Z3 DIY - How to replace your entire interior

[2kredz3]

i never commented. . .but damn dude that looks sweet!

[Gibber66]

Gibber,

The bracket on the dash unit is just under the vents above the center console. At realoem.com on the I-panel with co-driver airbag diagram it is the bracket above item # 9.

This diagrams show the dash unit as one piece. Man, I do not want to remove the entire dash for a simple cowling swap. I just don't know !

If the dash will not disassemble beyond the cowling piece and the surrounding piping trim then I know the I-panel/dash is one piece.

Thanks again for your help.

Mike

Yeah, I'm sorry Mike. Since I replaced the entire dash, it never occurred to me to see if I could break it down further. I do know there are folks out there that sell covers for the gauge cluster cowlings, not as a replacement, but as a cover. Then, BMW sold Z3 with an optional two-tone leather interior that included different colors between the cowling, the dash itself, and the passender airbag section...so there's bound to be a way! Keep us informed.

Cheers,
Gibber

[Gibber66]

i never commented. . .but damn dude that looks sweet!

Thanks!

[driversl]

Wow, great post. That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. My Coupe's interior is tan and I now I see its feasible to swap it. So Gibber...you still in AL? I tried to contact the Bimmer club guys without much avail. Any club activity in the state still..meets?

[Gibber66]

Wow, great post. That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. My Coupe's interior is tan and I now I see its feasible to swap it. So Gibber...you still in AL? I tried to contact the Bimmer club guys without much avail. Any club activity in the state still..meets?

Yup, still in AL. Unfortunately, not aware of any Alabama BMW or Z3 club...and I've searched. I'm somewhat active (online) with the www.clubbimmer.com group that's in Georgia. They're in the process of getting a whole bunch of Bimmers together to break a Guiness world record in April. Check it out!

Cheers,
Gibber
P.S. glad this thread was of help, let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems.

[MANUYC]

Awsome I Want To Take My Dash Apart So I Can Re Suede That Whole Dam Thing. Nice Combo Int By The Way.

Thanks For The Detailed Work

[Gibber66]

Awsome I Want To Take My Dash Apart So I Can Re Suede That Whole Dam Thing. Nice Combo Int By The Way.

Thanks For The Detailed Work

No worries and if that's what you're planning on doing, take a look at this thread. Might give you some ideas.

Cheers!
Gibber

[bmwz328]

Looks great. Definitely you had a lot of time on your hands. Wish I had the same patience and dedication but I do as much work as I can. Tell me...how hard is it to re-upholster the door panels? Where did you get the material to redo them? I just changed my seats and now the door panels does not match and I would rather do those myself. Hate leaving my car somewhere and have them take it out for a joyride.

[bimmerZ5]

nice job!! i think it would have been easier to find the car in the color you wanted in the first place though...

i'm sure it wasn't cheap to get all those interior components. how much did the project run you?

[rjcoston]

Good for reference. Thanks.

[pipiyangtw]

Thank you very much for your sharing. =)

[Gibber66]

Looks great. Definitely you had a lot of time on your hands. Wish I had the same patience and dedication but I do as much work as I can. Tell me...how hard is it to re-upholster the door panels? Where did you get the material to redo them? I just changed my seats and now the door panels does not match and I would rather do those myself. Hate leaving my car somewhere and have them take it out for a joyride.

Nah, honestly not enough time...but I wanted to do it. I generally work 6 to 6 and then need to hang out with my wife and four kids, so most of the work got done 10 to 2 in the morning. You CAN live off 4 hours of sleep for extended periods of time.

There are a number of threads out there on re-upholstering the panels. It wasn't terribly hard to do and I got the leather from LeatherZ (Andy Maddox from LeatherZ contacted me on my post for Bimmerfest.com making me a great deal).

I am extremely pleased with the result and can't stand not to drive it every day!

I'm sure LeatherZ can help you out with the material. Evergreen's not a common color, but it was a perfect match for my seats.

Cheers,
Gibber

[Gibber66]

nice job!! i think it would have been easier to find the car in the color you wanted in the first place though...

i'm sure it wasn't cheap to get all those interior components. how much did the project run you?

Yeah, well, to my knowledge, I haven't seen too many Boston Green Z3s (discontinued color) with black accented interiors running around. Besides, I would've missed out on all the fun!

