bmwe21.net forums

Hi everybody,
I'm very happy to participate in this forum and glad to be a new member.
My name is Oliver, I live in France and own a september 1981 323i. This car is black, totally genuine and in a very good condition.
I own it since 15 years.
I have a question : my car is genuinly black, the interior anthrazit but my rear shelf panel seems light blue !
Is it the genuine color of this part (maybe faded by the sun and years), or do you think this part doesn't fit my car. It can have been replaced by the precedent owner.
I thought the rear shelf panel for an anthrazit interior must be ...anthrazit (number of the part 51461886242).
What do you think of that ? If you have a 1981 black 323i, I would be very intersted by your answers.
Have a nice day. Oliver

Welcome Olivier! From where about in France are you?

I guess that a lot of e21's are tempered with over the years. Changed interiors, different wheels etc. I've seen a lot of black cars with beige (pergament) interiors.

Can you post some pics of your interior? If the seats and carpet are black or antrazit, then the shelf should be as well.

Hi uwbuurman
I live near Clermont-Ferrand, un the center of France. If you come near this area, don't hesitate to visit me.
Her's a pic of my interior. It was genuine anthrazit and these days, I'm changing the old seats for Recaro E21 seats. There were in bad condition, but I've found the genuine anthrazit E21 cloths and the simili in USA.
The seats and the rear seats too are now in a upholstery manufacturer, and I'll give pictures when they will be finished.

Welcome here Oliver. I would say the parcel shelf should be Antrazit but it might have lost its color over the years, especially under the influence of sunlight. Aren't these these available new anymore? I sold one recently and it really was close to charcoal. Otherwise a dye job with cloth paint may be an alternative.

Hi Jeroen,
Thanks for your wishes of welcome. I think this part is still avalaible. The number of part has been changed and its name too. The shelf is called now "grey/black" instead of "Anthrazit".
The number of the part seems to correspond with the old ended number.
But, unfortunately, no pic of this part is avalaible from Walloth. I will order it and it will be... the surprise !
It seems the shelf should be anthrazit when it's new, like on this photo.

Or the dealer, may even be cheaper...

Yes and it's avalaible at BMW too.

I actually ordered german weave from a local supplier and had my existing one retrimmed. As Jeroen mentioned, the blue colour is probably a result of sun damage. Spraying can work, but the material itself also weakens and I like the thought of a new rather than refurbished cloth. If you're interested I can dig out the supplier. I actually sold enough to a forum member as I had some left over. It imagine it will be almost identical to what it looked like new.

Before - blue and faded


New German square weave in anthracite



close up - nice texture and great quality

Nice!!! Now all we want is a pic when installed