BMW M3 e46 rear seats GM A body

[Lickity Split]

Sorry if this has been covered before but I haven't been able to find very much info about BMW rear seats. Anyway I picked up a set of M3 front seats and I couldn't help but notice how minty the rears were from the donor car. I didn't have a tape measure with me to use but is it feasible to put the rear M3 seats in my 71 Olds Cutlass hardtop with minimal work? I know the preferred rears would be from a GTO but I live in Canada and they are few and far between, cross boarder shopping is an option but our dollar sucks and shipping is expensive... In addition it would be nice to have matching fronts and rears.

Thanks.

[chuckd71]

I'd imagine you could put most anything in there but I'd think the hardtop would be a fair bit wider than the convertible. Could you take your seats out and drive the Cutlass over to the donor car and try them out?

[Lickity Split]

Unfortunately no. There's still snow on the ground here and the donor car is at a wreckers who refuses to remove anything from the car without a down payment. I had hoped to make it down there today with a tape measure but it didn't work out on top of that the inside of my olds is stacked to the roof with parts that are waiting to be able installed so it's a pain in the arse to dig everything to measure it up but it looks like I'll be doing that tomorrow. If memory serves me I seek to remember the bench being something like 41" wide. The bmw seats do look narrow but I don't know if you can make up the difference somewhere or if I'm just looking to open a can of worms.

[chuckd71]

You can make up the difference with back seat side bolsters from a car with fold down rears. Many will have centers that fold while the lateral aspect stays in place, just go to a yard and look for a car with leather seats to pull from. I was going to use some from a volvo but have decided to go a different route. If you are using black seats then it's cake to dye any leather you find to match.

[Lickity Split]

Thanks Chuck...I've also have been eyeing up a set of G6 GT vert rears. Another question I have is how many people here have utilized shoulder belts in the rear seats? Because my kids are common passengers I'd like to keep them as safe as possible also. It seems feasible with convertible rears since the belts appear to go into the trunk area instead of the retractors in the rear pillars.

Any comments anyone?

[chuckd71]

There's this approach - http://www.chevelles.com/forums/26-interiors/328096-thru-deck-rear-shoulder-belts.html
A few others out there. My concern with this would be the angle at which it comes over the shoulders, the last thing you'd want is to stop them from flying forward by crumpling their discs like an accordion. As long as their shoulders aren't higher than the deck panel or wherever the belt comes out it shouldn't be an issue though.

[Lickity Split]

I agree, I'm not crazy about mounting the retractor to the wheel house for a bunch of reasons, I was thinking more along the lines of reinforcing the package tray frame or building some sort of brace/frame/bracket thingy that would bolt up to the package tray frame and the trunk support behind the rear seats.

[csouth]

Any of those seats would require some work on your part; GTO, G8, M3. There is a member that put G8 rears in his Chevelle. The mounting points are the same, so you just need to decide what you're prepared to do for the install on whichever seats you choose. If its a fold down seat, it might make securely mounting more difficult.

[chuckd71]

I have GTO seats in mine, install couldn't be much easier; the rear seats themselves could be held in with paperclips or duct tape as long you have seatbelts mounted in secure places. No idea about G8 or M3 though, but yeah the fold down seats themselves I might avoid (depending on how they latch in place, if they are are one contained unit it'd probably be easy), the stand alone-side bolsters some of them have might be useful to take up space laterally if needed.
I have a convertible so my options are a bit more limited, but I'm thinking about using a couple of these with the shoulder part originating from the center instead of the sides (no room on sides because of top frame). http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-02-CAMARO-Z28-SS-LH-REAR-SHOULDER-SEAT-BELT-NEUTRAL-/390291705449?hash=item5adf32ce69:m:mBlaogaqJs4WCoI frSinXIQ&vxp=mtr
Once I get home in a few months I'll have a better idea of what needs to happen, but I'm hoping to do the belts at the same time as the linear actuator that tilts the rear seat forward.

[cdrod]

LickitySplit:
I'm building a '72 Cutlass/442 ragtop and looking to do them same as you. I picked up some BMW convertible seats out of a 2005 M3 which have the integrated shoulder belt in the fronts (this is the main reason I bought them). I think the rears can be made to fit but will likely require the bottom frame and foam to be reshaped and the cover re-sewn. The Olds bottom cushion is more square whereas the BMW seat bottom has rounded corners.

Here are the dimensions of my Olds cushions: bottom is 49"w x 21"d x 7" h, back is 48"w x 24"h x 7"d.

