The Upholstery
When we decided to re do the upholstery we thought it would look nice if it was done in a beige leather look vinyl and that would contrast nicely with the yellow body work so we set out to find some as cheaply as possible.
We visited our local market fabric stall with the intention of buying some vinyl but was told he had some leather hides if we were interested, when we saw the hides we changed our minds and it was leather from then on, it was just the colour we had wanted, and so soft and luxurious, we were so pleased that it was a good price too we knew we wouldn't get it as cheap if we went else where for it so we bought two hides to do all of the interior and the boot shelf.
We managed to get some leather glue from the cobbler as we had been told you needed to use a good leather glue that would not mark the leather another bargain.
So we set about doing the interior we ripped out the carpet that was all ready lining it and used it as a template to cut the leather to the right size.
Then we glued the carpet back in and attached the leather to it so as to give a padded feel and more comfort and the results where very good.
As we couldn't buy gaiters for the gear stick and hand break in the same colour my girlfriend made them her self her fingers were rather sore after all the hand stitching as the sewing machine couldn't handle the strain but it was worth it for the finished look.
All the seams where neatly stiched and glued down then the bottom of the gear stick gaiter was glued to the crome ring that would be screwed down, a tie was made with a thin strip of leather and threaded through the top for a personal touch.
The handbreak gaiter was done in much the same way but was a bit easier as it had two panels to stich instead of the four that the gear stick gaiter had, again a tie was made so it could be done up neatly around the handbreak it was then glued down onto the central coloum so it wouldn't move and the look was complete.
All that was left to do was the triming , We tidied up the pannels in the foot well and the floor area, We bought some rubber matting for the foot well as we had not leathered this bit and wanted to cover the old carpet linning, After some fun and games of tring to measure the space in the foot well and a sore back in the process, It was cut to shape and placed in the well.
We trimmed round the back and sides and made sure all the seams where well glued so as not to let any carpet show through when the seats where put back in.
We bought some new rubber edging trims to finish it off. trims where found at www.woolies-trims.co.uk
The Gear stick and Hand break Gaiters before and after completion
We visited our local market fabric stall with the intention of buying some vinyl but was told he had some leather hides if we were interested, when we saw the hides we changed our minds and it was leather from then on, it was just the colour we had wanted, and so soft and luxurious, we were so pleased that it was a good price too we knew we wouldn't get it as cheap if we went else where for it so we bought two hides to do all of the interior and the boot shelf.
We managed to get some leather glue from the cobbler as we had been told you needed to use a good leather glue that would not mark the leather another bargain.
So we set about doing the interior we ripped out the carpet that was all ready lining it and used it as a template to cut the leather to the right size.
Then we glued the carpet back in and attached the leather to it so as to give a padded feel and more comfort and the results where very good.
As we couldn't buy gaiters for the gear stick and hand break in the same colour my girlfriend made them her self her fingers were rather sore after all the hand stitching as the sewing machine couldn't handle the strain but it was worth it for the finished look.
All the seams where neatly stiched and glued down then the bottom of the gear stick gaiter was glued to the crome ring that would be screwed down, a tie was made with a thin strip of leather and threaded through the top for a personal touch.
The handbreak gaiter was done in much the same way but was a bit easier as it had two panels to stich instead of the four that the gear stick gaiter had, again a tie was made so it could be done up neatly around the handbreak it was then glued down onto the central coloum so it wouldn't move and the look was complete.
All that was left to do was the triming , We tidied up the pannels in the foot well and the floor area, We bought some rubber matting for the foot well as we had not leathered this bit and wanted to cover the old carpet linning, After some fun and games of tring to measure the space in the foot well and a sore back in the process, It was cut to shape and placed in the well.
We trimmed round the back and sides and made sure all the seams where well glued so as not to let any carpet show through when the seats where put back in.
We bought some new rubber edging trims to finish it off. trims where found at www.woolies-trims.co.uk
The Gear stick and Hand break Gaiters before and after completion
