Seats

Another small update, but progress is progress so I'll take it. Wish I took more photos of the brackets specifically, but I suppose they aren't much to look at. I started off by restrapping the drivers side seat. Mk2 VW Recaros use a sling style support under the cushion to hold you up. My drivers seat sling had fallen apart, and was poorly repaired. I converted it over to this sling style support using the stock hardware. Let me be the first to say, holy shit this sucks to do. The actual metal bars it sits on are pretty flimsy, and these are obviously very strong elastic, so it kept bending the metal supports. Eventually I figured out that if you start at the bottom and slowly work your way up the hooks, it is a little bit more manageable. I only did this on the drivers side, because the passenger seat was in tact, and I really didn't feel like struggling with it again. 

Nice and firm, but a pain to install

So the interior is actually due for a lot of work. The previous owner had started converting over to a red/black color scheme. I think it would have looked pretty good finished, but it wasn't for me. I'm not sure who chose to do the rear and passenger seats in Brown/Green, but I think it looks horrible. The drivers seat is mismatched, and with the red carpet the whole setup is an eyesore. 

So many colors, so little coordination

The actual installation of the Recaros wasn't difficult (once I figured out what I was doing). I used the Aardvarc Racing Recaro seat adapters. For any other 2002 owners out there, most Recaro seats from this era use the same 16" base. Just measure the distance between the hardware that holds the OEM seat rails on, and you'll know for sure. Because of this, I was just able to use an adapter that is typically used to mount E21 320is seats in. 

Also, it's worth noting that if you buy the Aardvarc kit, you'll need to buy new shorter hardware to bolt the adapters on. The stock bolts are too long, as they compensate for the bulky stock rails. You'll need 6 M8x1.25 bolts, ~20-25mm in length. 

Driver's side in, looks better but not great

Passenger in

So far, from my brief test drives with the seats, I love them. They sit a little bit higher then I want, however I find that the added bolstering and real support has transformed the car for me. Eventually I plan to get these reupholstered. So while they aren't the prettiest for now, they do serve a functional purpose. In my head, this also kind of fits the narrative of the Neue Klasse cars. BMW had wanted to make a family sedan that you could take to the racetrack on the weekends. Well, if you need bucket seats but don't want to upset your significant other too much, what better way to do that then some plush Recaros? So I'd call this a great success. 

Side note, I had started to install the braided brake lines this weekend but ran into disaster. Turns out 45 year old hard line is typically seized and very soft. Ended up rounding off a couple nuts, so I'm scrambling to get new lines in. I was able to get the car back together and limp it home, but it's not ideal.