As per title really. Mines a KF
What other bits n pieces will I need to fit it properly? and whats the procedure for removing the existing material? I would like to keep it intact as it's in very good condition. And either sell it with the car, or to someone else

Which Ebay Leather Kit did you buy?

Havn't there only ever been one? I've only ever seen this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MAGNA-VERADA-TJ-HOWE-LEATHER-SEAT-COVER-SET-2002-FACTORY-ORIGINALS-/111240306793?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19e6706069

Material is held on by hog rings which need removing carefully. Stiff wires across the seat base, you need to probe in the foam to get to the hog rings.

Hopefully your leather is for the Aussie cars, not the American Diamante, otherwise you end up making new holes in the driver seat and having some unwanted holes in the passenger seat.

Hopefully the KF seats are close in shape to the TJ seats so as to fit nicely.

The leather will need treatment to protect it and stop it from deteriorating, it has been inside plastic bags for 12 years! lol

Give yourself plenty of time doing the swap, possibly start with the passenger or rear seat. The rear seat bottom section would probably the easiest to start with. Took me 1.5 to 2 hours just to strip down the TJ driver's seat.
(So filthy, putting the fabric seat material in the washing machine was the only solution. lol Came up well.)

Could you be more specific? I've never recovered a seat before. So literally not sure where to start. Front? back? sides? Are the edges of the seat cover just held down by trim and screws, or are they stapled into place?
And I forgot about the US vs AU thing, doh. I'm guessing its american but oh well i'll give it a go anyway

Is it easier to start on the front or rear seats?

Such n00b questions! lol

You need to dismantle the front seat first, remove all plastic and handles. Then remove the side hardware.
No staples, hog rings. (You will see what they are once the seat is apart.)
Stiff wires in pockets at the back of the material, these need to be transferred to the new seat leather. Hog rings then need to go in the same place you took them from, so take note of where they are before removing them.

Easiest to do the base of the back seat first, to get to grips with the process.

So do I need to use new hog rings (if so, what size so I can go get them first) or reuse the existing ones?
What are the best tools to remove and reinstall them? I've heard circlip pliers tend to work well

Pair of pliers, hold the hog ring, stick a screwdriver in n it, twist.
Reuse by closing with pliers.

There is sooooo much misinformation here its not funny.

First, yes the leather will fit a Verada chair set. Perfectly. The trims are from the American Diamante, and as such the passenger one over here will be slightly wider at the outside base edge for the power seat base. However, I got around this by tucking the edge around the seat frame underneath which allows the manual seat base adjusters to simply cover the hole for the power seat controls the Americans have.

Second, The drivers seat is the same as the US passenger seat, and it will fit perfectly all round. Seat switch included.

To fit them, I had a system, where I unfolded from right to left, and then undid the hog rings with needle nose pliers by grabbing the ring and twisting it. THEY CANNOT BE REUSED! Once they are all out, refit is the reverse of removal. I used heavy guage zip ties to secure the rods to the chair base where the rings were, as they are easy to use, much safer on the fingers, ant aren't sharp edged on your new leather trim.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/photo-3.jpg

The trims are brand new and a much higher grade leather than the original aussie spec veradas. You ill notice it will be all baggy once fitted, but it shrinks down nicely after about a week of parking the car in the sun. No need to use a protectant until the trims have shrunk down to the seat form. Also they won't deteriorate they are brand new!

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/seat1.jpg

Now, The trims in the box only come with the seat material, headrest material, and the back pocket material, The trim just behind the back pocket, and the door card leather will not be supplied. This can be sourced from a company called Austex and is Vienna coloured in Pellan2.
I got some and had a trimmer stitch my centre console but did the rest myself.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/DSCF2559.jpg

Matching door trims and dash panels can be had if you find a KL/W verada with the light beige interior for wrecking. The KF is a grey interior, and the KH-J are a dark tan which also wont match.

The front seats wont have holes in the side of the backrest for manual lumbar, the americans got power lumbar adjust.

