1st I'm going to sort the leather out on my drivers seat so I'm going to take it out and give the full treatment, as it's a daily car,can I put the passengers seat in its place.
2nd the stiching on my rear seat has split apart,between the headrests.I asked a retrimer and he said it could be done but he'd have to take the leather off the foam and restitch.The stiching is the quick part of the job,my question is how much of a job is it to take the leather off the foam.In other words could I do this and get it restiched and put it Back on.
A couple of seat question's.
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ah
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Born on the 23 April 1990 320i Alpinweiss ll kabriolett! (SOLD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN !)
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
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Seats can be swapped over - move the seat belt stalk to the other side.
It's a good idea to swap the seats from side to side in any newly acquired E30 - it evens the wear out by putting the less used passenger seat on the driver's side, and moves the most worn outer bolsters to the inside. For a permanent swap, the lever mechanism on the hinge point, and the non lever one on the other side, can easily be removed and swapped between the two seats.
Removing the leather/cloth from an E30 seat is laborious, but not difficult.
It's a good idea to swap the seats from side to side in any newly acquired E30 - it evens the wear out by putting the less used passenger seat on the driver's side, and moves the most worn outer bolsters to the inside. For a permanent swap, the lever mechanism on the hinge point, and the non lever one on the other side, can easily be removed and swapped between the two seats.
Removing the leather/cloth from an E30 seat is laborious, but not difficult.
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Blitz
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I would leave it to the trimmer. Apprently its a horrible job to take it apart.
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pacerpete
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Drivers and passenger sport seats can be swapped over BUT all your control levers will now be on the inside and against the tunnel making them very difficult to operate. OK for an emergency but not an ideal long term solution.
The reason the stitching splits at the top of a convertible rear seat is that the leather hardens and shrinks. From past experience (I have done LOTS of these) if there is any more 5mm gap between the two pieces of leather, it will rip again when the cover is refitted after being restitched. Soaking the area with leather conditioner and covering with cling film ,may help soften the leather sufficiently but don't bank on it
To remove the back rest cover is pretty straight forward, all you need is a pair of side cutters and a flat blade screw driver. Refitting is the reverse but you will need some hog rings and a hog ring tool , and LOTS of patience !
The reason the stitching splits at the top of a convertible rear seat is that the leather hardens and shrinks. From past experience (I have done LOTS of these) if there is any more 5mm gap between the two pieces of leather, it will rip again when the cover is refitted after being restitched. Soaking the area with leather conditioner and covering with cling film ,may help soften the leather sufficiently but don't bank on it
To remove the back rest cover is pretty straight forward, all you need is a pair of side cutters and a flat blade screw driver. Refitting is the reverse but you will need some hog rings and a hog ring tool , and LOTS of patience !