[Lickity Split]

Great info here, thanks guys. After reading everyone's posts it seems as though the good ole GTO rears will be the way to go. I guess I was hoping to hear about more people putting in the M3 rears since I have access to a really clean pair for pretty cheap. Good points about them not really being shaped square and needing some very heavy modifications which I'm not really prepared to pay for and the fact that they are fold down. Maybe I should just focus on how to get a set of GTO seats across the boarder for a good price!

I suppose if they were that easy there would be more people having matching fronts and rears.

[chuckd71]

I wouldn't think the mods would be too hard, might just be cutting out some foam, pulling the material tight and re-hog-ringing it (no clue how to make the hog ring into a progressive conditional verb). Rehog ringing? Anyway...
A lack of BMW rears doesn't necessarily mean GTO seats are better, people in these circles just happen to salvage more of the parts from them. If you can get the BMW seats cheap it might be worth a shot, plus the leather would already match. Nothing will be a straight drop in, but nothing about putting any seats in should be especially hard either. One thing to note about the GTO rears is that the tops ripping is almost a given, so buying them does not rule out a trip to the upholstery shop.

[Lickity Split]

Funny you mention that. I just read post after post about the seat tops drying out and poor quality thread letting go.

I'm also trying to figure out how narrow is to narrow? I should be able to measure up the m3 rears tomorrow but they look quite narrow up top and I'm not sure how I would fill in 8-10" gap per side without just stuffing pillows in there. Idk. Find out tomorrow I guess.

[cdrod]

The BMW M3 rear seat cushion dimensions are as follows: bottom is 54"w x 20"d and the back is 55"w x 24"h. I'm going to try to cut down the wire frame and foam so they will fit the Olds. They need to lose about 3" on each side to fit.
Rodney

[Lickity Split]

The BMW M3 rear seat cushion dimensions are as follows: bottom is 54"w x 20"d and the back is 55"w x 24"h. I'm going to try to cut down the wire frame and foam so they will fit the Olds. They need to lose about 3" on each side to fit.
Rodney

Are those measurements from a hard top or convertible? That seems a little wider than I remember them being in the convertible but I also didn't measure them. I hope to see them again today.

[Lickity Split]

Just an update. I picked up my fronts and measured up a spare set of rears they had removed from a different convertible so there is some room for error since they were removed and kind of flopping around on the floor so the measurements may not be exact but close enough...Keep in mind this is from a convertible:

bottom front 51"
bottom rear 46"
bottom depth 18"
top bottom 45"
top top 36 1/2
and I forgot to measure the height

These are not fold downs either so mounting looked fairly straight forward, 2 hangers on either side of the back tops, 2 metal bolt in supports on the bottom back. Seat bottoms also have hooks and there are large square holes for a corresponding "pin" that would be on the floor. After reviewing the previous posts one measurement I didn't account for was seat thickness and how that might affect fitment especially the overall height of it.

[cdrod]

Lickity Split:
I think these rear seats must be from a 3-series coupe because they are wider than that dimensions you've listed in the previous post. The price was right so I bought them to try to fit. They are 5-6" wider than the Olds rear seats so some trimming and sewing will be required. I never thought to check for the drive shaft hump, but it's maybe 2" high at most so probably not a deal-breaker as far as fitment goes. The height of the bottom cushion is about 5.5" inches. I have attached a pic of the rear set I have, maybe that will help someone trying to make a fitment decision.
Rodney

[Lickity Split]

cdrod,

Thanks for the info. Those are coupe seats for sure. The tunnel hump is more pronounced in the convertible seats. Heres a pic of the seats.



125485125484125486

[chuckd71]

Those should clean up well, might even be able to retain the mounts on the back by cutting a slit for them in the car.

[Lickity Split]

Those should clean up well, might even be able to retain the mounts on the back by cutting a slit for them in the car.

Those aren't the exact ones I'm thinking about getting, they are still in the donor car. The guy just had them kicking around his shop and I used them for measurements. They ones in the donor look like they've never seen an arse. They do look fairly easy to mount... I've still been on the fence about them but I think for the $200 he wants for the rear seats and all the associated seat belt assemblys and trim pieces I should just pick them up already, its only money... That I'm quickly running out of... :dunno:

[chuckd71]

$200 seems sort of high, nobody really buys back seats for our purposes and since they are so little-used on average most should be in good shape in wrecked cars. If it comes with every associated thing you might possibly need then perhaps it's a good deal, but it sounds like he's charging a BMW tax.

[Lickity Split]

Don't forget I'm in Canada. $200 CND is $150 US. ?. Either way I'm ok with the price and it's also slim pickings around here, I was shocked to find convertible seats in the first place.

[chuckd71]

Ah, didn't realize that I don't think. Did you get anything figured out with them?