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What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 4:25 pm
by verde
Iv noticed finding E21 parts especiall interior stuff is a complete bitch compared to the E30s. I was wondering what fits apart from e21 ones. I have the chance of a 2002 rear bench for EG. Would this fit? Iv been told the E30 rear benches fit but they dont, iv tried with 2 different spare e30 benches

Do e30 seats fit in the front? comfourt or sport?

Similar period recaros like out the old fords/golfs maybe??

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 4:40 pm
by e21-Mark
E30 rear seats are too wide. 2002 rears fit though. The front e30 seats can be modified to fit, but are higher than e21 seats so you'll lose headroom. You can fit 2002 seats though. E24 Recaros will fit up front and you can mod the rear seat to fit, but needs a fair bit of work. Most 70/80's Recaros will fit so long as you have e21 runners.

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 5:30 pm
by verde
Ah thats cracking news then. Well il grab that 2002 rear bench as its free. I may be taking an interior off drilla but failing that i will look into sports seats out an E30. Im actually quite short ( 5-10/11 ) so head room isnt a huge issue.

I might try the sports seats out my E30 in to see.

I knew the e24 ones would fit but theyr just as rare and expensive and being 20 i dont have the ability to plough too much into seats. As always, the advice is hugely appreciated, thank you :)

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:06 am
by jls7
The most common way to fit e30 seats (from what I've seen) is to cut out the seat brackets and bolt the seats straight to the floor.

Also, as far as I know, all reclining (not fixed back) Recaros have the same bolt pattern underneath, so you can use any of them if you have the e21 brackets. I have some much more recent Recaros (they look identical to the e21 ones only no extending leg part) that I picked up cheap, and installed them with the e21 brackets.

I don't know of any European sources for the brackets, but I got mine from http://www.2002parts.com/bmw/e21-recaro-seats.html
(about $100 USD plus $50 USD shipping to Australia for me)

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:34 am
by trash-berd
verde wrote:Ah thats cracking news then. Well il grab that 2002 rear bench as its free. I may be taking an interior off drilla but failing that i will look into sports seats out an E30. Im actually quite short ( 5-10/11 ) so head room isnt a huge issue.

I might try the sports seats out my E30 in to see.

I knew the e24 ones would fit but theyr just as rare and expensive and being 20 i dont have the ability to plough too much into seats. As always, the advice is hugely appreciated, thank you :)
I'd be careful with the height of your seat. I'm 5'11" and when I swapped to my cobra daytona's (They were on sale and my stock frames were trashed) my ride probably increased an inch and a half or so, but it was definitely enough to notice. Although my head is still fine, my rear view mirror gets in my vision now and its very frustrating

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 9:39 am
by e21-Mark
It can also change the way your cars feels when the seating position is higher. It might only be an inch or so, but it feels much higher!

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 10:46 am
by verde
I tried an e30 sport seat in there ans can now see what's what. When you say cut the seat bracket do you mean off the e20 swarm ie the little feet or actually out the cars floor pan

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:38 pm
by jls7
I meant the metal pieces attached to the floor underneath the carpet. That way you don't sit up too high. Apparently they're just tack-welded on so easy to remove.

I hope I'm allowed to post a link to another forum here (if not, I apologise) but I was reading this the other day:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh ... ?t=1757170

Re: What seats fit E21s

Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:40 pm
by jimbob
I had e30 seats when i bought my first 323.the previous owner had used 2 inch piece's of
Pipe as spacers to mount them.you could do the same if you didn't want to chop
Your mounts