Simple solution was to fit it. Find a KL Verada and remove the motor and button, Fit it to the KF backrest frame in the same way as the factory, and then buy the factory surround for the switch from Mitsubishi.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/IMG_1498.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/image13.jpeg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/DSCF2551.jpg

Mike

Nice to hear from someone who has actually done this. I'm going on my experience in retrimming upholstery in a number of cars, including stripping down and rebuilding TJ front seats.

Zip ties are an option, I just reuse the hog rings.

As for these seat skins being brand new, not likely - unused, yes, obviously, but more likely to be "new old stock", ie the leather is about 12 years old. How they stand up to a few years of use is anyone's guess, I'd hit them with leather conditioner early on.

Good luck with the project, OP.

Nice to hear from someone who has actually done this. I'm going on my experience in retrimming upholstery in a number of cars, including stripping down and rebuilding TJ front seats.

Zip ties are an option, I just reuse the hog rings.

As for these seat skins being brand new, not likely - unused, yes, obviously, but more likely to be "new old stock", ie the leather is about 12 years old. How they stand up to a few years of use is anyone's guess, I'd hit them with leather conditioner early on.

Good luck with the project, OP.

The hide was produced in 2004, it is surplus stock MMAL had when the American market cancelled the Diamante range. shortly after the TL version was introduced there. I have had it in my car for a few years now. It still is as supple and nice as when it came out of the box. My advice is to wait until the hide has shrunk down to the chair profile then condition it.

In any event, I also used the opportunity when retrimming the car to install front seat heating. If the OP has any questions or requires advice, please send me a PM.

Mike

Are these leather covers compatible with side air bag cars, I ask as the Verada Wagons never came out with Leather.

Are these leather covers compatible with side air bag cars, I ask as the Verada Wagons never came out with Leather.

No sorry.

Hi Mike

I'd prefer to keep the information in the thread rather than private via a PM. Allows other people to get the same advice
I'll never need heated seats, its hot here in Cairns. But leather is nice and being white it shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as black, which is just torture

My seats are manual, what are my options with that? Can I convert the seat to all electric by nicking bits from an electric seat (I know where seats are from a GTV-i) or do I need a whole new seat?
The rear arm rest material included in the packaging. Does it have a pre-cut hole for the cup holders? mine does not have cup holders, so if it does I guess I need to swap the whole arm rest unit with one that does.

Regarding zip ties, wouldn't you feel the bumps on them through the seat material? If the clamping force isn't excessively strong, i'd imagine rapstraps would work better? as they are slightly flexible and less likely to be felt

Door's i'll have retrimmed at a later stage, but the dash panels i'll leave. It doesn't match the stock seat material anyway

I'm not sure what you mean about missing material near the back pocket. So is it missing the rear of the seat? or the pocket? I don't care about having a pocket

Hi Mike

I'd prefer to keep the information in the thread rather than private via a PM. Allows other people to get the same advice
I'll never need heated seats, its hot here in Cairns. But leather is nice and being white it shouldn't be anywhere near as bad as black, which is just torture

You will find the black leather much much cheaper as a hide than the new stuff so it should prevent burning much better

My seats are manual, what are my options with that? Can I convert the seat to all electric by nicking bits from an electric seat (I know where seats are from a GTV-i) or do I need a whole new seat?

You would need a whole new seat from a KE-KJ no later. You can make the trims fit a manual seat, (refer to my pictures) but the drivers power seat is the way to go

The rear arm rest material included in the packaging. Does it have a pre-cut hole for the cup holders? mine does not have cup holders, so if it does I guess I need to swap the whole arm rest unit with one that does.

Yes they do have a hole for the cupholders. You will need to get an armrest with the bracket for them.

Regarding zip ties, wouldn't you feel the bumps on them through the seat material? If the clamping force isn't excessively strong, i'd imagine rapstraps would work better? as they are slightly flexible and less likely to be felt

The xip ties take up less space and are less sharp that a small metal ring. So they are the way to go. cheap, abundant and useful. No faffing about with pliers in the tiny space available to work.

