interior trim tweaks....

[britlude]

for my annual xmas project, this year i decided to retrim some of the interior of my nsx, mainly the bits of leather that get touched, and as such were now bright and shiny after near on 20 years of use... in the firing line was the steering wheel, gear knob (it's an auto) and the arm rest! it's been bugging me for ages that the interior plastics have a grain finish, whereas the leather was smooth and polished... my quest started with leather from that purveyor of all things, ebay..... i bought 2 bits as i had no idea on the grain/pattern descriptions, fortunately one was right!

first off was the gearknob.... scratched/battered/polished
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/auto%20gear%20stick/zImage2511640x480.jpg

carefully stripped... curious as the knob moulding is textured... what lower model did it feature on???
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/auto%20gear%20stick/zImage2516640x480.jpg

patterns cut and perforated
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/auto%20gear%20stick/zImage2515640x480.jpg

a quick brush up on the intricacies of the baseball stitch, and away I went, ending up with this...
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/auto%20gear%20stick/z03012011028640x480.jpg

turned our well! the knob now has the same finish as the dash!!!

[britlude]

the steering wheel was more complicated, but much the same, this time I sourced a steering wheel from NSXPrime (cheers Shawn) and set to work
the wheel i got was slightly better than mine but had the usual sun/heat damage..
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/b25122010023640x480.jpg

this was carefully cut off and patterns made
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/b26122010025640x480.jpg

the patterns were sewn together and the new trim stretched over the wheel (the patterns work out to be about 1 1/2 inches short on the circumference....
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/b26122010027640x480.jpg

then once it had stretched/settled a little I set about sewing it up by hand, starting with this
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/b26122010028640x480.jpg

[britlude]

then after punching some holes started twin needle sewing, lacing it up first, then tightening after
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/a26122010033640x480-2.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/a26122010034640x480-2.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/a26122010039640x480-2.jpg

until the whole rim is done....
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/a27122010040640x480-2.jpg

[britlude]

all that was left was to trim and glue the spokes and open up the horn button holes....
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/a27122010042640x480-1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/b25122010024640x480.jpg

[britlude]

the end result being I now have a steering wheel rim that matches the airbag texture and isn't quite so slippy/shiny!!!
before and after
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/cImage2651640x480.jpg

also have english cruise control buttons...
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/cImage2653640x480.jpg

and the rim matches the airbag....
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/steering%20wheel/cImage2652640x480.jpg

smiley faces all round!!!!

[britlude]

the centre armrest was next on the list (actually it was before the steering wheel as that was hijacked on delivery and made into a christmas present!!!) with gentle persuasion, the leather was fitted without any need for stitching and seams....

went so well didn't take pics!!! here's the before and after

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/z03012011026640x480.jpg

[britlude]

next on the list is the handbrake... just deciding how i want to do it!

well, they might as well all match!

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/nsx%20stuff/nsx%20interior%20retrim%20bits/z03012011031640x480.jpg

ok it's a pic of the handbrake, not very exciting.... but another angle on the gears stick!!!

[Dragonlady]

Fantastic work! Would not be able to tell the difference if they were new items.
Now where do I place my order for a new leather jacket?

Ian

[Nick Graves]

Blimey! Do you buy your brave pills online, or have you had experience of this sort of thing before?

Results are very tidy, nonetheless!

[Sudesh]

Great work Jonathan! Very impressive, especially the steering wheel as those are hard to do.

On a side note, did you know that you can buy ready made arm rest, handbrake cover and if you have a manual car, gear gaiter, from the guys I worked with on ebay?

Also the door entry pads are available, all good prices and fantastic real nappa leather. I can still smell the leather in my car with just those small pieces and the quality is way above the OEM.

[nobby]

+1

Great work btw

And yes I have the leather pieces that Sudesh has discussed below. Excellent quality and better than OEM. Be sure to check ebay out for these bits n pieces. I have handbrake, gear lever gaitor, side steps installed.

Great thread.

:)



Great work Jonathan! Very impressive, especially the steering wheel as those are hard to do.

On a side note, did you know that you can buy ready made arm rest, handbrake cover and if you have a manual car, gear gaiter, from the guys I worked with on ebay?

Also the door entry pads are available, all good prices and fantastic real nappa leather. I can still smell the leather in my car with just those small pieces and the quality is way above the OEM.

[Sudesh]

And like Andrews choices, you can pick different stitch colors!

[britlude]

thanks for the praise!!! i've fitted an aftermarket steering wheel cover before (stretchy vinyl), but the first time with leather from scratch! i know the ebay bits, i had them as an emergency reserve if it all went pear shaped, but thought i'd give it a go after the gear knob went well!

not brave, just making it up as i go along, if it works then hurrah, if not have a back up plan!


my other xmas/winter project was a new stainless steel exhaust manifolds and exhaust system for the hot rod, from a pile of bends... not the best pic, but you get the idea (this was the easy side!!)....

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn41/thisYup/hot%20rod%20stuff/zImage2612640x480.jpg

[Senninha]

Great work ... when can I drop off my interior for handywork? ;o)

[TheSebringOne]

Excellant job Jonathan! I can stiched up bits of clothes/repair small tears, not sure about leather! When you punched the holes in the leather, was it with a special needle and small hammer.

[britlude]

the holes were punched with an old screw driver ground down to a pointy point ( if that makes sense!!!) the gear knob was punched before i started, using the originals as a pattern.

with the steering wheel i punched about 3 inches as i went along, allowing for some fine trimming where required. it was straight forward once i got going!!!

[Rob_Fenn]

Nice job! You are both brave and talented!