Frankly the most expensive part were the seats (near perfect condition, heated, sport-seats). They ran me ~$800 shipped. For the rest of the interior, I got a great deal from someone I know who parts out Z3s. I gave him parts from my interior in trade and paid about $150-200 for the difference. Only other item of expense was the steering wheel (yeah, I know, haven't put that into the thread yet...don't worry, I'll add it soon enough). That cost me about $400 shipped from Germany with airbag. So, all told, I guess I would estimate ~$1400 all together...but I can only guess how much I would've paid in labor costs and if I got the parts from the dealer (original seats from the dealer are ~$3500 each).

Cheers!
Gibber

[Gibber66]

Good for reference. Thanks.

Thank you very much for your sharing. =)

Thanks fellas!

Cheers,
Gibber

[MCOUP]

Gibber66,

I seriously cannot thank you enough for being the first one posted the instruction!!! I have done this twice and everytime I really need to print your instructions out!!!

I am good enough to get the whole thing done in about 4 hours now, I guess practice makes it perfect

I am doing it the 2nd time now and always think that the centre console takes out most of the labour time for me.... anyway...

I would like to add and make changes to your instruction just a little bit and also add some photos on to this to give back to the Z community

Here you go with those photos and my notes....



cheers,

richie

[MCOUP]

More photos and notes

[MCOUP]

More and more...

[MCOUP]

last few...

BTW, I will not put everything back until middle of next week (my memory better serves me right, so I can still remember which screw goes where)... so if you guys want me to take any photo of the dashboard.... please let me know and I will do that for you guys!!!

Does anyone know how to remove the ciggy lighter from the shift panel??? I seriously don't want to break that panel though.... please help me out here!!!

Also... since my seats are still in, but both driver and passenger airbags are out (battery is disconnected).... I really want to get the back panels out, but the seats are all the way back... do you think I can connect the battery back for just 1 min, so I can move those seats forward?

Thanx in advance!

cheers,

richie

[Gibber66]

Nice add-on Richie!

Cig-lighter should pop right out from bottom up (any time I put a power adaptor in, I have to be careful when I pull it back out or the whole cig-lighter assembly will come out...lol). Obviously, usual rule-of-thumb: never force something if it seems it might break.

As to seats, I suspect you might be able to reconnect the battery to move the seats...but with the airbags out, you're likely to get an SRS failure light in the dash. If you have a SRS reset tool, may not be a significant issue. If not, it'll cost you ~$100 to get it reset at the dealer. Oh, and be mindful of the belt-tensioners (depending on your seats).

Finally, would love to see the end result...more pics!

Cheers,
Gibber

[MCOUP]

Gibber... Thanx mate!!!

I have the SRS tool.... so shouldn't be an issue then

As for the belt tensioner, I think I might have one (not too sure)... but the panelshop never seems to have any issue removing or installing it though... BTW, I am not taking the seats out... just need to move them forward

Are you able to tell if I have belt tensioner from these photos?





Thanx mate!

cheers,

richie

[ken_vs_ryu]

i'll drive down to alabama and watch you do this to my car.

[Gibber66]

WOW!!! Those are beautiful seats! Did you get them re-upholstered? The actuators for the seat belt tensioners are the little black "canisters" at the base of the seatbelt receivers (bottom right side of the second pictures) and normally have a black zip-tie at the contact point.

Yours look similar to mine, so I think you'll be okay as is. However, take a closer look and see if there's some sort of "notch" to arm/disarm the actuator. If there is, then obviously "disarm." ...man, those are nice seats. Well done.

Cheers,
Gibber

[Gibber66]

i'll drive down to alabama and watch you do this to my car.

How about I talk you through it and I watch?

[MCOUP]

WOW!!! Those are beautiful seats! Did you get them re-upholstered? The actuators for the seat belt tensioners are the little black "canisters" at the base of the seatbelt receivers (bottom right side of the second pictures) and normally have a black zip-tie at the contact point.

Yours look similar to mine, so I think you'll be okay as is. However, take a closer look and see if there's some sort of "notch" to arm/disarm the actuator. If there is, then obviously "disarm." ...man, those are nice seats. Well done.

Cheers,
Gibber

Hi Gibber,

Yes, got those seats re-trimmed about a month ago... I could see a black zip-tie from the side, however there is no notch at all... so I guess I don't think to do worry too much then

Thanx you once again!

cheers,

richie

[Gibber66]

Excellent...obviously, make sure you reconnect with battery disconnected.