Door's i'll have retrimmed at a later stage, but the dash panels i'll leave. It doesn't match the stock seat material anyway

I'm not sure what you mean about missing material near the back pocket. So is it missing the rear of the seat? or the pocket? I don't care about having a pocket

There is a square panel that the pocket it stapled to. the material covering this square isn't included. The material the pocket is made out of IS included.

Thanks Mike.
I'm still not clear on this pocket thing. Ok so the pocket is included, but I don't care about that. What I care about is obviously having completely covered seats. Can I just completely ignore the pocket, put the leather and not have a gaping hole in the pack of the seat where the pocket is supposed to be?

And you also mention I do need a new seat, but then mention I can make it work with a manual seat?
Or do you mean that "As long as its a KE-KJ seat then it can work as a manual, but won't work with the later series seats"? Mine is a KF
So should I
A) Use the seats as is
B) Get the electric bits from a seat (Series KE-KJ I assume?)
C) Get a whole new seat

Thanks Mike.
I'm still not clear on this pocket thing. Ok so the pocket is included, but I don't care about that. What I care about is obviously having completely covered seats. Can I just completely ignore the pocket, put the leather and not have a gaping hole in the pack of the seat where the pocket is supposed to be?

It is the seat back panel. Its made of a wooden panel and has a material or vinyl covering depending on the car. The board cover isn't supplied.

And you also mention I do need a new seat, but then mention I can make it work with a manual seat?
Or do you mean that "As long as its a KE-KJ seat then it can work as a manual, but won't work with the later series seats"? Mine is a KF
So should I
A) Use the seats as is
B) Get the electric bits from a seat (Series KE-KJ I assume?)
C) Get a whole new seat

If you want a power drivers seat, you need a new seat. The whole new seat. No parts are interchangeable. Cannot be clearer than this.

If you want to use your current manual seats, you can mould the hide to make it work.

If you choose to get a power drivers seat to put into your car with the new leather, you cannot use KL KW chairs, you must use KE to KJ. (KE KF KH KJ)

Slip into your local hardware / rural supply shop and ask for a bag of C clips and pliers to suit. I've used them on rural fences for years. They are identical to hog rings and do exactly the same job. They are also galvanized, so no dramas with corrosion. The bag of clips plus the pliers should be less than $20. Makes life a lot easier.

I've come to the conclusion that hog rings are a gigantic pain in the ass to deal with. Took me 1.5 hours to remove the seat base material for the rear seats, they're on so tight it's hard to even get circlip pliers in to spread them, takes several attempts each one. The outside is easy, it's the middle where it pulls into the seat thats the hard part

I've hit a snag though, the plastic tabs that the head rests slide in to. Are they removable or do I just have to sort of stretch the material over them to get it off/on?

And someone mentioned earlier in the thread that the US passenger seat is the same as the AU drivers seat. Am I to take it that I should use the passenger side for my drivers side in that case? (I have manual controls)

edit: ok for anyone who does this in the future, I don't believe those plastic head rest tab things are removable. Good news is I managed to get the old material off and the new leather on without ripping it. Just push material in 1 corner and then start pulling it out the opposite corner until it lifts over the tab, slowly and carefully work around it until you have a full side off then it comes off easy. I did hear some tiny rips when getting the old stuff off, but nothing visually noticeable and would still go back on and fit perfectly. New leather I used a pair of bent pliers to gently caress one side in while stretching over the other. Took some time but no damage

Wow, so much effort required, but i think its worth it as the leather will look great and last years.
I only wish they had some to fit the KL.

Big ups to Mike for the detailed info, I have these covers, I didnt fit them though, I was thinking about snapping up the next set of these I see as these ones have seen better days.

Big ups to Mike for the detailed info, I have these covers, I didnt fit them though, I was thinking about snapping up the next set of these I see as these ones have seen better days.

Not fitted, but seen better days? What is wrong with them?

Someone else fitted them prior to me buying the car.

They have some cracks and some staining that cannot be removed.

