E36 OEM Upholstery Cloth

[Radvlescv]

Hi all,
This is my first post here. I recently bought an 1993 318is Coupe (Euro spec) and I'm endeavoring to put it back in shape; one of the (many) issues is the cloth door cards which sag as expected. Buying another set doesn't look like an option, as cloth interiors are uncommon and unloved, and existing ones are equally decrepit. I scoured the net for some original upholstery cloth, but had no luck so far as the item is said to have ended production (it's the 0383 Anthrazit by the way). Surely someone had the same issue and decided not to go the easy way (i.e. leather conversion)? If so, please share any possible source of original cloth or at least something similar! Me being from Yurp might not make it any easier, but I might take the plunge if it's what I want (prices here are crazy anyway). Many thanks!

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[JDStrickland]

Here comes the Stupid Question...

What does the local upholstery shop have to say? They do this sort of thing for a living.

[Radvlescv]

Here comes the Stupid Question...

What does the local upholstery shop have to say? They do this sort of thing for a living.

Sadly the "regular" shops do not supply anything similar as everyone wants leather, alcantara or other such frivolities (also it looks like old school cloth doesn't meet silly fire standards anymore, go figure...). True restoration shops are pretty rare here, hugely expensive and not really interested in making the effort as E36s are not "classic" yet. In the end I might look into something similar from the E21/E30 line, but I still hope for the real stuff...

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[johnf]

If you find some cloth, it may be a challenge to match the shade of the existing upholstery that has been exposed to a couple decades of sun. Anthrazit fades.

[Radvlescv]

Yeah... I don't afford to be a shade nazi, it will have to do.

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