How To Remove BMW E30 Carpet, Throttle Pedal Removal + Taking Front Seats Out | 030

How To Remove BMW E30 Carpet, Throttle Pedal Removal + Taking Front Seats Out | 030
In this BMW E30 build episode, I take on the very intimidating job of removing the carpet from the BMW E30 and also tackle the fiddly task of removing the gas pedal.
Up until now, I've never removed the carpet from an E30 car all the way. As it tucks under so many things and is fitted up tightly, I always found a way to get around taking them out. Although now I've discovered some rust holes on my floor pan and need to do some welding, its time to take it all the way out.
First things first, it's wise to start by taking out the front seats. Luckily this is very easy on a BMW and you simply remove the 4 17mm headed nuts and bolts anchoring the seat to the floor pan via the seat rails. To access the front and rear fasteners, simply slide the seat forward or backwards.
With that done, turn your attention to removing the BMW E30 centre console. This is actually quite easy to do, remove the handbrake gaiter and ashtray to access the plastic nut holding it down, then remove it and lift away. The front portion of the centre console is a bit fiddlier, remove the gear knob gaiter and pop out the window switches and disconnect from their wiring. Then undo the screw holding the console to the dashboard and it should come away.
Next is to consider any wiring which might get in your way. In my car, the rear speaker wiring and also antenna cables were running through the carpet, so I decided to pop out my head unit and unplug them from that side, which worked out pretty nicely.
I already had the glovebox out from a previous episode, and my knee roll which lives under the steering wheel is already missing giving me great access. I'm not sure the glovebox removal is necessary but it's wise to remove the knee roll if yours is there.
Remove the front seat seatbelt anchor points which go through the carpet and bolt to the floor pan.
People often remove the door sill strips which the carpet is tucked underneath, but you can actually just pull the carpet out from underneath them, which is much easier as the old plastic sil covers can be very brittle.
Now you'll find the rear portion of the main carpet moves quite freely, and the carpet is now only held in at the driver's footwell.
In the footwell, you will find that the carpet is held in by 3 things. A strange 3-pronged clip which it's easily pulled from, the steering column, and the gas pedal (throttle pedal).
Starting with the steering column. These are a pain to remove thanks to the security bolts, so my advice is to make a small cut to the carpet here so it can be removed with the column in place, which is exactly what I did.
That leaves you with the throttle pedal which can be an extremely tricky one to remove, but there is a trick to it as you see in the video. The first thing to note, is these pedals are just plastic which flexes, so if you are heavy-handed, it will break quite easily and you will need a new gas pedal. So be careful and take your time.
The gas pedal, or accelerator pedal, is floor-mounted in BMWs. In this case, there's a tab welded to the floor pan which the E30's gas pedal is mounted onto. There are three tabs on the plastic pedal that clip into the bracket on the floor pan preventing it from being removed easily.
The trick here is to use a thin-bladed screwdriver to prize the tabs outwards while applying some upward pressure to prevent them from clicking back in. Once you've pushed the middle tab outwards it will hopefully pop straight off as mine did. Then just remove the circlip holding the top part of the gas pedal on and take it away.
With everything removed, raise the carpet over the handbrake lever and start to firmly pull to free it from behind the heater box. After some force, the whole carpet should come away and you can remove it entirely.
For more helpful how-to guides and restoration project logs, visit our blog: www.spannerrash.com/
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[@briantetreault2095]

Excellent video. Very thorough. I'll be tackling this job myself in the next few weeks. I'm feeling a good bit more confident now!

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks Brian! I hope it goes just as well for you. I was quite intimidated by the carpet removal but turns out it's pretty straightforward after all. 👍

[@shanechiddy4303]

Great video again, really enjoying them. That car is in great condition for its age and the UK location, thought there would be loads more rust. Congratulations to BMW for their rust protection.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thank you Shane! Yeah, I'm shocked at how good it is, it really looks like a piece of junk from the outside, but under the surface it's a solid shell. It's a relief to see that there aren't more rust scabs under that carpet. Wasn't sure what I was going to find.

