Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

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RobTFC
Joined: Mon 29 Dec, 2014 14:23
Posts: 40

  M roadster S50

Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by RobTFC »

Hi everyone,

After deciding to keep her long term, I'm currently in the process of improving my Montreal Blue '97 2.8, getting jobs done and making improvements I've been meaning to do over the years.

I've had some success, I've managed to fit roll hoops using trim from e-bay (had my iPad with Robert T's knowledgebase post open with me the whole time!), bought a pair of used blue leather sports seats which are on their way, and due to the fact the bodywork is rusting in the usual places and I don't want to be chasing rust forever I also have a set of new sills, front and rear wings on their way from the dealer and am booked into a local body shop to have them painted and fitted early next month.

I have a couple of questions however, regarding my plans - firstly, on the seats I've bought the seller was honest and mentioned the passenger seat up/down control is not working, which I realise can be a jammed mechanism but he also stated he cannot even hear the motor "clunk" or engage in an attempt to move. Worst case I imagine I could salvage a motor from my old seats but would it be easier to simply swap the entire seat base from my old passenger side seat? Is this easy or even possible between non-sports and sports seats?

Secondly I would love to have the roof headlining added to my car, as being pre-facelift mine has none of this. I called up the dealer who informed me that the headlining kit P/N: 54310028841 is no longer available from them however looking at another diagram on RealOEM the headlining seems to be also available as P/N: 54318410992. I realise that the true retrofit kit may have additional pieces, tensioners etc. to "make it work" but if that's the case why would the other headlining part show up for my VIN? Is it just a matter of understanding exactly what was in the headlining retrofit kit and ordering the bits individually as you would for roll hoops?

Has anyone got any experience with the above? Thanks for your help!
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by bertiejaffa »

Hi, this might help:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt ... tuck-rails

or this from the dark side...

https://zroadster.org/articles/bmw-z3-s ... emoval.21/

With regards the headlining, my question would be why? I have a Facelift version (with headlining) and an early M (without (I think)). If my belief is correct that the M doesnt have the headlining then I will be honest and say I really cant tell the difference. There are a number of posts on good sort top replacements (croydon soft tops being the cheapest and often used option - see GOOKAHs journal thread.) however, they only fit the headlining from your existing soft top if it has one if I am right - I'm sure someone will be along soon to confirm. Personally, my advise though if you are going to pay £££s for a headling would be just get a new roof from them.

Alternatively, maybe Andy (spursfaninacoupe) has a salvaged roof, and maybe a seat motor too?
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by Southernboy »

Here's the rub...... your 97 model doesn't have a headlining because it doesn't fit... ie you can't retro fit an OEM lining. You may find an auto trimmer who will do a "special" for you though, but no guarantee on the outcome - ie it may have an issue folding down fully. With regards to the difference between having a lining and not having one, I found a big difference in the amount of cockpit noise. A lining reduces the wind noise factor significantly.
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Robert T
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Joined: Mon 12 Jun, 2006 10:35
Posts: 10170

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Cheshire

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by Robert T »

Looking at the page for the retrofit kit, it applies to all Z3's up to 04/99 - i.e. to retrofit the headlining to pre-facelift models. See:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... 4310028841

I don't think there are any differences in the roof itself between pre- and post-facelift models, so I would expect it to be the same headlining, but with a set of parts that allow it to be fitted to a car that has not previously had a headlining fitted. Unfortunately I don't know what parts are in the kit, nor do I know anyone who has fitted the kit.

I suspect the best bet would be to get a complete roof off a car being broken for parts. You can then carefully remove the headlining and fit it to your own roof, assuming that your roof is in better condition than the donor, if not then it might be easier to swap roofs!

Cheers R.

PS Glad you found my guide useful. :D
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
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RobTFC
Joined: Mon 29 Dec, 2014 14:23
Posts: 40

  M roadster S50

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by RobTFC »

Thanks for the responses;

Looking into this further (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... p?t=526040) it appears perhaps the frame on the facelift cars has some additional holes etc. for the headliner which the retrofit version of the headliner works around by taking various "shortcuts" as mentioned in the above link.

Still seems strange that the non-retrofit headliner would come up for my car on RealOEM but then again, if the roof itself has now been replaced with the superceded post-facelift equivalent then I suppose that would make sense.

I'm not desperate for now as I've got enough to be getting on with, but going forward I agree I think it'll be a swap with the roof of a facelift car to get it right.

Robert T - Yes your guide was invaluable thankyou especially since I could not locate the OEM fitting instructions anywhere! (dealer did try but said apparently due to some computer upgrade the older instructions are now lost, and mz3.net seems to be having problems).
Boosh
Joined: Sun 30 Nov, 2014 22:40
Posts: 324

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by Boosh »

Hi, I can't say about headlining, but as far as the stuck seat is concerned, I would've thought that swapping motors would be the easiest option. I've had to go down that route, and found that it took longer to take the seat out than to swap motors over. The spindles disengage easily, and the motor is only held by a couple of bolts. And no need to fiddle with the runners (unless you wish to do the seat bushes while you're there). I would think that swapping motors over would add about half an hour to total time of putting your new seats in.
Hope that helps,

Boosh.
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by bertiejaffa »

...and as there are no posts in the knowledge base for either the motor or the roof then we expect a full - picture heavy - write up for each :wink:
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deni2s
Joined: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 22:02
Posts: 761

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by deni2s »

I have seat motors for sale if interested. I have a pair of standard tanin red seats which I plan to part out, as selling them as whole might be difficult (heavy and bulky).
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kjb1
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2016 11:12
Posts: 238

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by kjb1 »

deni2s wrote:I have seat motors for sale if interested. I have a pair of standard tanin red seats which I plan to part out, as selling them as whole might be difficult (heavy and bulky).
how much for the red seats please?


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deni2s
Joined: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 22:02
Posts: 761

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by deni2s »

kjb1 wrote:
deni2s wrote:I have seat motors for sale if interested. I have a pair of standard tanin red seats which I plan to part out, as selling them as whole might be difficult (heavy and bulky).
how much for the red seats please?


Sent from my iPhone
I am located in Riga, Latvia, so probably you don't want to ship them to uk. But I can try to get the covering off and ship only the leather if you want. PM me your offer. One seat belt guide is removed, because I started to use these seats as spare parts on other car.
RobTFC
Joined: Mon 29 Dec, 2014 14:23
Posts: 40

  M roadster S50

Re: Questions about roof headlining and seat bases

Post by RobTFC »

As a quick update;

Received the sports seats and despite the seller mentioning the controls didn't work, hooking the seats up to a 12V drill battery showed they did in fact work (maybe a seized mechanism knocked loose in transit?) so no need to change the motor or switch! I did put a bit of WD40 on the various hinges under the seat just in case but looking good so far! It does however mean I won't be doing a seat motor swap tutorial (at least not yet!) sorry!

Will look for a decent post facelift roof at some stage to acquire the headlining.

thanks for the help!
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