I must say, they have been in my car for a couple of years now. And they still look and feel as new as when they went in.


http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/B5F42C98-9378-491F-89B4-8F877D1E5EC0_zpsp1ysjmjb.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/BA2184EC-22E6-4E46-A32C-9958DCA2C7AB_zpsdhorukku.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/0F78347F-F9A4-4A7D-B779-D6B0EE09C59B_zpsnew1xg9k.jpg

Mike you didn't answer the question of how to remove those plastic clips that hold the headrests?

After the back of the seat is removed, put your hand up and squeeze the plastic thing while pulling it from the top.

Mike

Would have been nice to know that before I got finished with it. Oh well it's done now

http://s23.postimg.org/rodxnhosb/Camera_ZOOM_20141120205554613.jpg

http://s23.postimg.org/ctpc9bf7f/Camera_ZOOM_20141124234951342.jpg

Did I end up getting a different colour or is it just your camera? mine's a cream colour, yours looks almost white

So for anyone who's going through this in future, my take on it is...

Give yourself PLENTY of time
To remove the rear seat, first remove the base, then 3 bolts holding the back section on, then lift the whole section upwards to 'unhook it' - took me a bit of googling to figure that one out. The service manual diagram - as usual - only becomes clear after you've already figured it out
Get circlip pliers to remove the hog ties(the inner type that spreads, not squeezes)
Be prepared to swear a lot at the bloody things
Don't bother buying new ones, they don't deserve an existence on this planet. Use zip ties, very easy to cut and redo if you muck up
Get LOTS of zip ties. Around 130 are needed to do the rear seat completely
Use a pair of thin long nose or angled pliers (angled much better) to help pull new zip ties through the foam
You need to place your own holes in the material where all the zip ties will go. I just used a small screwdriver and poked it through everywhere. Will post if I hear a rip in the future, but that's how the hog ties were originally. I made sure to get plenty of material for strength
Re-use the flat wire sections which you have to pull off the old covers
Getting the headrest plastic tabs off aren't necessary for removal and installation, but would be nice if the above works (I couldn't see any obvious way to remove them)
Rear head rests are a bit fiddly, but the front head rests are VERY tight and will need a lot of caressing to get into place


Any other surprises for the front seats?

It seems some people don't seem to appreciate the help that other members have put into this thread, no one is obliged to give their assistance, what they do is at their own free will.

The guy who had these covers fitted to my car paid an upholsterer to do it as it was too much hassle for him.

Would have been nice to know that before I got finished with it. Oh well it's done now

No one helped or told me either. And if you go through my members thread, you will find around 90 pages of unassisted modifications. Since you have taken the time to install it yourself, being pragmatic about how parts are made is a great idea. Everything that is assembled can be disassembled. So its a matter of working out how. Its actually very simple to look at the back of the seat to see the plastic spigots of the headrest stays. You would then be able to see that you can squeeze them and pull them out of the chair. No one is going to hold your hand through life to expectations as expectations are elastic. Good thing you finished it.

Any other surprises for the front seats?

Only that you will require more material to trim the seat back panel. If you pull on the panel to get it off you will break it. Perhaps go to a wrecker, and practice removing it. Take the seat out of the car, grab the seat back panel and lift it upwards while pulling towards you. This will unclip it.

As for fitting the trims to manual chairs - the trims are NOT able to be swapped from drivers to passenger side.
When I said the Aussie drivers seat is the same as a Passenger seat in a LHD car, this is the case as all LHD cars with this interior had POWER seats.
The seat backs will need holes made for manual lumbar adjust (I fitted power lumbar adjust to my car to avoid the holes) and then the seat base trims will need to be folded around the frame at the side of the chair as the seat base for electric and manual chairs are a different shape and design.
Even the foam is different.
So, you can choose to find a verada with a power chair and fit it to your car with the new trim attached or work around with the seats you have.
I have fitted the trims to a manual and power seat on my passenger side so I suggest finding power chairs.
The only ones available come in a KJ2 series Verada XI. KE-KJ2 verada Xi and KJ1.5-KJ2 Verada EI are the cars you can find power drivers seats in> Good luck.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, don't worry about the trims being loose, as they will shrink in the sun back down for a good fitment. If you over stretch them when installing them, they will shrink and break.

