80 Series Replacement Leather Seats Installed

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Finally got around to replacing my leather seat covers. I bought a 2-tone 40th Anniversary set from (Shane Walters) AATLAS1X. I had originally planned to slap on the 2nd and 3rd row seatbacks myself and have a shop do the rest. Being zippered, how hard could it be? Well let me say, real *&^%$# hard. :mad: So hard that in typical 80 Series Forum fashion, I decided NO ONE else could get this right to suit me, so I did the whole damn thing myself. All 3 painful *&^%$# rows. :mad: I am not sure how many hours, probably 30 including seat R&R and carpet cleaning etc. And that doesn't include recovering the armrests or door panels, though the set includes the raw leather for those areas.

So for those who have done this themselves, :beer:'s to you. I'd rather do an entire front axle rebuild in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Tonopah, NV in 110 degree July heat than do this again. My advice is save yourself some agony and just pay someone to do it. But if you must, then here's what you need and what to watch out for:

- A whole &^%$load of #1 hogrings. I used 4 boxes because I had to undo my screwups a few times.
- Hog ring pliers. Ace Hardware sells this stuff (in da South at least.)
- A really good, new, sharp set of long-handled side cutters to remove the hogrings you screw up.
- A box of razorblades.

Some issues:

- The covers fit relatively well, but require some serious man-handling to stretch into place. I have a couple spots where I sure hope no one fat gets in my truck, for fear of some stitching popping loose. This was mostly apparant on the driver's lowers. I replaced both front lower foam cushions with new OEM foam and it took nearly everyone in my house te help me get the frame compressed down into the foam far enough to get the seat cover edges folded over and fastened.

- There are NO cutouts for any of the bolt boles, headrest tubes, etc. I found that by tapping the leather with the rounded end of my 1/2" ratchet against the undelying bolt hole, the hole opening would cut the leather in a nice neat circle and I could then finish it with a razor blade.

- The UGLIEST part of this ordeal was when I discovered that the cutouts for the power seat switches were missing. Even worse is that Toyota stitched in a piece of backing plastic to keep the leather opening from tearing on the side of the seat where the switch mounts. They then cut the necessary holes in that backing plastic so that the switch can protrude through. The switch itself mounts to the seat frame and is fixed in place, so if you get the backing stitched into the wrong spot, you are screwed. The switches won't pass through and the outer cover won't hide the stitching once you snap it on. So I had to disassemble the old seat cover side panel with the backing plastic in place and try and line it up with the new one and mark accordingly. Then I had to go have those stitched in by a local shop. I got home only to find that once I wrestled the new covers on, the openings still didn't line up quite right with the switches. I managed to make it work by moving the cover around a bit and removing some of the backing plastic, but it was not easy.

- The last issue is that the nice, neat "tucked" look of the OEM seats is accomplished using hogrings that pull the inside backing panels down against wires that are embedded into the foam. Once you cut the old ones out you'll see what it entails. Just don't forget to do all of them or the seat will not look tight and factory-installed.

This is a very tedious job if you want to do it right and have it look OEM-perfect. But it can be done. My truck had stunk from the PO's cigar smoke and now its like new. Headliner is clean, pillar covers are clean, carpets are clean, new rugs (including a brand new OEM cargo carpet mat I found hiding on eBay for $35) and the new hides look great. I have bought 3 of these trucks new and this is 100% as good as the day I drove them out of the dealership.

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Well, for all that you went through to put the new covers on, they look spectacular to say the least, and a very professional looking install.

Very very nice work and thank you for the pics and heads up. ;)

:beer:
 
The seats look spectacular.:cheers:

I got lucky, bought my 95 from a boutique type dealership this January in dallas that had just installed all three rows of new leather. The :princess: was very impressed.
 
those came up really nice.. very jealous..

- just a question.. are they retrimmed in leather or from a new model landcruiser?.. because if so... im keen on knowing if the 100 series will fit in our 80
 
My seats are nasty and I've been wanting to replace them since I bought the truck 6 yrs ago. Are these leather covers still available and how much do they cost?

I looked at Katzkin.com a couple of years ago but can't find the leather for the 80 there any more.
 
Still trying to find out if there is any truth to the rumor that ATLAS is shutting down.

I read the same as you did. I am also wondering the same thing. My seats are terrible.
 
This is a very tedious job if you want to do it right and have it look OEM-perfect. But it can be done.

Very nice.

Yours is the first installation of these covers posted that looks really good to me. Probably because you had the proper upholstery tools & took a crazy amount of time.

The amount of time you took to get it to look right does confirm that I would have it installed at a shop if I were to do mine. I'm still PO'd about interior work after doing a headliner in a VW Bug in 1989, lol.
 
That looks fantastic! Mine are going to need new skin pretty soon too.

Did you replace you headliner and pillars too?
 
If ATLAS shuts down I can get the covers also, same brand he gets, Just let me know if anyone needs them. I used to convert cloth to leather on new cars all time, is a PITA for sure.

Sethro
 
are they retrimmed in leather or from a new model landcruiser?.. because if so... im keen on knowing if the 100 series will fit in our 80

These are specifically for the 80 Series and are not at all like the 100 Series.

Would a pneumatic hog ring gun have made the job easier?

Hell yes, but that would have been too convenient. :doh:

very nice job and unfortunately you have convinced me I need to do this myself. I don't see any shop taking the time to do it right. Are the reare seats as big of a pain in the ass as the fronts?

Landtank, knowing your wrenching style from all your posts, like me you would murder the poor SOB that you had do this because he'd &^%@ it up. So get the stuff, spread it out over a few days and you can do it. But don't do it in the snow :flipoff2:.....if its not at least 80 degrees you'll never get the front lowers stretched in place. The easiest covers are the driver backs. The hardest are the driver lowers because of the power switch alignment. The middle and rears are all the same, tedious and involved because you have to disassemble the backs from the bottoms.

Are these leather covers still available and how much do they cost? I looked at Katzkin.com a couple of years ago but can't find the leather for the 80 there any more.

I believe the original sets Atlas was offering here were from Katzkin but because people were wanting the 1" inserts in the seat surfaces, I think he went elsewhere. Looks like Katzkin has stopped offering them. Do a search for 80 Series leather in the Vendor section and you'll find him. Price is based on what all you want. Lots cheaper than Mr. T.

Did you replace you headliner and pillars too?

Nope, I used a Bissell Little Green Machine and a cleaner from Home Dept that we have used on our home carpets for years called Folex. The headliner and pillars look new.
 
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