My bucket seat replacement project. Warning: picture heavy

[IDriveAnE28]

Now, I'm not 100% sure if this is the right board this should be in but here goes anyways
So I just recently bought the APC racing seat and it didn't bolt right into the E28 seat mount holes so this is basically just a documentation of my solution.

First, remove the old seat. Look at this quality product. This seat has been loved and taken care of, hard.



Second, clean. Also, I have a seat for sale if anyone wants to buy.

Not a professional tailor job but it'll do me.


Where the floor cracked from the previous owner.


The bolts on the seat were exactly 12.25 inches apart from front to back which was helpful but they were 13.5 from left to right which was inconvenient because the E28 holes are 18 inches apart so this was my solution. Probably not the most elegant but it got the job done well
(yes, that is a crockpot on my workbench, fuck off)



This was my solution for bolting the seat belts and the seatbelt clip. I bored out the holes pre drilled in the side brackets on the seat and cut threads into them. (Top Gear Top Tip: Always make sure your thread cutter is the same thread as your bolts!)


Final result. I went for a rambunctious drive and DAMN. This seat is comfortable, cheap, and supportive as hell.


PM if you have any questions or want to know more details. Thanks!

[Clint_McMIllan_95]

are these the ebay seats? i think they are sold as "alcantera with red stitching?" if so, how is the quality of them? you can get a pair shipped to your steps at 230 bucks and ive been tempted to scoop some as replacements to my stock seats. looks good my man

[IDriveAnE28]

I got this at pep boys for $150 plus $50 in hardware. So that's $200 for one but the ones on ebay just don't look as high quality. It's definitely worth it and they look good in almost any car. They're fantastic, 10/10 would recommend

[Jay92]

Wouldn't want to get into an accident with those seat rails. I'd recommend some more bracing and heavier material for safety

[scotto]

Where did you find an APC racing seat, thats from a company that closed almost 10 years ago. They had some of the worst garbage ever made for cars. Their seats were crap on a good day, just get rid of it and get something used that looks better and is actually engineered to be a seat. And the rails will do nothing in the event of a crash either.

[Dudermagee]

I guess that's one way to commit suicide

[IDriveAnE28]

They're sold by Pep Boys... it was a recommendation from a friend who frequently tracks his daily driver. The rails won't bend, I got this same reaction from more than just one person and I considered this when purchasing them. My only real worry would be that the bolts going from the seat to the bracket would pull through and thathrough can be solved with some nice beefy washers

[jazig.k]

Seriously, regardless of whether the seat itself is safe or not, the drilling and tapping of the seat bracket for the belt plug is just stupid.
If you're ever in an accident, that bolt will be put under immense load that a little thin piece of metal was never designed to take.
The bolt would not even have one whole thread pitch actually anchoring it in.
Then the frame work of the seat would unlikely have any hope of holding you back if that portion of thread does hold.

I'm tempted to lock the thread based on that one issue alone... But I've seen stupider things... At least this doesn't risk the safety of the surrounding people like some of the suspension work I've seen.

[filtersweeper]

Wouldn't want to get into an accident with those seat rails. I'd recommend some more bracing and heavier material for safety

I'm gonna have to agree with this guy because 😜 You have the right idea though.

[IDriveAnE28]

I could lock the thread for the seat belt bolts, I could also put a big ass nut on the other side. I did that after seeing how little thread there was going to be holding the bolt. With the nuts on the bolts and tightened down, the seat belts aren't going anywhere

[trm-]

If I'd ever drive an E28 I'd stay classy and banish such aftermarket s***. Get that repair done properly and use period correct parts.

[IDriveAnE28]

I don't know if you've ever driven or sat in an e28 but the comfort seats are absolute SHIT. They're like bench seata cut in half. There's no support and they get destroyed like my seat

[trm-]

I don't know if you've ever driven or sat in an e28 but the comfort seats are absolute SHIT. They're like bench seata cut in half. There's no support and they get destroyed like my seat

I did and I liked it. It's not a race car so I'm fine with that and imho such a classic car should be as untouched and original as possible (mainly speaking of the interior and body) but I know that it isn't easy to find genuine parts in a good shape. At least it should be period correct but these seats are horrible in my eyes.

[IDriveAnE28]

Well its a good thing it's not your car then I'm not going to do TOO much in the way of changing it. I want to do the second seat as well and then do an interior swap to a white e28 interior, that just seems so much more inviting to me. The brown looks terrible. Then I'm going to do an s52b32 engine swap. Bring everything that needs it up to date, new wiring, bushings, mounts etc etc. And get a nice set of coilovers in there and that's that. It definitely won't be a track car. It's going to be my DD for as far into the future as I can see and I want it to be tastefully done and not too much different than it is now. Obviously the engine swap is a big part but the interior and exterior I plan to leave as untouched as I can

[Jay92]

I'm wondering why you decided to use square tube with a bunch of holes in it. That will fold in half if you ever got into an accident.The seatbelt mounting is also sketchy. Look at how the aftermarket seat brackets are made. You would never see that material used. I'd really suggest making something out of 3/8" flat stock at least. Not trying to give you a hard time, just trying to prevent you from flying out the front window when the seat breaks off the floor pan.