Yes they are the same colour.

Mike

Would the hog clips be easier to remove if the original seat covers are cut first?

And, once the zip ties are put through the foam, what holds them at the base?

They are extremely easy to remove. Grab them with a pair of bull nose pliers and twist :)
There's thick wire framework in the seat foams and thinner rods that are installed in a fabric 'hem' on the seat covers.
The hog rings are crimped over the two, holding them in place.

You and I must have different seats then, cause there's not much room to work with and most of my hog rings were crimped on so tight the fabric was squashed, you couldn't get anything in, and there's no room to get an adequate grab on the outside. I tried the twist method with some long nose pliers, all it did was start to bend the wire in the seat itself. Circlip pliers work a treat - if you can get them in, of which all the inner ones took several attempts and a lot of swearing

Ok I ripped the passenger seat out and wanted to tackle that next. Got the seat base off and removed the cover. Vast difference here, the rear seat covers were obviously put on by the factory hulk who felt the need to crush those hog ties down with super strength, whereas the front were fairly loose and a piece of piss to get off
Bit of a hassle removing the underside long red plastic clip thingy on the leather flap side though (that sentence makes sense once you reach that step). Have to unhook the front, left and right sides. Flip the seat over, remove all hog ties. Flip the seat over again and then bend the red plastic clip thingy back 120 degrees and push it down (inwards towards foam) and it'll unclip. Requires some force

I then go to put the leather material on. I didn't put hog ties on yet I just loosely fit it over. It's all wonky and loose
Did the seat bases change since the KF? cause it looks like my seat base is quite a bit smaller than what the leather is designed to fit over. Not sure how i'd make it work

Ok I ripped the passenger seat out and wanted to tackle that next. Got the seat base off and removed the cover. Vast difference here, the rear seat covers were obviously put on by the factory hulk who felt the need to crush those hog ties down with super strength, whereas the front were fairly loose and a piece of piss to get off
Bit of a hassle removing the underside long red plastic clip thingy on the leather flap side though (that sentence makes sense once you reach that step). Have to unhook the front, left and right sides. Flip the seat over, remove all hog ties. Flip the seat over again and then bend the red plastic clip thingy back 120 degrees and push it down (inwards towards foam) and it'll unclip. Requires some force

I then go to put the leather material on. I didn't put hog ties on yet I just loosely fit it over. It's all wonky and loose
Did the seat bases change since the KF? cause it looks like my seat base is quite a bit smaller than what the leather is designed to fit over. Not sure how i'd make it work

This is why I told you to find a power seat.

the leather is designed for 2 front electric seats which use a different pad size and shape.

You can make it work on a manual chair, but it won't be exactly right and you will have to "make it work" you can see a picture of the trim on a manual passenger seat on page on of this thread.
Ignore the red leather clips as the won't work, you will have to make it work by using zip ties or something.

I only fitted mine as I bought a power passenger seat. and had to wait for it to arrive from USA.

Or a trim shop will help you.

Mike

So it's not that it's a 'KF' its that its a manual seat? as in manual seats aren't as wide as the power seats, right?
Meaning no matter what car I take seats from it just will not fit unless they are both power seats (without having an upholsterer trim them)

So it's not that it's a 'KF' its that its a manual seat? as in manual seats aren't as wide as the power seats, right?
Meaning no matter what car I take seats from it just will not fit unless they are both power seats (without having an upholsterer trim them)

Yes. Manual Verada seats are the same shape from KE - KJ2
The power seats are boarder at the base and down the sides.

