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New Leather Interior for my FD

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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:05 PM
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New Leather Interior for my FD

Just got this in place over the weekend. All leather seats, no plastic anyplace. Found a guy that did a pretty good stitch job. Did the pouch on back of both the driver and 'passanger' seats. Console was done in leather to match. 94 R2- purists will hate the leather as opposed to cloth - but I do still have the cloth seats in storage. Bought a leather pair from a guy who needed the $ and a console from a 93 fd - you can flame it but after an 80 mile drive I think it works.
Attached Thumbnails New Leather Interior for my FD-int1.jpg   New Leather Interior for my FD-int2.jpg   New Leather Interior for my FD-int3.jpg   New Leather Interior for my FD-int4.jpg  
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:27 PM
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Why Flame? I think it looks freaking Nice! I want my interior to be in leather like that dash and all.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:28 PM
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I think it looks great.
best of luck
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:28 PM
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Looks good. Keep it out of the sun
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:35 PM
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i love the leather and the look. it looks pricey? how much? the only concern is the sun. you gotta baby that leather so it doesnt crack or dry out. other than that, it looks incredible. probably smells nice too.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 06:49 PM
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Looks great dude! I agree with kiddslick, I bet it smells nice in your car.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 07:04 PM
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Originally Posted by kiddslick
i love the leather and the look. it looks pricey? how much? the only concern is the sun. you gotta baby that leather so it doesnt crack or dry out. other than that, it looks incredible. probably smells nice too.

Not too $$ given the age and what repairs can run. With shipping it was just around 1k. $599 for the seats and $250 for the cracked in need of repair console-I shipped it to Fl, and it was about $125 round trip - I use a sunshade = geek in me to keep the UV off when I remember - thought about the dash and figured it would not last nor could I imagine pulling it all apart. This is pretty darn tough leather. I pulled them apart and put them back together - these seats bolt up pretty quick
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by yuichiror
Looks great dude! I agree with kiddslick, I bet it smells nice in your car.
yes sir, it is far better than the nauga herd that died to do the old seat backs and console.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 08:03 PM
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It looks really nice! really updates the look of the FD interior~ Did you consider doing the door panels? I think that would be pretty sweet too ~
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 08:06 PM
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really nice man, its looks amazing.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 08:07 PM
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Holy crap! That's exactly what I've been wanting someone to make for the center console hump! Do you know if the guy that did this for you still has the measurements to cut new console pieces so that someone wouldnt have to send him a console to get it done? I'd be interested in buying a center console leather cover if he does.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 08:13 PM
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Looks great, I really like the look.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 08:50 PM
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I'll bet its nice and quiet! no more plastic noise.

Jeff
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:06 PM
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okay, okay. i am OFFICIALLY jealous. btw, no geek at all as far as the sunshade goes. it TOTALLY updates the interior of the rx7 .i think that is a great idea. i live in utah which is a desert for the most part so it is extremely dry. I have to keep my leather clean and out of the sun as much as possible.

next question, how would i (being an average joe) go about doing that to my car or finding someone or even the type of leather?

thanks!
Ken

PS. anymore pics?
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Hashiriya
Holy crap! That's exactly what I've been wanting someone to make for the center console hump! Do you know if the guy that did this for you still has the measurements to cut new console pieces so that someone wouldnt have to send him a console to get it done? I'd be interested in buying a center console leather cover if he does.
Probably does, I am not sure you want to tackle it yourself. The console is heat treated to fit the molding. I wanted one piece of leather and it could not be done with the shape. The flippin console cost as much as one seat - lmk if I can post his site w/o a problem.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:23 PM
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Smile

Originally Posted by kiddslick
okay, okay. i am OFFICIALLY jealous. btw, no geek at all as far as the sunshade goes. it TOTALLY updates the interior of the rx7 .i think that is a great idea. i live in utah which is a desert for the most part so it is extremely dry. I have to keep my leather clean and out of the sun as much as possible.

next question, how would i (being an average joe) go about doing that to my car or finding someone or even the type of leather?

thanks!
Ken

PS. anymore pics?
It is actually pretty easy - you need to do a bit of leg work and turn the wrench. If you take the seats apart and strip the metal and strip the console they are very light. The metal tracks on the seat weigh almost 12 pounds. I left the adjusting recliner side in place as it is under the cover-could save at leat $20 shipping if you removed it. I did not want to mess with all the hog rings. In any event I would not try the console as a DIY. This guy cut his teeth on airplanes, boats and high end cars. www. trimcar.com. I was in Miami for work about a year ago and got a reference. This is the first fd he did so he now has the pattern. Unlike other online sources this is pure custom work. Labor was within reason and I could not bust my nuckles and get it right. I did put the seats together and needed my Exacto knife to make it all work. Console required some trust as he called me three times with his plan... ask for Barry. Leather on the back of the seat is wicked nice. A kangaroo pocket on the pass seat actually works out great for storage.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:24 PM
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Talking

I told him I liked the BMW leather and he sent me an exact sample -pick your choice of modern leather and mostly it can be matched.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by jojodotcom
It looks really nice! really updates the look of the FD interior~ Did you consider doing the door panels? I think that would be pretty sweet too ~
I did but had a limited budget - it could be done
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 09:41 PM
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Cool

Originally Posted by jeff p
I'll bet its nice and quiet! no more plastic noise.

Jeff
At least no noise up front. Still have those squakes in the tail from time to time.
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Old Dec 13, 2006 | 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted by psquare8
Probably does, I am not sure you want to tackle it yourself. The console is heat treated to fit the molding. I wanted one piece of leather and it could not be done with the shape. The flippin console cost as much as one seat - lmk if I can post his site w/o a problem.
Post up the link, no one's going to mind.
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Old Dec 14, 2006 | 07:24 AM
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Thumbs up

Originally Posted by Hashiriya
Post up the link, no one's going to mind.
www.trimcar.com - in FLORIDA ask for Barry - He turned it around in 10 days - would have been sooner but he needed my seats for the pattern and a huricane shut them down for a day-good luck
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Old Dec 14, 2006 | 08:13 AM
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Looks really good, and i'm sure it smells fantastic too!
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Old Dec 14, 2006 | 08:16 AM
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cluster hood? Ferrari's look real nice...with bold white stitching
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Old Dec 14, 2006 | 09:12 AM
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stupid question,

any chance of that being made into a partial DIY kit?

(the DIY part would be the install, however the mold and leather would be the kit)

thanks
Ken
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Old Dec 14, 2006 | 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by kiddslick
stupid question,

any chance of that being made into a partial DIY kit?

(the DIY part would be the install, however the mold and leather would be the kit)

thanks
Ken
Call or email Barry Craig at Trimcar 954-917-5988. He convinced me not to try this on my own. You can see that there is padding beneath the leather and it was positioned to align the seams - 3 pieces of leather. One piece would not work given the bends in the console. The leather is wrapped around the console and glued. He also had to coat the base plastic on the console with a thin epoxy layer to firm it up-some light cracking due to age. If you ever had your console out the plastic is not the thickest. Labor seemed very reasonalble - that is why I decided to ship it down. There was an element of trust as I am not aware of a similar installation. He turned the whole job around very quickly. I did the final trimming on install, very slow with an exacto knife. One tip - If you do this be sure to save the brass gromets from the side of your console when you pull it out. I really like the padding as it makes it better to drive and yes the squaks/rattles are almost gone.
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