trips. That doesn't mean I will changing the seats in the ///M5.

[leadphut]

..

[tig]

I have a detailed document on the late memory module and wiring.

I want that document. Especially if it indicates the resistance values the memory module is expecting from the mirror potentiometers.

[GaAlpinaOwner]

Somehow I thought those wouldn't look too out of place in the car. I guess I didn't realize how much bigger they are than E28 seats. Quite a difference. Not a fan of the look, but aaa long as they're comfortable, I guess that's what matters.

I am not feeling it either Chris....but at least it will be comfortable....

[WilNJ]

I'm not a fan of the loose leather in E34s to begin with, I wonder if they'll somehow look smaller if they're recovered. Cloth E34 sports don't appear as bulky, at least not in photos.

[wkohler]

The seats in my E34 aren't loose. I wonder if its just an optical illusion or something.

[tig]

The seats in my E34 aren't loose. I wonder if its just an optical illusion or something.

The leather is not as tight as the E28s. It's not super loose either, just a little more "bunchy".

This is the ONE thing I don't like about the E34 sport seats and the reason I was originally hell-bent on recovering. The leather on my wife's 135i is done the way I want it. It seems to be a much thicker leather or something. I wish I knew the technical terms for the different way leather is done.

However, I simply can't justify recovering this set of seats. Heck, I can't even justify re-dying the leather at this point.

The 2nd set of seats might make a good donor set for a full recover. But I'm probably just going to sell them as-is so someone else can make good use of them.

[WilNJ]

The seats in my E34 aren't loose. I wonder if its just an optical illusion or something.

The leather is not as tight as the E28s. It's not super loose either, just a little more "bunchy".

The only E34 I've sat in had comforts, but the sports seem similar in that the leather looks to be sewn with gathers or pleats of some sort, certainly less so in the sports than the comforts.

[1st 5er]

They had to design something to give to accommodate the 'murican fat butt.
I'm guessing the puffs and pleats act as those points.

[Dinan e28]

I would buy a perfect e28 sport seat frame for when you change your mind. You seem to have that leather swapping down.
As into your car as you are you probably realize that Chris and all the purest were right. Nice seats just right for an e34 wagon. But I waited tell you put them in your car to comment. They look wrong and red in a red car. Well its your car and I suggest you save all your original beautiful black parts for when you come back around. My 2 cents.

[tig]

I would buy a perfect e28 sport seat frame for when you change your mind. You seem to have that leather swapping down.
As into your car as you are you probably realize that Chris and all the purest were right. Nice seats just right for an e34 wagon. But I waited tell you put them in your car to comment. They look wrong and red in a red car. Well its your car and I suggest you save all your original beautiful black parts for when you come back around. My 2 cents.

I certainly got what I paid for in that comment.

[Dinan e28]

Well I suppose I shouldn't have read this thread, before going to sleep. Because I carried the conversation into bed.
My wife said that ,if you were dead set on customizing your interior. She thought tan and black would look nice, with your red e28. (Yes, I made her look at all the pictures).
Windy's 2 cents.

[tig]

I hate tan interiors. If I ever bought a US M5 I'd rip the Natur out and replace it with black.

Which is why I'll probably never have an E28 M5.

[BimmerSultan]

That's racist.

[1st 5er]

... US M5 I'd rip the Natur out and replace it with black.

BTDT, but due to condition not color;
nearly every piece was trashed in some way or other, and reconditioning it was not in the cards.

[Dinan e28]

Well its settled then black, is much better. Though red is fantastic when it is done right but would not work with a red paint job .