Mike

Ok I went digging and found a GTVi (2003 I think, has the older 'eagle nose' front end) and it has black leather with power drivers seat
Are BOTH seats wider and should I pick up both of them? or just the drivers seat?
Will I still need to modify the leather either way? I don't mind cutting a small hole for the manual lumbar adjuster, that's easy to do

I also noted 2 different styles of passenger seat. I found a VRX and another one (with so many bits removed that I couldn't identify it) that had passenger seats with this style of lever on the side
http://i58.tinypic.com/107kj8l.jpg

And this is the style of the GTVi (as well as my KF passenger seat)

http://i57.tinypic.com/a59vnr.jpg

edit: The other question I had, will my Verada's already have the wiring in place to accept a power seat? Or do I need to modify the harness to make it work?

Ok I went digging and found a GTVi (2003 I think, has the older 'eagle nose' front end) and it has black leather with power drivers seat
Are BOTH seats wider and should I pick up both of them? or just the drivers seat?
Will I still need to modify the leather either way? I don't mind cutting a small hole for the manual lumbar adjuster, that's easy to do

I also noted 2 different styles of passenger seat. I found a VRX and another one (with so many bits removed that I couldn't identify it) that had passenger seats with this style of lever on the side
http://i58.tinypic.com/107kj8l.jpg

And this is the style of the GTVi (as well as my KF passenger seat)

http://i57.tinypic.com/a59vnr.jpg

edit: The other question I had, will my Verada's already have the wiring in place to accept a power seat? Or do I need to modify the harness to make it work?


The first pic is of a TL or TW. These seats are very NOT compatible with your trims. The entire seat is a different shape and size to the one you have and want.

Grab the drivers seat from the GTVi and use it in your car. Get the plug under the carpet as well for the power seat as the wiring is not there in early cars. It only needs a connection to power and earth from the plug, so cut off the plug and take a lot of wire as well.

If you use a power drivers seat from the GTVi, then you will be able to put the trim for the drivers seat directly on it perfectly.

The passenger one is the same as the one you already have. So leave it behind.

The power passenger seat is only available in the KJ2 XI Verada. They were so thin on the ground when I wanted on I had to import one from the USA.

The power drivers seat is well worth the effort. When you look at the base trim you will understand the differences between manual and power.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/20D0C775-F60E-48A7-98B6-187768E6BECE-12723-00000828CB2931EF.jpg

Mike

I can get the power drivers seat for around $100. Where did you get the passenger side from? and how much did it set you back all up?

edit: do you know if the seat backs are the same? if they are i'll go ahead and fit the leather to the seat back for now, that'll give me a 80% complete car once I do the drivers side. Just need leather put in the door cards then

I can get the power drivers seat for around $100. Where did you get the passenger side from? and how much did it set you back all up?

edit: do you know if the seat backs are the same? if they are i'll go ahead and fit the leather to the seat back for now, that'll give me a 80% complete car once I do the drivers side. Just need leather put in the door cards then

I believe the foam for the seat back is the same, but the frame is not.

As for cost, I had a great deal of help and parts given to me to get the USA 'Drivers seat" over here and it still cost quite a lot of money. My car was in mind condition so I deemed it worth it.
Another issue with the USA seats are the wiring is not like the aussie cars. It has seat memory and therefore is a lot of effort to convert it and run with it. You would have to be very crafty with wiring to get it to work.

Wait for a KJ2 XI at a wrecker and grab a chair, or simply 'make it work' on the passenger seat like I did until the power passenger seat arrived.

Apparently 'one' went through the wreckers not so long ago, but it was the first one ever. So they are exceptionally rare here. I guess i'm going to make it work

I think the other issue is that wreckers are unwilling to sell a single seat from a full leather interior setup because it in essence renders the rest unsellable. Bar of course the driver's seat as this exhibits the most wear and people would be willing to buy it separately

Did the passenger backrest. Can say for sure that it is the same shape, fits perfectly. The only 'surprise' was that it needs a Torx T30 bit to remove the right side rail. I bought one when I went to remove a Nardi wheel as it too needs a Torx T30, only reason I had one. Just a heads up for anyone else as most people won't have a T30 bit
You don't remove the left side rail, the cover just folds around it and tucks away

As for the rear pocket panel material, seems really stupid they don't include it but thats life. Is there a specific color I can say to any upholsterer "I need some of XYZ", or is it only obtainable from Austex as 'Pellan2' ?

