You can also use realoem.com, selecting different model years of E30's (say, yours, and the one the seats are from), find the part numbers, and see if they're identical. I'd be surprised if all E30 seats weren't mechanically interchangeable (possible that every car may not have wiring connectors for heated seats, for instance).
Not having any luck Ok, I messed up and didn't get those seat off ebay. Been calling around and not finding anything under 375-550. Anyone got a link or a lead? Thank!
Have you called all the BMW dismantlers in the back of Roundel? There are usually about 6 or so advertising. Euro Depot, 2002AD, BMW Wholesale, Bavarian Auto Recycling. I would call all these places and keep calling them, they might not have one today, but maybe tomorrow. For a sport heated seat in good condition expect to pay at a min $300. They are very rare, most of which came in the 1988 325ix and 325i cabrios. Any seat from an e30 should fit. I have done swapping in my 84 318i and never had an issue. The cabrio seat stitching won't match the rest of your interior (same for an M3 seat) and the rear seat access lever will be lower compared to the rest of the e30 line. Maybe just buy a junk regular seat for the time being so you have time to find the one in the condition you want. Call your local junk yard to find a regular seat, I bet they might have an e30 sitting in there somewhere. Good Luck.
actually I think the ix has a hump on the transmission tunnel that gets in the way of one of the adjuster levers, can't remember which one though
yeah it does still mount in fine, probably won't even matter unless you're sharing the car with someone who's taller/shorter than you
Still no luck Trying to sell my E30 and not having much luck with that seat broken. Anyone know of one I can buy or where I can do to look?
I apologize I completely didn't see your information above. Sorry for wasting your time on this twice. I appreciate the help greatly. Thanks!!!
Ebay I totally screwed up on that, the day I posted this someone found me a seat on Ebay, exactly what I needed but I got cheap (stupid) and tried to fix it myself. There have been others but they are selling the pair so I will try your idea and if that bombs I will take the hit on ebay. Thanks again.
Solution Think I have the solution. The fabric on my seat is fine. Found a seat with the leather in horrible shape but the rest is fine. Going to be it cheap and them transfer the leather. Thanks everyone for all your help. I will let you all know how it works out.
That shouldn't be too difficult if you have the right tools - like a set of hog ring pliers. While I've never really done any upholstery work, a close-up look at the innards of torn-up sport seats out of the E28 tempts me to try some. That gives you the opportunity to pull all the flammable stuff off and start out by reinforcing the crappy factory welds on the frame that always break. Then, you could go with some nice custom-embroidered alcantara seating surface inserts ...
Not Doing It I know myself well enough to know when I am in over my head. Found a guy that has done lots of bmw seat work and will do this for me for $50-$60. That is worth it to me just to save the time. Given that I found the seat for $50 I can live with that.
Perfect This worked perfect! Total cost for me was $130 total. My old seat had two snapped metal pieces and a set of gears stripped. D@mn glad I didn't try to figure that thing. Project complete. Thanks everyone for your help
