FresnoR
Well Known Member
I purchased the BMW seats off of Craigslist for $100. They were off of a 3-series I believe. I was amazed at just how expensive seats were for the RV?s, and I was determined to find a more affordable way. Included with the seats were a couple panels and bottom portion of the rear seat (do I smell extra fabric?).
Here is the individual seat, in all her glory. Each seat was 60 lbs! Time to go on a diet. So I completely gutted each seat. Ended up with tons of little motors and controls, I could probably sell them on eBay and pay for the seats. The final weight without the Van?s seat backs was 4 lbs. each!
As you can see, they are a bit too wide, about 22 inches, the Van?s seat back is closer to16 inches.
I can dream, can?t I? A bit too wide?
After removing all the foam, I basically used a sewing awl and pinched the leather together along the two seams down the middle. Taking about 1.5? inches off each side for a total of 6 inches of reduced width on each seat.
Next was to reduce the width of the foam, I cut it down the middle and used a little bit of fiberglass which attached itself to the foam well.
I put in grommets on the rear and small bungee cords to wrap the leather and foam around the Van?s seat backs. I had to round off the 90 degree corners of the seatbacks to fit the leather shape, I also fabricated some right angle aluminum brackets to fit the plastic BMW supports for the headrests.
All in all, it?s not too bad. They are extremely comfortable. The headrests are fully adjustable and removable just as they were in the car. It was a very high learning curve as I have never sewn anything in my life prior to this. The holes for the control sticks were especially difficult for me. I am sure if I did it again I could make the leather much tighter and fitting. In fact, I probably could have saved the lumbar airbags, pump and seat heaters if I would have thought that far ahead. I may just keep an eye on craigslist just in case. Heck, for $100 a set, why not?
![5.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F-pedfzetTGms%2FTsSy8FVztGI%2FAAAAAAAAAoQ%2FXrAG0IQ8UFc%2Fs288%2F5.jpg&hash=8cc6a37b3f5f6270504962384fc3cc5b)
![6.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh5.ggpht.com%2F-Ptm5LG77_R8%2FTsSy8UWXG6I%2FAAAAAAAAAoY%2FM4vNDZabObk%2Fs288%2F6.jpg&hash=458a673242893f74e631c99c413eeff0)
Here is the individual seat, in all her glory. Each seat was 60 lbs! Time to go on a diet. So I completely gutted each seat. Ended up with tons of little motors and controls, I could probably sell them on eBay and pay for the seats. The final weight without the Van?s seat backs was 4 lbs. each!
![3.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh5.ggpht.com%2F-sxFBzvLNmbA%2FTsSy7q6OhlI%2FAAAAAAAAAoA%2Fc_YMh1OHVzw%2Fs288%2F3.jpg&hash=095c6e79ebb39313f832b11d8cf3dd86)
As you can see, they are a bit too wide, about 22 inches, the Van?s seat back is closer to16 inches.
![2.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F-3yT3g5Gd_KY%2FTsSy7DeDwvI%2FAAAAAAAAAn4%2FAq122WZREFI%2Fs288%2F2.jpg&hash=9984ce250d3e26893a074e83b5c6214a)
I can dream, can?t I? A bit too wide?
![0.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh6.ggpht.com%2F-sfw_jCy_IxQ%2FTsSy6kWXa3I%2FAAAAAAAAAno%2FAcDNWshGG5U%2Fs288%2F0.jpg&hash=a77f6f2fe7f503639c1b04d16c8d6e99)
After removing all the foam, I basically used a sewing awl and pinched the leather together along the two seams down the middle. Taking about 1.5? inches off each side for a total of 6 inches of reduced width on each seat.
![4.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh6.ggpht.com%2F-I1DczEJyBGg%2FTsSyAVdcvnI%2FAAAAAAAAAng%2F5lVTb87TVuo%2Fs288%2F4.jpg&hash=d45d449f761d70141f106362eeb9c30b)
Next was to reduce the width of the foam, I cut it down the middle and used a little bit of fiberglass which attached itself to the foam well.
![3.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh5.ggpht.com%2F-CxHKzxDSbBs%2FTsSyAJroUhI%2FAAAAAAAAAnY%2Fcs0Cg-1Y55I%2Fs288%2F3.jpg&hash=8fa50fcf7df199647477e2792e117ad6)
I put in grommets on the rear and small bungee cords to wrap the leather and foam around the Van?s seat backs. I had to round off the 90 degree corners of the seatbacks to fit the leather shape, I also fabricated some right angle aluminum brackets to fit the plastic BMW supports for the headrests.
![2.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.ggpht.com%2F-GPqLcqcBR3o%2FTsSx_gAgfCI%2FAAAAAAAAAnQ%2FSYfzRfA9nts%2Fs288%2F2.jpg&hash=b44e3bf994c63c3d16b78ecec95a8c07)
![1.jpg](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F-zf42Hys1Vx8%2FTsSx_fLmV6I%2FAAAAAAAAAnI%2FT4qXjTs2c9E%2Fs288%2F1.jpg&hash=cfa335c762e0375440f0a26b9ba20691)
All in all, it?s not too bad. They are extremely comfortable. The headrests are fully adjustable and removable just as they were in the car. It was a very high learning curve as I have never sewn anything in my life prior to this. The holes for the control sticks were especially difficult for me. I am sure if I did it again I could make the leather much tighter and fitting. In fact, I probably could have saved the lumbar airbags, pump and seat heaters if I would have thought that far ahead. I may just keep an eye on craigslist just in case. Heck, for $100 a set, why not?