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Thread: *DIY E34 Sport Seat Armrest Retrofit

  1. #1
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    *DIY E34 Sport Seat Armrest Retrofit

    I finally got around to fixing the seat twist in the sport seats I bought, installing arm rests and putting them in the car. Here is the DIY for installed armrests from a comfort seat to a sport seat. It is pretty straight forward but hopefully this will make things very clear for people. I see no reason not to do this with sport seats. It is simply a fantastic addition.


    Sport seat v. comfort seat


    With the back panel of the comfort seat removed, and the nuts on the armrest bolts unbolted.




    Here are the seat backs for both comfort and the sport seat. As you can see they are quite different. The cutout on the side is to make room for the armrest. This needs to be done on the sport seat back.




    Here is the inside of the sport seat where the armrest bolts into. As you can see it has more foam in there than the comfort seat.




    Outside of the sport seat vs. outside of the comfort seat.




    Here is what the hole in the leather for the armrest looks like in the comfort seat. Also the armrest is pictured here.




    You need to make a hole just like that in the sport seat to make way for the armrest. I just used a pick and started from the inside and then just cut a opening for the armrest mounting bracket. It needs to be able to slide into that hole so you can then bolt it into the inside. The hole doesn't need to be perfect because it will be hidden mostly by the seat back and also the armrest itself.














    And here it is in.









    You must then get the seat back to fit. So you need to cut a slot in it. Here you can see the measurements and the size of the cut I made to get it to fit. I suggest eyeing it first. But you should also be able to go with these measurements.












    Perfect!


    Last edited by darrenforeal; 12-10-2011 at 12:44 AM.

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  2. #2
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    And installed and AWESOME!






    Last edited by darrenforeal; 12-10-2011 at 01:13 AM.

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  3. #3
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    Nice job!

    Makes me wish I had kept the arm rests off of my comforts when I swaped em out...I do miss those arm rests!

    Also...good looking speaker enclosures!

  4. #4
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    YESSSS!!!! Looks freaking awesome dude!

    E34 - 1992 M54B30 w/DISA - TRM Chip - Vogtlands - Billie Sports - Beyern Mesh 17's w/Conti DW 245/40/17's - LSD 3.23 - Smilies - 35w 5000k - Projector Fogs - Clear Rears and Corners - Euro Trim

  5. #5
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    Nice,

    can you come over to my house and put some in my seats? I need some Nappa Blue arm rests. You can pick those up on the way over.

  6. #6
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    Funny how you sport seat guys want the armrests. I have comforts and can't stand mine. Always up; never use 'em. Anybody who can figure out a way to install some kind of cap over the hole can have mine for the price of shipping. Parchment.

    And great job, Darren!
    Current: '94 MX-6 V6/5 • '72 240Z • '10 Mazda5
    Past: '02 330i/5 • '85 RX-7 GSL-SE • '95 540i/6'95 525i/5'86 635CSi/5 • '88 JZA70 • '86 4K quattro • '85 RX-7 S
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  7. #7
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    Wow, those "finished results" pictures look like something out of the star ship Enterprise.. lol

    It all looks very good.

    Nice choice on the steering wheel too, by the way

  8. #8
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    Did u put the armrest on the wrong side? Some of your pics the armrest is opposite the seat belt, on the door side.

  9. #9
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    Hopefully I can get a mod to move this to the DIY section too.

    Quote Originally Posted by xkaharianx View Post
    Did u put the armrest on the wrong side? Some of your pics the armrest is opposite the seat belt, on the door side.
    No, I put them where they need to be. I moved the switches and seat belts to the appropriate spots. When I bought the sport seats they were two driver's side seats. All that stuff is reversible and can be poached off other seats.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tenrac View Post
    Nice job!

    Makes me wish I had kept the arm rests off of my comforts when I swaped em out...I do miss those arm rests!

    Also...good looking speaker enclosures!
    thanks! Yeah I am a big fan of my door panels.

    Quote Originally Posted by marct335i View Post
    YESSSS!!!! Looks freaking awesome dude!


    Quote Originally Posted by Elekta View Post
    Nice,

    can you come over to my house and put some in my seats? I need some Nappa Blue arm rests. You can pick those up on the way over.
    lol. sure thing

    Quote Originally Posted by BoldUlysses View Post
    Funny how you sport seat guys want the armrests. I have comforts and can't stand mine. Always up; never use 'em. Anybody who can figure out a way to install some kind of cap over the hole can have mine for the price of shipping. Parchment.

    And great job, Darren!
    thanks! And I always loved my arm rests on my comfort seats, so I didn't even try to put in sport seats without them.

    Quote Originally Posted by dantheman67 View Post
    Wow, those "finished results" pictures look like something out of the star ship Enterprise.. lol

    It all looks very good.

    Nice choice on the steering wheel too, by the way
    thanks!
    Last edited by darrenforeal; 12-10-2011 at 01:50 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tenrac View Post
    Nice job!

    Makes me wish I had kept the arm rests off of my comforts when I swaped em out...I do miss those arm rests!

    Also...good looking speaker enclosures!
    This, but my sport seats are dark grey and my comforts were light grey.

    The seats/armrests look great!
    my version of a midlife crisis: 20 year old spray painted, lowered BMW station wagon.

  11. #11
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    Great thread, clean job, looks like it came from the factory... But not for me, I love my comfort seats and my sport seats for all the right reasons. but I would never combined the two, I kept the comforts for long winter snowboarding cruises.

  12. #12
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    Diy diy diy.

    Quote Originally Posted by 1990525i View Post
    the bees knees

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChiTownTy View Post
    Great thread, clean job, looks like it came from the factory... But not for me, I love my comfort seats and my sport seats for all the right reasons. but I would never combined the two, I kept the comforts for long winter snowboarding cruises.
    thanks! that's why you can fold them up and you have standard sport seats again. I like having the option for both ways


    Quote Originally Posted by paperplane94 View Post
    Diy diy diy.
    yeah trying to get a mod to move this

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  14. #14
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    Nice job Darren. Those seats look great

  15. #15
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    Very nice Darren, thanks for the well-written diy.

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