e30 rear seat into e21

[pjksutherland]

I've just tried to fit the e30 leather rear seat I bought to go with the recaro fronts I picked up, but am having some difficulty.

I knew some adjustment and fiddling was going to be needed but before I start "modifying" the seat to fit has anybody done this swap before and got any tips?

Thanks.

[e21-Mark]

If you look back thru my thread there's a few posts where I put a leather e30 rear in MIB. The problem is that the e30 seat is a bit wider and the ends are forced to curve away from the parcel shelf slightly. I found that I had to remove part of the metal inner frame work in order that I could get the seat ends to sit further back. Make sure you don't remove the part that hooks onto the retaining tabs though!

It's possible to get an acceptable fit but it'll never be perfect. I had considered making a new parcel shelf panel that extends slightly at the ends to bridge the gap to the seat back. Alternatively, I guess you could even bond the seat back in but that makes it a bit too permanent for me.

[pjksutherland]

Thanks, I remember reading that you'd done the swap too so will go back and have a look at your thread - you're right though, it's not a job that looks straightforward!