Hello all, I've been on Mud for a bit now and wanted to thank the folks who make this site possible. There's a ton of great information here for maintaining and upgrading the vehicles we're so passionate about. Thanks All.
So I've decided to pull the trigger on new seat covers from AATLAS. I've taken so much from this site that I thought I would try to give back by chronicling my experiences during this project.
Research: Obviously most of us are in the same boat with our 14-20 year old seat covers and my 97 LX450 is no different. When I decided to revive my seats this was the first place I came to. I'm the type that enjoys a challenge and there's always a sense of pride when you do things yourself. Below are a couple threads I've paid particular attention to and will reference during my project. Thank you gentleman for taking the time to put these threads together. “smcphc”, “Romer”, “TomH”, and “AATLAS”
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/246371-aatlas1x-leather-install.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/217863-installation-replacement-leather.html#post3259929
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/185443-seat-heater-installation.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/metric-tlc/214149-new-leather-kits-80-series-land-cruiser.html
I decided to call a couple of local shops for estimates. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised at the quotes I received. Between three shops the quotes ranged from $2800 (fishy) to $3500 and they would need my vehicle for a week or so. This was beyond my budget and since this is my DD I can't be without my vehicle for a week or longer. I'm planning to start with the 2nd row then the passenger seat before moving on to the driver’s seat. This way I can minimize my down time. I should be quite seasoned by the time I get to the DS. I'm also leaving the door open to having a shop do the install. I'd rather not go this route but if it proves too much for me to handle, “a man has to know his limitations”.
So why AATLAS? I'll be honest and say I know nothing about recovering seats and I have never dealt with AATLAS before. Simply reading previous threads, having confidence in MUD vendors, and corresponding with Shane via e-mail were enough for me to feel comfortable. I've dealt with a number of vendors on this site and haven't been let down yet. I once read a post on this site that stated something to the affect that this site is “free” and you can learn a lot about your vehicle for “free” on this site. Based on the amount of money I've spent with vendors on this site, I'd say, “It’s free like a puppy is free”. We all know there's no such thing as a “free” puppy. This was another reason I decided to deal with a vendor from this site. Kind of another way of giving back. But I digress.
The package: I decided to go with the brown leather install kit for the front row, second row, armrests, and center console. Also, I decided to change the front bottom pads and tackle seat heaters as this seems to be the best time to do it. Pure “bling” I know but I've always wanted seat heaters and plush leather. This being a vehicle I don't plan to sell I figured why not go all the way. Plus, when I drive the wife’s Benz the seat heaters are sooo nice on the back.
Side Note: I'm having trouble sourcing new LX front seat bottom pads so if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated. I can find them from Lexus directly but I want to stay below $190 a piece if I can. I checked SOR but they seem to sell one to fit both LX and CRUISER. It's my understanding that LX pads are different so I'm a little leery of this. OK, Lexus ones are for pampered yuppie soccer moms but (no pun intended) I want to make sure there's no problem with fit.
Enough of my long winded post already. I just wanted to say hello and set the stage for this project. I'll have pictures when my product arrives and I get started. Below are a few pics of what I hope will be the end result. Pics borrowed from AATLAS post https://forum.ih8mud.com/metric-tlc/214149-new-leather-kits-80-series-land-cruiser.html
![DSC_0461[1].jpg](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='800' height='532' viewBox%3D'0 0 800 532'%2F%3E "DSC_0461[1].jpg")
So I've decided to pull the trigger on new seat covers from AATLAS. I've taken so much from this site that I thought I would try to give back by chronicling my experiences during this project.
Research: Obviously most of us are in the same boat with our 14-20 year old seat covers and my 97 LX450 is no different. When I decided to revive my seats this was the first place I came to. I'm the type that enjoys a challenge and there's always a sense of pride when you do things yourself. Below are a couple threads I've paid particular attention to and will reference during my project. Thank you gentleman for taking the time to put these threads together. “smcphc”, “Romer”, “TomH”, and “AATLAS”
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/246371-aatlas1x-leather-install.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/217863-installation-replacement-leather.html#post3259929
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/185443-seat-heater-installation.html
https://forum.ih8mud.com/metric-tlc/214149-new-leather-kits-80-series-land-cruiser.html
I decided to call a couple of local shops for estimates. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised at the quotes I received. Between three shops the quotes ranged from $2800 (fishy) to $3500 and they would need my vehicle for a week or so. This was beyond my budget and since this is my DD I can't be without my vehicle for a week or longer. I'm planning to start with the 2nd row then the passenger seat before moving on to the driver’s seat. This way I can minimize my down time. I should be quite seasoned by the time I get to the DS. I'm also leaving the door open to having a shop do the install. I'd rather not go this route but if it proves too much for me to handle, “a man has to know his limitations”.
So why AATLAS? I'll be honest and say I know nothing about recovering seats and I have never dealt with AATLAS before. Simply reading previous threads, having confidence in MUD vendors, and corresponding with Shane via e-mail were enough for me to feel comfortable. I've dealt with a number of vendors on this site and haven't been let down yet. I once read a post on this site that stated something to the affect that this site is “free” and you can learn a lot about your vehicle for “free” on this site. Based on the amount of money I've spent with vendors on this site, I'd say, “It’s free like a puppy is free”. We all know there's no such thing as a “free” puppy. This was another reason I decided to deal with a vendor from this site. Kind of another way of giving back. But I digress.
The package: I decided to go with the brown leather install kit for the front row, second row, armrests, and center console. Also, I decided to change the front bottom pads and tackle seat heaters as this seems to be the best time to do it. Pure “bling” I know but I've always wanted seat heaters and plush leather. This being a vehicle I don't plan to sell I figured why not go all the way. Plus, when I drive the wife’s Benz the seat heaters are sooo nice on the back.
Side Note: I'm having trouble sourcing new LX front seat bottom pads so if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated. I can find them from Lexus directly but I want to stay below $190 a piece if I can. I checked SOR but they seem to sell one to fit both LX and CRUISER. It's my understanding that LX pads are different so I'm a little leery of this. OK, Lexus ones are for pampered yuppie soccer moms but (no pun intended) I want to make sure there's no problem with fit.
Enough of my long winded post already. I just wanted to say hello and set the stage for this project. I'll have pictures when my product arrives and I get started. Below are a few pics of what I hope will be the end result. Pics borrowed from AATLAS post https://forum.ih8mud.com/metric-tlc/214149-new-leather-kits-80-series-land-cruiser.html