I assume the seats need to be disassembled to an extent to fit the leather?
Any pics?

There are 4 bolts (14mm) that hold the seat to the floor of the car. Just undo those and take the whole seat out of the car
Take the headrest off if you havn't already. Remove the 2 bits of plastic on the sides of the chair. The levers are held on by 2 small screws, then pull them off. The backrest adjuster slides forward, and the seat forward/backward slider pulls upwards (it's also secured by a little plastic tab, in my case just wiggling got it off but it required a bit of force). The large piece of plastic on the left side of the chair can now be removed by undoing 2 screws then just sliding it off (watch the backrest lever as it gets in the way). Right side plastic is only held on by 1 screw

Then remove the seat base by undoing 4x 12mm bolts on the underside of the chair. A support arm is also secured down and will come off at the same time. Then just pull the seat base forward and it will come out
Remove the right side slider from the backrest with a T30 torx bit, there's one screw on the right side of the chair where the backrest pivots. Leave the left side slider in place, it looks practically impossible to reassemble because there's a high tension spring there. Fortunately the material just folds around the assembly. Note the left and right sliders are connected with a piece of wire. I didn't remove it, this controls the locking arms on both sides of the slider. Upon reassembly I found the tension was not even, in that when I lifted the lever it would unlock the right side very easily and not always lock back into place when released. Whereas the left side still had a lot of travel before unlocking. I spent a few minutes bending the wire to get the tension just right so that both sides lock/unlock at the same time. Probably not necessary, but something to watch out for. If you bend the wire and don't inspect it, you may end up with the slider being locked on one side and permanently unlocked in the other. Which could eventually bend the sliders slightly, or pose a risk in a crash.

Now I have discovered another 'surprise'

http://i57.tinypic.com/2wdot38.jpg

What do I do about that? mcx_xi did you have that issue on your seat?
It doesn't look like I have fit the leather on the backrest wrong

http://i60.tinypic.com/34qso3l.jpg

And this is the seat base folded over. Didn't use any additional zip ties. Not perfect but whatever, i'll let it all shrink down first and then go in and zip tie it if necessary

http://i62.tinypic.com/fdzwb9.jpg

Yep. It's cause the power seat base plastic has a larger cover.

Don't worry, it will be covered by the console. No one will notice.

It does. Seem to me like you may have to revisit some of your zip ties.

It should be even around the side bohlsters and not bunched it pinched.

Oh and Pellan 2 Vienna colour from
austex.

It's not included because it's not part of the contract for the seat material supply.

Mike.

I have zip experience with upholsterers. My question is moreso is 'pellan 2 vienna' a standard I can ask for. Or is it exclusive to austex?
I'd prefer to get it locally because it's probably cheaper, and I can pick it up tomorrow instead of waiting a week. Plus I want to get the door trim done and that's probably better done by an actual upholsterer if I just drop off the door cards

I did the doors myself and they look ok. As long as you pleat it nicely then you should be ok as well, you will need to use a proper glue, 3M Hi Tak 76 is great for this stuff.

The colour and type of trim is exclusive to austex, but most trim shops can order it for you. I got 3m @ $80/m to do all doors seat backs and the console lid.

Mike

Ok will be re-doing the passenger seat as per mcs_xi's recommendation. Looking at it closer I can see that I havn't pulled the whole thing down onto the seat far enough. Problem was it was a bitch getting the zip ties on and locating it correctly. I'll tackle it from a different angle this time (started at top and worked my way down, thinking i'll do it in reverse)

I picked up a powers driver seat, tested and it works so for $110 i'm happy with that. May be cheaper elsewhere but i'm used to paying a shatload more for bike bits, so $110 for a working power chair sounds cheap to me.
It's got quite a bit of surface rust on the base. And I noticed quite a bit in the back once I removed the pocket. I'm going to use a dremel and wire brush and take all the rust off, is it worth doing anything more than that? i'm obviously not going to paint it but maybe a wipe down with inox or something?
If anything it's an indication of the leather quality of these seats. That car has been sitting at the wreckers for years exposed to the elements. Not a rip or crack anywhere on the leather

With zip ties,

You don't work from the top down, more so side to side.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/photo-3.jpg

Make sure the zip ties all face the same way, and then start from the side where the male end of the zip tie is. This way, when you pull the zip tie through, it will always come out of the side of the trim not covered up yet. This will ensure the trim is fitted properly.

