Hey all,

Just thought I would share a few photos and info on some work I have done recently on my car’s leather.

As I’m sure most of you can imagine my leather shift **** and parking brake lever’s leather was very worn out. I had also purchased a Nardi Torino steering wheel from a Spirit R, which had been heavily damaged at whatever scrap yard it came from.

Having done a nice bit of leather work in the past on my previous vehicles and a bit here and there for friends, I decided to clean up the fd.

I ordered another full hide from a trusted retailer and started. I used flat black leather to match the rest of the interior and waxed nylon thread to lace. I also have an industrial sewing machine that was used to stitch the wheel cover seams together.

I used the original pattern for the shift ****, modified a bit to overcome the stretching as well as most of the original cover for the wheel. All the holes were measured 5mm apart using a flexible ruler and the amount of holes were matched on both sides and pieces as seen in the pictures. The holes were made with a leather punch. Once the leather was positioned and glued in place, it was laced using a baseball stitch.

The Nardi wheel was originally stitched in red using a European Diamond Stitch, but I decided I would use the conventional black baseball stitch to further match the factory interior.

A few pictures of my FD’s shift **** and a shift **** I did for a friend a few days ago:











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Steering wheel progress and finished results:



















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It was necessary to taper the leather on the bottom spoke to match the original pattern, so I used the bench grinder to taper it to obtain a half hidden edge.













Parking brake lever:







I still have almost a full hide left over, wonder what's next!

Hope everyone likes it. It isn't very hard once you get the hang of it.

Thanks!

 

F%&#k I hate that red stitch boot. Maybe that's what I'll do next...

 

VERY impressive.

 

Thanks!

 

Very nice craftsmanship! Any chance you would be interested in doing this as a business? The parts are small enough to ship back & forth, so if you have the time it might be a good opportunity for you, and a needed service to the RX-7 community. The stock shift **** in my FC is in need of recovery, as is the e-brake handle -- I just lack the talent and the heavy duty sewing machine to DIY the job.

Pete,
'89T2

 

Hey Pete,

Thanks for the comment. I had never thought about doing this for a business as I just don't have quick access to the materials such as different color leather etc. That being said, I would be more than happy to help a few people out, but not for profit. I do have almost a full hide of black leather left that could be used, as well as an almost infinite supply of the waxed nylon thread in almost any color.

The levers and ***** are pretty simple and can be done in a few hours whereas steering wheels take days.

I would be more than happy to recover your fc's shift **** and brake lever. If you want to send it to me I can pm you my address.

Do you still have the original leather on your shift **** and e-brake lever? If not I can still recover it, but the pattern makes it easier.

Thanks Pete,

Matt

 

PM sent.

 

PM replied

 

Wow, that truly is impressive... and I speak from experience as I tried this and failed MISERABLY haha

 

Wow amazing job! Looks very professional and very close to stock!

 

Beautiful,
On the steering wheel, are the ends of the pieces tapered where they stitch together to account for some of the puckering around the inside of the wheel?

 

Actually, The idea of the baseball stitch is to raise or "pucker" the leather join to provide detail and grip. the edges are longer on the wrap so they bunch up in the middle under the tension of the thread. If the edge was tapered the thread would rip through the leather as there is a tremendous amount of force required to lace the wheel. (My fingers are completely destroyed...haha!)

This wheel originally had a red European Diamond stitch like the photo below (I don't think I have a picture of the original, but I'll have a look). I rather the baseball stitch and decided to use that as it matches the oem interior.



To do the Diamond Stitch, both sides are sewn on the machine and you basically stitch through the loop of the machine sewn seam to pull the leather together. It's actually very easy and does allow the leather to lay completely flat unlike the baseball stitch.

 

Thank you!...If you would like some help, PM me.

 

Thanks!...Actually working on an aluminum die for the shift pattern so I can heat it and stamp the leather. I'll post some pictures of it when it's complete. Shouldn't be long.

Got to love the Dremel!

 

whats the deal with the bottom spoke on the steering wheel, why not make it out of the same piece as the rest.

 

Looks awesome, really impressed with how well the steering wheel came out. I need to get my spare re-done at some point...At the suede just doesn't wear well.

 

That is actually the original pattern. I am not sure why the bottom spoke is separate, but I wanted the pattern to be the same as the original. It may have something to do with the nardi logo. It also hides the tie off point for the lacing on the bottom, which I guess they didn't want visible. The wheel was wrapped very differently from other wheels I have done. The back of the pokes were wrapped and glued together as opposed to being stitch all the way in to the airbag.

 

PM me if you want some help with it. I have alot of black leather left over.

 

Very cool! planning to do some wrapping on a steering wheel as well, very inspiring.

 

Thanks...If you need any info just let me know!! Best of luck at it. It's not difficult at all once you get the hang of it.

Hulan

 

Question, do you have the old red leather seat covers still?

 

Yessir,

I have the originals that I removed.

 

I have the red seats as well, but want to wrap part of my Nardi wheel with red leather that will look just as worn. I don't think I'll get the same effect with new leather. So I'm thinking leather from a used set would look perfect. The horn surround is the area I'm thinking.

Would you be willing to sell me one cover or part of one big enough to cover the area?




Let me know what you think.