race car interior's

[si-]

i know this sort of thing gets asked quite often but im after a bit more detail than just pic's and tbh E30 track prepped interior pic's seem to be thin on the ground but it maybe that im just crap on the internet

basically over winter im going to re-do the interior of my drifter, hopefully a cage will be added aswell, (so long as i have the cash but it WILL have one at some point) but whats needed for FIA and how have people gone about it, what sort of material's have people used any smart wiring solution's etc etc harness mounting in the front?, even little tiny details that make a difference

ill be building this up in my workshop i have metal working tools and welder's etc in my workshop

i know its a bit general but any help would be great

cheers
Si.

[ross_jsy]

Mine is fully stripped. All un-needed wires striped. Wires re-wrapped in electrical tape then those cords you put over TV cables to tidy them up. Bought some sticky back squares which have loops for zip ties through them to hold it all neatly. Sprayed the interior white.

Flocked dash is to come.

I just found it important to keep the wires tidy really. Not much else to it.

[si-]

yeh thats the thing wiring - what do i remove there seems to be lots more wires in the car than there are things for them to go to

im going to paint it but probably after the cage as it can all be done at the same time

[RPM]

On the wiring move if from the sills incase of a side impact

Cover any sharp edges in reach of the driver, cage padding in reach of driver

Harness mounting use the proper floor mounts, and use a cage harness bar

Seat- mine mounts into some roll cage bar under the floor

FX and electrical cut outs, make sure you can actually reach them when in the harness, seen many cars which people have mounted in easy places only to struggle to reach them.

I'll find some old pics of the non safety tarty bits I've done also

[rix313]

Here's some pics of mine.

Seat mounted using standard mounting points on a fabricated 5mm steel base:




Battery cable and loom wires are all covered in plastic spiral wrap to keep them goo free and tidy:




All rather busy but internal copper pipes, extinguisher lines and wires; wrapped and mounted using rubber lined metal p-clips and bolted using M5 rivnuts and M5 cap head screws:






I haven't gone too mad on wiring removal but the looms for electric windows, radio, electric windows etc has been removed. Found the Haynes book of lies was quite handy for working out what's what

HTH

[martinpallot]

Here's mine, I rewired the car from scratch, hence no bmw switchgear or cables running all over the shop. How to do it depends entirely on the purpose of the car. Also remember that you want to build it to MSA regulations and not FIA. Contrary to how it should be and the way people think it works, FIA Reg's are not always treated as superior to those laid down by the MSA. Buy yourself a current MSA blue book and start from there.

[MillRat]

Mine (it has changed a little since this photo, but the general design has not changed),

A pretty similar trend appearing, although I have retained the original look more than martinpallot. Again, like Martin said, it comes down to your requirement for the interior.

Mine has been completely striped as well, the dash removed and all unnecessary wires removed and all remaining wires bundled together using conduit. We then put the dash back in.

Also, a good idea is to re-position the alarm panel to the space made vacant when you remove the radio, or the heater controls. It fits a treat, and has heaps of wire so you do not need to rewire it (that is of course, if you are keeping the alarm panel).



Martin, a question; Does the extended gear lever make shifting easier? I have though about it in the past, but always thought that on a H-pattern gearbox, the extra height would make gear selection difficult.

[si-]

excellent stuff cheers guy's this is the sort of stuff i was after

the more pics and info the better

ill get me a copy of the blue book reg's asap

[Jackflash]

Here's some pics of mine.

Seat mounted using standard mounting points on a fabricated 5mm steel base:






HTH

How hard was it to fabricate the steel base, and if you don't mind me asking how come you didn't just use a Cobra one?

[si-]

ive got custom sliding mounts made up for mine already only reason is that my girlfriend drives it from time to time and she's not 6ft3" like me lol

tbh butchering the standard runners was pretty easy just take measurements from your bucket then use some 1/4 strips across ways then parallel with the runners at the same width as the runner (the measurments you took)

then drill holes and bolt seat in job jobbed

[rix313]

Here's some pics of mine.

Seat mounted using standard mounting points on a fabricated 5mm steel base:






HTH

How hard was it to fabricate the steel base, and if you don't mind me asking how come you didn't just use a Cobra one?

I used Cobra side mounts but if I'd have bolted them straight to the floor I wouldn't have been able to see over the dash Cobra do an E30 specific subframe with sliders for their reclining road seats. They supplied me with the lower half which bolts to the floor. I then welded in 'L' sections to make a square frame and drilled the holes in the the side mounts to bolt to. It's far from the perfect light weight racing design but it works.

[GeoffBob]

... but if I'd have bolted them straight to the floor I wouldn't have been able to see over the dash

Tomato box?

But seriously gents, please be cautious with regard to sliders under bucket seats. In the event of an accident it's always the weakest link in the chain that breaks, and when it comes to a cage, harness and 1-piece bucket your weakest link will be your sliders. Sorry, I don't mean to preach but accidents can happen and none of us want to see anyone get hurt.

[djs325]

+1 on this. Just pulled apart a MINI Challenge car that had direct bolted Recaro seat in it that had been in a major (60mph+ into wall at 45 degree angle). The 4mm steel side mounts were massively bent, but stayed in one piece, and the seat shell remained intact. If that had been a set of sliders with mounts bolted on the side, that accident could have been much worse for the driver.

Solid mount FTW.

... but if I'd have bolted them straight to the floor I wouldn't have been able to see over the dash

Tomato box?

But seriously gents, please be cautious with regard to sliders under bucket seats. In the event of an accident it's always the weakest link in the chain that breaks, and when it comes to a cage, harness and 1-piece bucket your weakest link will be your sliders. Sorry, I don't mean to preach but accidents can happen and none of us want to see anyone get hurt.

[rix313]

Not sure if my description was that clear but I'd just like to point out I didn't use the sliders, just the frames they bolt onto which are 5mm steel and pre drilled to the floor bolt holes.

[GeoffBob]

Not sure if my description was that clear but I'd just like to point out I didn't use the sliders, just the frames they bolt onto which are 5mm steel and pre drilled to the floor bolt holes.

Perfectly clear Rich, no worries. My comment was a general one as I observed the issue of sliders had been raised. It wasn't intended as a direct crit.