a 1997 Omani diesel 80

[John Young]

And in due course the paint and body were completed and the results were pleasing.

So the mechanicals were sorted and the body and paint were sorted. But the interior was kind of a mess. Pretty much the last thing I did before heading back to the US for a few weeks was to bring the truck to the same upholstery shop that did a very nice job on cleaning up the interior of the Holy Truck.

 

[John Young]

I've kind of graduated to using higher end shops. The Omani is being kept inside while they work on it.

One thing I want to do is to try to improve the dog-resistance of the interior.

This is the rear seat of the 93 we have here in Florida. I have put canvas covers on the front seats and that helps a lot.

I found some very heavy canvas in the UAE and the shop has been making seat covers out of it.

Here is a photo of a test fit on the Omani.

 

[John Young]

But after thinking about it I decided to try an experiment and actually use the canvas as installed upholstery, rather than just a cover. Fortunately I seem to have had a spare set of 80 seats so I can have both regular upholstery and the canvas version.

After I saw this video I started to think again about camel leather. I asked the manager whether they could try to use camel leather for the sides of the seats. Camel leather is challenging to work with because it is very tough, but he was willing. I sent him this still to illustrate what I was after.

Then I imposed on a friend to bring a couple of hides I had in my apartment to the upholstery shop.

 

[John Young]

Camel hides are actually pretty small compared to cow hides, so it can be a challenge.

Mirror image pieces for the left and right front seats:

And they experimented a bit to make sure they could sew. Zoom in on the leather. It really is beautiful stuff!

And meanwhile the foam on these old seats was being repaired.

 

[John Young]

Here's how the modified upholstery looked before installation.

And now on the seat.

I am very pleased with this. It was exactly what I was going for. The green and tan will go well in this brown interior and the seats will be breathable and that canvas should be very durable. This leather ages really nicely, so with wear I expect they will look even better. Here, for example is a wallet I made for my son out of the same leather several years ago and it just looks better and better with daily use.