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| Bodywork | Doors |
BMW Z1 Seat repair / refurbishment
Leather & Suede care (click for separate notes)
Instructions for Removal/Refit of Z1 seat parts, handbrake, gear lever & console.
Many thanks to Richard Stephenson for the write up and images in these notes. I'm sure you will agree the finished interior is very special. (scroll down to see the finished effect)
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Tools required - Metric Allen keys Metric Spanners (17MM) Set of Star Keys (T30 & T40) Phillips Head Screwdriver Stanley Knife Also recommended - Locking Wire Pliers Mole Wrench Hammer (not entirely necessary - but very good for taking one's frustration out on things!) Tie Wraps Long piece of steel tube (30cm's approx) |
| Estimated Time for job - 2 Hours Removal & 3 Hours Refit! | |
| This job is not too difficult, and could
be completed easily by a person with basic DIY skills. There are pitfalls to avoid - I will try to build them into the text below. That way, you won't make the same mistakes I did. As you are probably aware, the Z1's seats are made up of four basic components (see picture above). (1) is the seat base (2) the back rest (3) side supports and (4) leg support. The first job is to remove the seat base. If you feel around underneath the seat, you will find four T30 Star Key bolts. Three of these are arranged (left, middle & centre) just under the front of the seat base. The final one is located in the centre of the seat base. This one is a little trickier to reach. Once these are undone, you should be able to pull the lower part of the seat base forwards. This will expose the rest of the job for your perusal. The seat base should now lift out (You will need a slight upward action as the rear of the base is designed to slot over one of the metal bars that form the seat frame). You could say, you are now halfway there as you have removed two of the four seat components! Unfortunately, this was the easy bit. You can now note, how the side supports are attached to the seat frame. Unfortunately, we now have a bit of a chicken/egg scenario. Do we attack the four bolts that are holding the backrest in place? Or do we remove the side supports? We cannot fully remove the side supports as the two are connected behind the back of the backrest. What we can do however, is move the side supports to give us better access to the four bolts that hold the backrest in place. Take a pair of pliers and remove the crude metal clips that are holding the side supports in place. Don't worry about damaging these, as we won't be using these again. Once all the clips are removed the side supports should pull up and hold themselves out of the way. There is a slight knack to this, in that, the side supports are located over a metal loop that forms part of the seat frame. It is important to pull at the right angle to free the side supports from the frame. At this point, take care to notice the metal rods (that have been used along with the clips) to hold the side support to the seat frame. There are two per side and one is longer than the other is. Make a note of which is the front and which is the back. This will facilitate easy refitting of the side support. Now we have got good access to the T40 star key bolts (that are holding the backrest in place). In my car, these were bloody tight! You might like to increase the leverage available to you by slipping a suitable piece of steel tube over your star key. I used a mole wrench attached to the star key, but the former would definitely be better. The nuts are captive, so don't worry about holding these as well. Once the bolts are undone, you should be able to lift the backrest upwards and rest it on the cars hood cover. You still cannot remove it completely as the seat belt is attached (via that small loop). Therefore, the seat belt needs to be detached. This can be achieved by unbolting the end of the seat belt from the seat frame (with a 17MM spanner). The backrest can now be fully removed along with the side supports - congratulate yourself on a job well done and celebrate with tea/coffee/beer (delete as applicable). Fully refreshed, you can now turn your attention to the final part of the job - the removal of the centre console, handbrake and gear lever assembly. The gear level simply pulls off. Don't do what I did and give yourself a smack in the mouth! It tends to come off a bit suddenly… If you remove the rear ashtray, you will note some screws (mine only had one, but there were two holes). Remove these and that will free the back of the centre console. The base of the handbrake gait can now be freed from the centre console, pull it up as far as it will go over the handbrake lever. The whole centre console should lift over the handbrake (this might be a little tricky). The gear lever gait can now be easily removed too. All you should be left with now, is the handbrake handle and gait. You will notice that the two are held together (at their joint) by a combination of tight overwrapped thread and what looks like epoxy resin. Carefully (always cutting away from you), take a Stanley Knife and cut away at the threads until all are cut. With a subtle combination of twisting and pulling these two items should separate. You may (like me) feel a pang of uncertainty wondering how the hell you are going to mate the two together again! |
