Mondo

Just a quick update on this - here's what the finished interior looks like now it's all refitted. I believe he's a very happy owner!

Thank you No problem, buddy

As long as it keeps you interested! Did I mention I now have a sizeable amount of the exact same leather I trimmed John's seats with...?

No problem, Matt - I'm not going anywhere. I like reading things like this!!

Thanks, Skye A pair of Recaro fronts done like these would be £625, including the new fabric centres. I've so far only managed to track down a supply of the 90 Spec fabric though...

And the rear seats are now finished (with the exception of reattaching the press-studs to the top)! I usually find that the little things can make a big difference, such as the matching leather pullstraps All in all, I think Lee will be happy when he comes to collect them next week!

So the rear seat base is now completed: I've added another pleat into the fabric so it ties in with the front seats a little more. And, of course, lots of lovely grey topstitching too!

As a reasonably accurate guide price, you'd be looking at around £1,400 for front and rear seats, doorcards and rear quarters. Leather and stitching colour is entirely your call there. Tonneau cover: I do have one here (which I'm eventually gonna get yelled at A LOT for!) so I could make one to match. Not sure on cost on that right now though. Hope that helps a little

Are you looking to keep the 90 Spec centres at all? Or would it be black bolsters / red centres and black cards with red leather where the fabric currently is?

Thank you The owner was, quite literally, speechless when he came to collect them!

It would be my pleasure, Ian You're worth every penny I'm paying you to act as my "town crier"...!! In all seriousness though, there's a phenomenal amount of work goes into retrimming seats... possibly a lot more than people actually realise. Everything HAS to be made correctly or the end result just won't look right. I think that's why a lot of aftermarket retrims can sometimes look a little wrinkled or creased. I do everything I can to avoid those issues as I want to be proud of the work I produce. Costwise, a car interior sees a helluva lot of sunlight. Ordinary upholstery leather simply won't last as long as that designed for automotive use because it doesn't have the UV protection. Automotive leather costs more due to that extra protection for the environment it's to be used in. Basically, a good quality retrim that's going to last for years (as the OEM interiors do) can't realistically be done for pennies. John has watched me do some work on his front seats and he'll probably be the first to admit that there's far more involved than he originally thought!

So the front seats are now completed and ready for collection this eveing. Here's what they look like: Topstitched leather endcaps for the extending squabs. Just something a little different... Just the backs to do now!

I thought I'd better post some pictures to show what a half leather retrim looks like when it's coupled with some brand new Zolda Shadow centres. All Lee's leatherwork on the front seats is completed now, but I'm waiting on a pair of brand new lower bolsters before I fit the other covers. He wanted black leather with dark grey topstitching (he'd been looking at John's blue cabbie!) and, once he heard I could get new 90 Spec fabric, he had to have some! So here's where we're at currently: In the flesh, the combination of the black leather and the new fabric really does look superb! The pictures don't really do it justice. They'll be a beautiful set of seats when I'm done!

Nail on head, pretty much. Because I topstitched next to the fabric on his rear seats, it makes more sense to just trim a rear seat from scratch rather than to try and get new stitching to line up with existing holes. Plus it'll actually take me less time to make new rear covers than it would to unpick the old ones and then put them back together again.

Well, Ian's fabric was sent out to him yesterday - I'm hoping he'll have it in his possession tomorrow at some point. That just leaves me with about a 5 metre length of the stuff here now, ready for John's and Lee's seats (with some left over)!

Would anyone be interested in a slightly reduced price on brand new foam bolsters for your Recaro seats? I have a trade account with Capital Seating who are the only authorised Recaro spares retailer in the UK - this means I can get roughly 10% off the listed price for bulk orders of 4 or more of the same item. They stock brand new lower foam bolsters for the Recaro LS seats, as found in the S2 RS Turbos, which can be found here and each one costs £42.00 including VAT. Delivery from Capital is usually £7.56 (including VAT) on top of that, regardless of whether one item is ordered or ten. So a single new foam bolster will stand you at £49.56 delivered to your door. With my trade discount, which equates to roughly 10%, I should be able to get them for about £38 each. Add on approximately £4 delivery for a maximum of four bolsters and it's a decent saving (in my opinion). I'm looking to order early next week as I need a pair anyway, so we just need 2 more at least and the discount is there! Any takers...?

Sent you a PM, Ian

This is going to be ordered next week so anyone who'd like some needs to let me know soon so payment can be arranged and delivery details can be taken. Thanks.

One pic as requested

To retrim front Recaros and the Cabby rear benches (for example), I'm estimating around 2.5 metres at the absolute maximum. More if you wanted to retrim the doorcards as well. A width of 70" is absolutely massive for an upholstery fabric, to be honest. For each metre length, it's nearly 2 metres wide!

Nobody? Really...??

As some of you may have seen on Facebook, I can now supply genuine brand new Zolda Shadow (90 Spec) fabric - this is the patterned fabric from the seat centres, not the plain grey fabric from the bolsters. It comes in 180cm (70") width and is available in metre increments and I can supply it for £52 per metre including delivery. If you order more than one metre, it will of course come uncut in the required length. I'm going to be placing an order next week so, if anyone would like to join in with this, by all means let me know. There is only 30 metres available however and when that's gone, it's completely gone!! There's a few people here can vouch for my authenticity if need be (John, Dwayne, etc) and, if anyone needs to contact me, you can email me at enquiries@hidenseat.co.uk This is ideal if anyone's wanting to refresh their 90 Spec interior and again, this is BRAND NEW fabric!! Thanks, Si.

I'm just gonna stick these pictures here... made to customer specifications, and all that... Recaro front seats: white leather, white topstitching, yellow piping, original centre sections Rear seats: white leather, white topstitching, yellow piping, original centre sections Steering wheel: black leather, yellow stitching

This thread should be updated any moment now....

Your finished front seats should be delivered to you next weekend, Stumpy. So you'd best get that parmo ordered for me!