Well, after wallowing in defeat for a day I decided to just put the clean carpets back in... I will do some repair to the driver side front floor. I am going to insulate that cup holder area.
I did hand off the shift knob and old cover to my mother. She is going to see what she can do but she said it looks doable.
I have found a manual 3 knob AC control / Dash Bezel / connectors and wires online and purchased it. along with a used Driver side headlight. I am going to do the NAV delete suggested by TXSunDevil so I can get rid of all the wires and get a modern stereo and NAV unit. I also ordered the side stereo adapter plates and those neat little 18-22 gauge heat shrink but connectors for the wires.
Should I go ahead and replace Steering Rack Bushings? I have 165,XXX miles on it and that VCS Kicks in around long sweeping curves on the freeway. I am going to tighten up the wheel bearing as well when I do the front suspension.
Got some new stuff today! Pretty excited... the rest of the ac stuff on Thursday. New ac controls for NAV delete with wires (this panel is nicer than my current one) and a driver factory headlight to replace my current one with three holes.
One of the chemicals I used to get the wood grain off of the center console damaged the finish so I sanded it with 800 grit and plastic primed it with black primer.
Not sure if I am going gloss or semi gloss on the final finish,yet.
This is a primer. It looks good but will scratch too easy. It must be painted.
I painted it with a 3 year old spray can of caliper paint (for chip and chemical resistance) but the paint was so old it did not finish well. I will strip the paint and start over again with a fresh can. Purple Power overnight will safely strip the paint and keep the plastic nice.
My center console bezel is pretty bad from peeling the wood off too. I'm between either removing it and painting or replacing it with an aftermarket wood trim kit. Interested to see how it turns out.
It was actually fine until I used Goo Gone to get the adhesive off....that was not a smart choice.
I also purchased (for the NAV conversion to dials):
The 3 knob Control Panel w/ rear A/C (and the connectors with about a foot of wire) from EBAY (seller was awesome and I even got the driver side Headlight from him for $100 in perfect condition)
The factory Toyota Double Din radio brackets (Toyota Part 86212-60071 and 86211-60071)
The rough spot on the driver’s side floor needed attention. I removed the flap of carpet that is under the passenger seat under the NAV DVD player and cut it square.
Then traced it out and cut out the old stuff and filled the holes in the padding with extra from inconspicuous spots around the trunk area.
I had to iron the patch piece flat delicately covered with a towel with full steam on so I did not melt the synthetics in the carpet. Then spray glued the new piece down. While it does not look the best, it was done mainly to smooth out the floor. It will be covered by an all weather floormat.
I had some friends do something similar in their apartment so they could get their security deposit back.... needless to say, they did not get it back.
Either way, your keeping after the projects. Nice work!
I can’t speak for LSeat, but every stitching and sewing apparel shop I have ever dealt with in the DFW area with is ^quasi^ legal. Meaning they look and run like chop shops where the mailing address s different from the actual location. Located in empty office or warehouse spaces. Workers are foreign, usually Vietnamese and working somewhat under the labor laws or on piecemeal contract payment.
It’s too expensive otherwise and the conditions here in the US are 10x better than in Asia or Mexico, so the authorities aren’t likely to shut them down.
I’d be shocked if LSeat was any different, but bottom line it means if you’re willing to drive, it’s easier to communicate directly and you can get returns r fixes handled easily.
I understand the people that have had quality issues, but that’s the nature of the beast if you want high volume stitch and sew work. When it’s all said and done, i have faith in LSeat.
