74tii Seat Question - World Upholstery

[mkealey5]

I am thinking about recovering the seats in my 74tii with one of the World Upholstery kits. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the World kits, are they difficult to recover yourself? Any pictures?

Also, I was told that the 74 seat is different (not just the cover, but physically different)... anyone know how to make sure that I actually have the 74 seat?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Timmer]

I've used World Upholstery seat material and was pleased with what I received. I had a chamonix 1974 2002 at the time, with "Marine Blue" vinyl and replaced the rear seat backrest cover and front seat bottom. With the 1974, and this is the only year that I'm aware of, as far as 2002's go, the correct seat material will not have the pleats that run all the way to the top, solid material will be at the top sections.

Tim

[donfjohnston]

used there set to reupholster rear seats in my my 74 tan interior. was almost perfect. spray paint was good way to "freshen" side panels. highly recommend

[JohnS]

I have a 74tii that I had the seats recovered using the World Upholstery kit. I'll try to take a picture and post it here tonight. The good thing about their kit for the 1974 seats is that they're made out of OEM vinyl which is of much better quality than the domestic vinyl that their kits for earlier cars are made out of. I've also used their kits on a couple of earlier cars and was satisfied, but not as good as the 74 kit. I can't comment on how easy it is to install because I had an upholstery guy do it for me. Good luck,

--John

[MarkC]

Photos of the '75-'76 Seat Kit at the link below, I'll post a pic of the '74 kit front/rear inatalled on my '74 Tii.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,322404/highlight,/

Don't know about installation, they were already installed when I purchased the car but seem very nice. Also not sure on seat differences.

Mark

[MarkC]

Pics of '74 WU installed.

For reference, side & door panels are original (these photos don't do them justice). They actually match very well viewed in person.

[Timmer]

Mark,

Do you have later front seats in your 74tii by chance? I've had a few '74 2002's and the front seats didn't have the black push in button to adjust the headrests., whereas the '75 and '76 2002's do.

Tim.

[MarkC]

Maybe, I don't know as I didn't freshen/restore the car...I'm sure some others on here could (and will) tell me if they're correct '74 seats.

What I can say is the skins are the '74 skins from WU.

I have a new set of '75/'76 skins (FS, shameless plug) and I don't believe they had cut-outs for any of the hardware when I pulled them out to photograph. My guess is you have to cut all the holes when you're installing them, I can verify when I get home if you want.

[AndyS]

WU seat stuff in my 320i

[SteveJ]

I just bought a full set front and rear for my '72. I already had a set of original horsehair pads, so I wanted to be sure the vinyl was pretty close to the original. At first look, their embossed vinyl is a really good match. The piping seems to have a texture to it, but I only notice it on close inspection. Perhaps it is more durable than smooth piping?

Some people have had less than perfect results with World kits. I have had good luck with them going back to their XKSS days in the early '80s. The nice thing is they have been doing 2002 interiors for 30 years and they do know the differences between a 1971 and a 1974.

GAHH has been getting really good reviews for their work and materials, but they are also priced accordingly.

For me and my car, the World kit was a good match. Now I just have to get it installed.

[HBChris]

`74 seats have the wide bar that supports the headrest, those are later seats. WU probably has the buyer/installer cut the holes for the headrests.

[Guest]

mkealey5,

Contact me. I may have some things that may interest you. I have recent world uph. front and rear seats out of my 74 Tii. I am willing to part with. Going with Scheel seats. Re-done in past 2 weeks with new BMW pads up front.

Can save you some time and money.

626-497-3773

Le