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| Now the
interior is removed, you can find a trimmer who can repair the shabby
bits that you have just removed. By taking them out yourself, you will
have saved money for your next project!!! |
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| That's about it for removal - refitting is
basically the reverse of the above procedure, but there are a few of
things you need to be aware of - 1) Refitting the seat parts is the reverse of removal. Make sure you have half fitted the side supports before bolting the backrest into place. The seat base of course goes in last. 2) Be sure to tighten the backrest bolts and seat belt bolts very tight. These are tight for a reason - yours and your passengers safety. 3) Once the backrest is in, the side supports need to be put back into place. Re-insert the metal rods and align the back rod with the rod in the seat frame. I used a combination of tie wraps and locking wire (that's where the locking wire pliers come in). If you do not have a pair of these (I didn't - but Father did!), I honestly believe you could solely use tie wraps. Once the back rod is securely fastened to the seat frame, repeat the process with the front rod. 4) Before you bolt the seat base back into place, ensure that the metal clips (on the underside of the seat base are lined up correctly. Otherwise it will be impossible to tighten the bolts once the seat base is in place. Also ensure that the seat base is located properly (back of seat base neatly located on seat frame). 5) The only tricky part on the centre console is reuniting the handbrake handle and it's gait. I found that if you put them together prior to sliding the handle down the handbrake shaft - it will then be possible to secure them with locking wires (minimum four) once in place. As you then "peel" the gait into place you will have a very neat join. It might also be worth lubricating the handbrake shaft with light oil so that the handle slides easily down it. If you have no locking wire, all I can suggest is the purchase of some stout thread and do the same as Helmut (or whatever he was called) when the car was assembled at BMW. Congratulate yourself on a job well done, and go out and drive the bloody thing instead! |
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How to maintain and re-furbish the 'Nubuck' leather Z1
seats - note that the yellow and light grey leather interiors are not
'Nubuck' and will not need the heavy-handed treatment recommended here. Most of the dark grey Nubuck seats are now light grey due to bleaching by sunlight(!) Also note that that you follow my instructions at your own risk.All I am doing is reporting what has worked for me. |
The problem is.... That the Nubuck leather gets greasy and compacted, so
that it looks like waxed leather instead of suede.
So the first job is to de-grease and clean the leather. There are several
preparations on the market for cleaning suede shoes, carpet and upholstery
shampoo sprays seems to work just as well. Follow the instructions on the
tin. DO NOT USE soap or convetional leather cleaners - they will make the
problem worse.
My favourite cleaner is 'Kiwi' suede and nubuck spray.
As the suede dries, keep working on the nap to raise the pile. Basically
you will need to 'rub it up' with something abrasive.
In ascending order of brutality, you can use a hush-puppy brush (copper
bristles), or a suede brush (nylon bristles or webbing), pummice stone, or
even aluminum oxide paper. Whatever method you use, use a vacuum to remove
all the loose bits as you rub them off, and finish off with a proper suede
brush to make all the area worked on look the same as the rest of the
suede.
If you then retreat with a cleaner incorporating a protective substance
(like ScotchGuard) it may help to conserve the work you have done.
The seats will not look good for ever. Mine need re-doing after 4 years
and 20,000 miles.
I use Gliptone Products, and all this is taken from their literature.
Clean First! Do NOT use soap, washing up liquid, shampoo, I use Gliptone's GT12 which is a glycrerine based cleaner. Work it gently into the surface of the leather, leave for a few minutes, re-agitate and then wipe off with a damp (not wet) cloth.
Conditioning. Always clean first! When dry, I use Gliptone's 'Liquid Leather' GT11, this is rubbed on sparingly with a soft clean cloth. It does not need to soak in, and the seat can be used after an hour. Very dried leather may need two coats.
Door tops - dashboards etc
To re-touch scratches and scuffs on the dark grey interior (NOT seats!!) use: Liquid Leather scuff master from Gliptone.
The colour I used was "Alfa Charcoal 90s". Follow the instructions on the box. The sponge applicator supplied is just the right tool.
The match is very good, and as it is a very thin dye, it is easy to blend from treated to untreated. It tends to 'fill in' the natural dimples in the leather, but a re-polish with gliptone leather polish makes it look like new. The dye comes with three additives: A lightener, a darkener, and a gloss enhancer, so you can experiment to get it just right. I did not use any of these. re-finish with GT11 after the dye has dried.