[@Dudeiculas]

I've not got an e30 or plan on restoring anything I just like your channel good job keep at it mate

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers Michael, really glad you're enjoying the series mate! 😁

[@bmw-e30]

Is a bit of a fight and a bit tougher getting it back in. Very good description on removing the throttle pedal. A bit of time and care avoids a lot of broken clips.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Thanks John, it was less difficult than I expected to be honest. But never was going to be a doddle taking the carpet out. I got it refreshed and back in without too much trouble too, check out my more recent vid of that, I was really pleased with the result! 😃

[@dillanmistry]

Your a life saver! Taking the centre console out helped me a lot, also those houndstooth seats are rare and in gorgeous spec

[@SPANNERRASH]

Awesome Dillan, glad the vid helped you out! And yeah I do like the houndstooth cloth. I'm considering getting the bolster repaired and keeping it, but then I don't have a matching rear bench and in my mind I want full black leather ideally... I'll have a think about that. 👍

[@dillanmistry]

@@SPANNERRASH The houndstooth is gorgeous, it always reminds me of my dads e28 518i they just have something so special about them, it's definitely worth having the bolster repaired, also if you do opt for leather, put some leather conditions as it will help in the long run; they love to crack in the sun

[@bonaventuramatulile1345]

Informative vid. Thank you

[@SPANNERRASH]

Glad it was helpful! We really appreciate the feedback.

[@polloloci21]

Awesome. Thanks man.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Cheers, hope it helps you out!

[@nappills6158]

only video i’ve seen that goes well into detail into it. i’m swapping my interior between my white sedan and black sedan with an oxblood interior i just got. going to be doing the same with my rust spots in my white one as well.

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hope it helps you out, Gaige! The oxblood interior sounds awesome, hope it goes in well. 😁

[@BubbleboyJ]

I found this really helpful especially since i have found getting the carpet removed from the dash to be the most difficult. Please post a video when you reinstall

[@SPANNERRASH]

Really glad the vid helped you! I'm planning to dye the carpet before I reinstall it in the car. Hopefully, I can do that quite soon because it's a big old thing that's filling my shed currently. 😆 I'll be sure to make a vid when it goes back in. Cheers!

[@CYMRU619]

The interior looks lovely, my E36 is falling to pieces by comparison. Have you considered dyeing the carpet black while it's out? Would go well with the rest of the interior

[@SPANNERRASH]

Great minds think alike, I've actually had that same thought myself! Planning to spruce the interior up a bit before it goes back in, but that's a while down the line yet. Dying the carpet would really smarten it up. Apparently, there's 2 versions of E30 carpet, a plusher 325i carpet, and a lesser carpet which is rougher to the touch, from lower models. I think this is the cheaper version, and unfortunately, it's the 325i spec one that dyes better. But I reckon I can make something work. I'll give it a try anyway and we will see what happens. Few other bits to tidy up too.

[@omaraki01]

Could i ask for pictures up close on the e30 ebrake switch? Im in the process of fixing it and i would really like to see how its mounted

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hi mate, I could probably take you some, but there's no way they are going to be clearer than the pics on this: ebay.us/Iq4d68 Hope that helps!

[@XobeyxQxmanX]

The e30s had the hood release on the us driver side still 🤔🤔🤔

[@SPANNERRASH]

Yeah they are all on the left whether RHD or LHD. Luckily with it being a forward opening bonnet it means it wouldn't be the end of the world if your passenger pulled it. 😆

[@selespeed3]

amazibf condition of floor. no signs of rusts at all. i wish mine is like that. how old is the car and what is the m ileage? has it been driven much?

[@SPANNERRASH]

I know, I feel so lucky with this E30 shell, it's one of the best cars I've ever seen beneath the surface. From the outside, it looks like a real nail though. 😂 Its a 1990 car with 103k miles on the clock. I have a suspicion it spent most of its early life in a heated garage or something. Only in it's later life has it been abused I reckon.

[@AlpiCustoms]

Hi!!! How much the carpet weights?

[@SPANNERRASH]

Sadly I didnt weigh it, but this old style carpet doesnt weigh as much as you expect.

[@AlpiCustoms]

@@SPANNERRASH thank you very much!!😊 I though it was a lot :(

[@SPANNERRASH]

@@AlpiCustoms Only a few kilos probably

[@deanirwin3645]

WAIT a minute.. the hood (bonnet) release is still driver's left, even though it's a right hand drive car?? WOW

[@SPANNERRASH]

Hahaa yep! I guess they decided to leave it where it was when doing a right-hand drive version of the E30! 🤣 They changed it after this though, E46 has the lever in the driver's footwell, and I think E36 does too.

[@Zam786]

So how will you slide the carpet back under the heater box? Have you thought about that?

[@SPANNERRASH]

Good question, I feel like with a bit of persistance I will get it back in its proper position again. But theres also a good chance I will have that heater box and dash out before the carpet goes back in. Hoping to avoid that though if possiible. 😁