After years of pondering the idea of getting our hands on an e30 325is, my dad and I have decided its time to start at least looking for one. We decided we would not even consider one that was not a black 1989 (maybe an '88). We live in southwest Missouri so decent examples are somewhat hard to come by in our area. Well anyway… about a day after we started looking, a black 1989 popped up on roadfly just a couple of hours from where we live. It has 213,000?? Miles and has coolant in the oil along with some other stuff. We expect this kind of stuff and planned to put a Metric Mechanic rally engine in it. We have not looked at it yet as we wanted to get some advice first. Our biggest hang up with the car is that it has tan interior, something that both of us absolutely hate. So… have any of you out there completely changed the interior color of your car? Is it way more trouble than it is worth? We are wanting to go with Cardinal red to match my dad's 1987 (the car that brought me home from the hospital) Also, have any of you dealt with Metric Mechanic? Thanks in advance for any and all advice
Swapping an interior is not too big of a deal. A few years ago I bought an 84 318i it was black with a beige interior. Not a big fan of beige interiors either. So I decided to swap it out. I got the black interior from a number of different sources. I was fortunate enough to get the majority of it from a local junk yard. I got the rear leather seat, door panels, rear side panels (two door), and rear deck trim for $75.00. I was then able to source black leather sport seats from CRs in Carlisle, PA. It then took me about a year or two to find a black carpet, this will be tough to find, at least it was for me. This is also the most difficult part to the swap. The major issue with swapping carpets is that when the car is made the carpet goes in first. Then things like the heater box goes in. This is the issue. It will take a lot of work to get the heater box out. So what I suggest and what most people do, is to cut the carpet around the heater box. This is not a big deal b/c this cut is hidden by the center console. Now if you are planning to gut the car anyway to restore it, then pulling the heater box is not such a big deal. It all depends on how far you want to go. Two other things to keep in mind when looking for a carpet. You can buy new or used. I went with a used one because I wanted it to match the chassis. The aftermarket carpets are not molded like the OEM ones. Nothing looks worse then a loose carpet in a car! I did not check with BMW for a carpet, if they still have them it will be expensive, but it could be worth it depending on what you plan to do with the car. When looking for used carpet, BMW used two different kinds in the E30. Both my 84 318i and my 88 M3 have the padding attached to the carpet. But when I was out looking for carpet, I found a few early 325s with the carpet and padding as two separate pieces. So be sure you are getting the right one if you find a used one. Don't be afraid of very dirty used carpet. It is amazing what a steam carpet cleaner will do! Just be sure there are no rips, tears, burns, or stains. Also handle the carpet carefully once it is out of the car. It tears very easily!! Cardinal Red is a great color. The interesting thing about this color is that I have seen a number of different combinations with it. I have seen the following. Everything red, seats, carpet, door panels. Black carpet, red seats, red door panels w/ black door pulls and pockets. Black carpet, red seats, black door panels. I think my favorite is the second one, I like the contrast between the seats and carpet and on the door panels themselves. Let me know if you have any other questions. All three of my BMWs are Black on Black, okay my M3 is Diamond Swartz, but pretty close! I am considering a MM motor for my 318i, I would also appreciate any feedback. GR
Thanks for the advice. The interior in the car looks to be infairly bad shape. Do you know if i can just have the seats and door reapolsterded? Or do we have to replace everything?
Glad to help! For door cards, I would recommend trying to get used ones instead of investing in refurbishing the ones in the car. Check the back of Roundel for BMW recyclers, you should be able to find what you are looking for. If the door cards are just really dirty and not torn or de-laminating you might be able to dye them black. If you try to dye them red it will probably not be the same red that BMW uses, so it will be tougher to match. For seats again it will probably be cheaper to find used ones in good to excellent condition then refurbishing the existing. If you do refurbish the existing seats, be sure to get someone who has done Recaro seats before. I have seen some pretty badly done reupholstered seats (loose material, incorrect seam locations, bad/poor material match, etc. I have seen seats reupholstered by Aardvark Racing and they looked like they came new from the factory. I would suggest you contact him. http://www.2002parts.com/ He might be more expensive, but you get what you pay for and you won't be disappointed with him. GR
On the cheap, IGGEE makes decent covers for BMW seats. They are better than any other covers, but are still just covers. Damn sight cheaper than cut to fit replacement leather, though.
