swapping interior questions

[LostCause]

allrgiht, i plan on swapping my entire interior this winter, i hate the stock tan interior i have. I was wondering if door panels/rear seats/side pieces(besides rear seats) from anouther bmw would work in the TI, or if only the interior from a ti would work? I"m looking to go full black leather. thanks in advance

[Mallard]

coupe seats will work in the front

Rear bench is Ti only

Door cards and rear panels are Ti only

floormats will fit though.. as long as they´re not from a cabrio

[Philly]

Door cards need some custom fabbing IIRC. Rear seats are a no-go - get the stockers re-covered. Side pieces, no. Front seats, yes - with the correct brackets.

Best bet, find a black interior'd Ti.

[LostCause]

thanks for the fast responces. i have one more question, how about the headliner? i guess the hunt begins for a wrecked ti with a mint black interior!

[Philly]

headliner is a silly question... lol - you could have yours recovered for stupid cheap at almost any upholesty shop.

But for a serious answer, no they will not interchange.

[cooljess76]

IIRC all e36(including Z3) and e46 FRONT seats will fit fine. The brackets are the same if I'm not mistaken. My vaders mounted right up with no problems. The only thing you need to be aware of is that the SRS system must be the same. There's 2 types of seatbelt locking actuators. Earlier models had a cable actuated system and newer models used a pyrotechnic system. The connectors are different. My Ti was fitted with the newer style while my vaders had the older style. So I just removed the seatbelt receptacles from my sport seats and installed them on my vaders. It is very important to disconnect your battery(+ & - terminals) BEFORE unplugging the SRS connectors and only reconnect it after EVERYTHING is hooked back up properly. This will prevent the SRS system from recognizing a fault and triggering an airbag light which can only be reset with a special tool or at the dealer. If you're using a stock radio, make sure you have the code before disconnecting the battery.
Also note, the front seat belt receptacles are armed with an Automatic Locking Tensioner. This device retracts the recepticle about 2 inches in the event of an accident. 318ti's built up to 03/97 use a mechanical auto-locking mechanism(part#'s 72118167711 left and 72118167712 right) while models built after 03/97 use a pyrotechnic auto-locking mechanism (part#'s 72118221013 left and 72118221014 right).

And +1 with philly's response, the Ti headliner is longer than coupe and sedan headliners.

[Mallard]

headliner as far as i an see ..

is only compact

[LostCause]

figured it was a no on the headliner. the front seats are not really a concern to me as i will be replacing them with aftermarket leather racing seats. i'm just stunned the door panels cannot be used from anouther 318 model or m3.

[Philly]

Don't be stunned, the Ti is its own breed. It uses different doors than others 3ers, so it only makes sense that they would not work.

And to elborate more on Jess' point, IIRC, the BASE seats use a different bracket than the SPORT/VADERS and im assuming E46 seats lump into that same bracket.

[cooljess76]

hmmm, my sport seats bolted right up to Bobbak's '95 base. That's good to know info philly, I wonder what the difference is? OP, you'll shave a lot of weight by switching to aftermarket racing seats. OEM seats are heavy, especially the powered ones.

[LostCause]

yes they are heavy, and bulky things to!