Swapping seat frames
 

I found a good deal on some dove sport seats from a E36 coupe, only drawback is they are electric. Ideally, I'd just swap the cushions over to my manual frames and be done with it.

Does anyone know if it is possible to take the seat pads and leather from electric sport seats and put them on manual bases?

The seats are out of a 1992 coupe which I've read that there was a design change in the frames around 1995. Any idea if that would make a difference in swapping them?

I would be a very easy process to swap the leather and cushions between seats, but the design change from the 92-early 95 seat backs to the later style is not compatible at all...

The early version seat backs "tuck" into a channel which is integrated into the seat back shell. The later version seat backs are stretched onto pointed tabs which are then covered by the shell.

The seat bases are easily interchangeable, however. No real difference in design.

Thanks for the quick reply James. I'm glad to know that the cushions are easily swappable but I'll have to keep an eye out for later versions if I need to swap them.

Seat Swap 91 wagon to 96 ti?
 

Hi guys.
My cousin has a junkyard bound 91 325 i station wagon. It has electric leather seats. My 96 ti has mechanical seats. Can I swap the seats leaving the mechanical operations in my ti?
Also, I'm seeing in other spots that the "ti is its own breed," but is the window actuator, regulator the same in these two? What else can I snag off this wagon before its hauled off to the junkyard?

By the way...after replacing the left trailing arm, the thing handles like a brand new car, mashing curvy highways at ridiculous speeds! I freakin' love it!!!! It only took a year of work and thousands of dollars but who cares, right?

I don't think anything on that car will fit on the ti. The seats, I don't think will even bolt up since the e30 is a totally different platform. The seats won't tilt forward to allow access to the rear seat. Also, I don't think any US ti's are fitted for power seats ie; no electrical connector. I'm pretty sure it uses a different window regulator. About the only thing I think might work would be the rear axles and differential. And even that wouldn't be worth swapping out unless it has a LSD. Sorry dude. Familiarize yourself with realoem.com and learn how to look up part numbers and do cross references. Trust me, it'll come in really handy later down the road.

Thanks for quick answer, thought so. . .
 

Ya, I do use that site for finding parts, just not that familiar with the cross ref section. From a quick glance though it does look like a few little things like window switches and bezel plates might be the same or usable, so I'll still comb it over after studying up some more. . . might pull the emblems, those SHOULD be the same.

I feel like a E30 touring would be snapped up quickly if you posted it on E30tech, Revlimited, bimmerforums, etc. They are pretty rare aren't they?