Added foam to make it plump. Does it need it? Probably not, but if there's a way to complicate things, I'll find it
Installing the new leather is ... well, same just backwards?
in this piece, which has the hole for the g-d d--n armrest, I started by trying to get that part out of the way, and probably will help align the rest of the leather to the foam properly. It did, a bit..
This is a plastic clip from the original leather, it goes in the hole, top part, clipped to a wire that crosses that area, and stretches the leather in there so the arm rest has a free movement:
This is what I had to do with the new piece which is made out of very flimsy and rubbery plastic that deformed every time I tried to clip it in place, destroying my fingers and nails doing it:
I became fond of the hog rings, I gotta say. From now on I'll be using it for Everything!
I'm looking for more pics of the backrest, but can't find any, so I guess that's where I got busy with the hog ring job, and since I had all images needed to put it back together I didn't take any more.
The idea is simple, keep the leather aligned so it doesn't create creases, begin from the center and move towards the edges, try not to puncture the new leather while you move the pliers with a very sharp ring attached, and gerit done!
On the bottom seat pan, I inserted the leather around the seatbelt latch first, In my head that kept the whole cover aligned and since it's in the center, It didn't bother me with the rest of the hog rings.
Now, a touchy subject. Making holes to your new leather....
You'll need a super sharp blade, the new leather, or at least this one, is really flexible, I wasn't expecting it to be like this, it resists punctures like a deflated basket ball. An exacto knife should be used, and replace blades often. of course, I couldn't find any of the 20 kits I got over the years, so I used the cheapo harbor fright little knives they have next to the register, good thing I always stock on them.
The scary one is the rectangular cut around the top part where the seatbelt is. I measured 7 times and still made a mistake, I believe I made the hole much bigger than needed, and that's hunting me till now. Even after covering it with the broken and epoxied trim piece, some of the cut is visible.
So.. DON'T DO THIS::
If done again, I'd measure 7 times and just slit the leather enough to get the seatbelt through, and only after everything is in place and stretched begin slowly removing material till I can re-install the trim piece there.. So yeah. Even though I'm the only one that knows that's there and you can't see it unless you look for it, it bothers me and I'm still thinking about that.
The headrest holes and side handle hole are pretty easy, start small and go bigger, and always stretch the leather first before cutting since the location changes, the new leather feels like rubber.
This is a pic of the smaller seat:
as you can see, it's the same as the big one, just easier to maneuver.
The issue I had here is that when I got the hinges back, one of the bolts that screw into the frame stripped, the hinge fights you back and you have to make sure you hold it in place tightly while you thread the bolt in, but I was by myself so there it is.. the bolt broke in there, I looked at it, cursed it and continued with my life. So my cruiser is an ounce lighter now..
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