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Thread: E36 M3 suede interior question

  1. #1
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    E36 M3 suede interior question

    I recently purchased a very clean 95 e36 m3 which comes with suede trim all around. The headliner is completely suede, door panels (front/rear) have suede and the panel below the rear windshield is all suede too. The previous owner said it was a limited edition sway leather option the first owner went with when he bought the car. I tried searching to see how rare this is and couldn't find a anything remotely close to this being available.

    Does anyone know if this was indeed an option BMW offered with the 95 m3?


    Current Stable:
    2016 Cayman GT4
    1995 E36 M3 Dakar Yellow (NASA GTS2)
    1994 E36 325i (AER)
    1988 E30 M3 (Alpine White)

  2. #2
    downeaster1's Avatar
    downeaster1 is offline Expert De-Vanos-er BMW CCA Member
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    uhh...did you unknowingly buy a 95' Lightweight?




  3. #3
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    pictures?
    1997 BMW M3 - Boston Green/Modena

  4. #4
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    No it's not a ltw. It's funny you say that because the car comes with all the ltw trim (molding, glove box trim).

    I'll try to get pics tonight.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I was able to snap some photos this morning. The first 3 are of the door panel and the headliner. The last 2 show the glove box trim and door sill with the LTW badge and carbon fiber.

    If you look at the 2nd photo of the door panel, on the inside of the handle it does have the red/blue ///M stitching. This leads to my next question, did BMW offer the LTW interior package with regular m cars?

    photo1.JPG

    photo2.JPG

    photo5.JPG

    photo3.JPG

    photo4.JPG


    Current Stable:
    2016 Cayman GT4
    1995 E36 M3 Dakar Yellow (NASA GTS2)
    1994 E36 325i (AER)
    1988 E30 M3 (Alpine White)

  5. #5
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    Looks like someone had access to an LTW being parted out or stripped for track duty and slapped the stuff on your car. Those CF components are extremely rare and valuable.

    However I see nothing indicating that your car is a true LTW (plus its the wrong color) and the seude door inserts/headliner was never an option on any year/trim E36 M3. It also looks like its not the real Alcantara but just some generic seude.

    There was no "LTW" interior package. LTW interiors only came in LTWs (and one could argue it came on some earlier "is" models) but it had a different fabric for the seat base and the door inserts were black leather and the roof was standard cloth. See below



    It is really cool to have those LTW bits in your car though. If you paid a "normal" E36 M3 price for the car then you got a very good deal. All the various LTW CF parts, depending on condition, may be worth a couple thousand on their own (the center console is the most expensive). But your car is not a real LTW, does not have an LTW interior by any stretch and was simply reupholstered at some point. FWIW the LTW parts you seem to have are: door sills, motorsport seat belts (may not be LTW specific, but rare and cool none the less), glovebox trim. Everything else is custom.

    Hope this helps
    Last edited by BimmerBreaker; 07-31-2014 at 02:50 PM.

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  6. #6
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    @BimmerBreaker, thanks for the reply. Very informative and answers my original question. If the door panels and headliner are a custom job, whoever did it did a damn good job. Your right this car is definitely not a LTW, its got a sunroof. The door sill and glovebox trim are indeed original LTW pieces. The red belt is actually my Schroth 4pt belts.


    The car is slowly getting converted to a dedicated track car and I wanted to see if I should keep the door panels and headliner just to hold on to them since I thought they were rare. However, I may consider putting them up for sale shortly since I don't need them sitting around my garage. I'll probably hold on to the real LTW pieces for now.


    Current Stable:
    2016 Cayman GT4
    1995 E36 M3 Dakar Yellow (NASA GTS2)
    1994 E36 325i (AER)
    1988 E30 M3 (Alpine White)

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    E30 M3 & E36 M3/4/5
    If you're interested in selling any of the interior parts, headliner, etc., please let me know.

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