BMW E24
Definitely a rare request for this interior.. The customer had already been through a full recover on his gorgeous E24 but felt it needed a more refined touch for what else he had envisioned for the rest of the interior. Follow along as i walk you through some of the cool features for this beautiful example of an E24.
I know what you’re thinking..
That’s not what i think it is.. is it? You’re not mistaken, thats genuinely a mini bar for the boot of this thing. Wild huh. Ontop of that, we built some custom speaker mounts for the kick panels and rear parcel shelf. Aswell as fresh blue woolen plush carpet throughout and a custom console. Doesn’t seem like all this work has been squeezed in, but thats the point. Both the custom and I really wanted this interior to look like a factory delivered option. Be in a very glamorous one at that. Let’s start with the audio side of things.
Parcel shelf subtleties
What you’re looking at here is a side by side comparison shot of the parcel shelf speaker housing for the E24. Factory on the left is as rare as they come in an undamaged condition. Usually we’d chop up factory parts and retrofit in parts as we need but due to the rarity of these particular pods, we had to get creative. Pictured on the right is our answer to the problem. A fibreglass copy, speaker mesh inlaid recovered in a matching vinyl so you’d never suspect a thing.
I won’t bore you with a play by play on this one.. Lots of steps, lots of hours. Very happy with the results though. Here’s some more photos of the process for those that love some insight.
Kick panel fun
By fun, i truly mean pain in my ass. If I can give the reader one piece of advice here.. don’t over commit to monstrous speakers sizes you won’t even be able to utilise completely! These were practically small subwoofers we had to squeeze into the footwell on either side. Without cutting into factory metal might I add. I think we did well to keep them as clean as we did. I’ll always vouch for more smaller speakers in select areas than fewer bigger speakers. They’re simply easier to hide!
Clean and simple console
Didn’t reinvent the wheel here, just wanted some working console space, an armrest at the right height and a place to leave your phone while driving. Again, trying to follow a factory approach with styling cues and finishes. Looks right at home all fitted up.
Now for the piece that was sure to raise some eyebrows
I’m never one to shy away from a fight, and this mini bar idea was no different. The customer presented this to me and I was very hesitant at first.. “it’ll be expensive” was my first remark. He said he was happy to pay if I was happy to indulge him on the idea. There was so bloody much to incorperate into this thing, i was losing my mind engineering it in my head without making it look like a big block of plastic in the boot.
Here’s the list of integrated features of this mini bar:
Ice box made removable to clean contents
Removable cigar humidifier built in
Champagne flute holder x4
Whisky bottle holder x3
Whisky glass holder x4
Small storage compartment for cigar & drinking accessories
The more I began to chip away at this mini bar build the more I realised it needed something heavily rich in its appearance to offer a true vintage whisky bar feel and contrast the colours we had. Walnut.. I knew these was the wow it needed. Thanks to my buddy Wreki (who does some truly amazing boutique carpentry) who made the bones of the facia I needed. I began carving out the placeholders for everything to be included in this sunken area. Really beyond happy with the finish of this. The samll brass features, pairing with the walnut and blue of the carpet.. it just oozes a 70’s/80’s sunken longue bar from a 007 movie. Customer was blown away, was exactly what he was after for the car.
I’ll attach some behind the scenes shots of the process, just so you can get a grasp of the work involved from concept to reality.
Last but not least
With all the custom work out of the way, it was time to finish off with the carpet. Another piece to this car i didn’t know would work so great was the change from a beige carpet to a rich deep blue. I knew that cars from this era had this offered from factory so i took the chance. Boy am I happy I did. It really riches up the bone colour to the rest of the upholstery and showcases a true era specific beauty this car holds so well.
All finished?
While the interior is looking fantastic with all the jobs completed for this round, the customer had already planted a handful of epic more ideas into the mix so this build is to be continued! As always, i’ll dump a heap of photos to finish the blog off. Thanks for following along!