Mike

I redid the passenger chain. Used a different technique this time which worked better. I was basically working blind before
Before I slipped the top over and worked from top down, as it didn't seem possible to do the front of the backrest then slip the cover over. This time I put one corner on and fiddled with the zip ties getting that side down, not a lot of room to work with especially with the first one in the upper corner. Then did the next column, the third was a bit tricker. I just very loosely put the top 2 zip ties on then with a lot of massaging got the other top corner of the material over the seat. This allowed me just enough room to see what was going on and adjust the position of the zip ties as necessary

Here's the previous pic

http://i60.tinypic.com/34qso3l.jpg

Here's how it turned out

http://i57.tinypic.com/zoayi0.jpg

Happy with the left side and middle, the whole front section has been moved down and does look better. Not happy with that top right corner. However I pulled that side off and redid all 3 zip ties, it still does it. It'd always got that crease there no matter how much I try and massage the leather into place. But it's not actually stressing the leather, there is some movement in it and it doesn't feel overly tight so i'll leave it

http://i60.tinypic.com/2ryhf9d.jpg

Problem was it was a bitch getting the zip ties on and locating it correctly. I'll tackle it from a different angle this time (started at top and worked my way down, thinking i'll do it in reverse)
Just out of curiosity; what are the zip ties actually attached to in the seat cushion - are there metal rods or springs or something in there?
And what do they zip to on the leather, are there loops or eyelets stitched in or something?
And wont you feel the zip ties when sitting on them?

Just out of curiosity; what are the zip ties actually attached to in the seat cushion - are there metal rods or springs or something in there?
And what do they zip to on the leather, are there loops or eyelets stitched in or something?
And wont you feel the zip ties when sitting on them?

There are metal rods in the foam. (TJ seats: two fore and aft and another two (?) side to side. If you look at a fabric covered seat, you can probably guess where they are.)

The seat material has pockets for more rods. (side to side)

The hog rings normally join the two sets of rods together and pull the fabric into valleys in the foam, giving a tight fabric with well defined lines. There are plastic strips around the edge of the fabric that lock onto the perimeter of the metal seat base under the foam, making the whole seat base a rigid solid.

Zip ties shouldn't be felt if the buckle bit and excess strap are pulled to the underside of the seat foam.

Doesn't look like the leather will get that smooth look though.
(EDIT: until it shrinks to fit. lol)

I know I said previously that the back is a perfect fit. But either
1) That one was never stitched quite right. Look at where the stitching curves off the sides, it's lower on the right side than the left? Maybe thats normal maybe not...
2) It's actually a tiny bit narrower than the power seats. I'll see how the power drivers seat goes

Either way I don't care if it goes perfectly smooth or not. I quite like the look of it being slightly ruffled. In any case, it's still a huge improvement over the stock material. I feel the leather and get tingles, it's just so nice compared to velour

The trims will shrink down to the foam after a fortnight or so of parking the car in the sun.

My seats went from looking the same as yours to this as they are currently

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/DACE9870-F570-4243-8952-8D92E14EC356_zpshcghvxac.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/B5F42C98-9378-491F-89B4-8F877D1E5EC0_zpsp1ysjmjb.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/BA2184EC-22E6-4E46-A32C-9958DCA2C7AB_zpsdhorukku.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp136/mcstannard_bucket/0F78347F-F9A4-4A7D-B779-D6B0EE09C59B_zpsnew1xg9k.jpg

Looks much better like that! A bit of shrinkage makes all the difference!