Hand stitched leather interior project

[JayCab]

Drivers seat is installed!!

It feels like a completely different vehicle to sit in. It actually supports my back now!

[JayCab]

On a side note I’ve discovered the battery is happy to start the car after a month parked in winter. Varta Silver 096. Recommend! (Tayna)

[JayCab]

Finishing and installing back panel (which sandwiches the whole thing together as it retains the leather on both sides

See trial fit of vinyl / net back for comparison.

[JayCab]

Installing rotary knob

I actually re-used the old rotary knob and fittings as they just unscrew and were not broken on the way out.

AT still sells these so I think I’ll treat these seats to a new set…

…I’ve come this far…

[JayCab]

Installing side trim / hinge cover plastics…

…if anyone is interested in exact specs of the fabrication process / bolt choices, I could do a separate post, but this properly fixes the plastic dowl clip system permanently.

The plastics are sandwiched between plastic washers in both sides and gently nipped up…

They are specifically aligned /spaced to just press into the leather with little tension/bending…

…which makes this a sympathetic upgrade/mod that will hopefully last well…

[JayCab]

Heater test:

2.1 Ohms on element circuit
9.39K Ohms on sensor circuit

Looks good

[JayCab]

Installing release handles

I marked the cut starting 3mm below the spindle (can feel location through leather) and making a slit vertically upwards shorter than the length of the plastic insert, cutting a bit more after inserting plastic to test fit without fully inserting (there is no second chance at this and cutting it wrong means remaking the skin!!)

With new clips and new handles, the handles take quite serious pressure to fully insert over the one way clips (arm pressure, not hand pressure), which is great news for strength…

…not so great news if the seat has to come apart again for any reason, so I’m ordering some spares. They are roughy £15 - £19 each from Audi. Clips are £1.20 each, so I bought a bag of them with the first three handles.

[JayCab]

Passenger seat is complete!

Raining so cannot install today. I am also quite tired after all the lifting and moving this seat around my kitchen that I don’t feel up to carrying it out to the car. It’s quite heavy enough in halves ?

[newsh]

Beautiful work man

[JayCab]

Today lunchtime was sunny and dry, so I’ve managed to install the passenger seat too…

[JayCab]

It should look quite the piece with the roof down with the blue “Elba” leather matched from steering wheel to deck lid.

I will take some more shots of it when it’s warm enough/dry enough to put the roof down and the whole car has had a good clean.

That’s officially my longest running leather project. Approximately 18 months with part time input / focus around life…

For anyone wondering about the roof / water situation, I had a new roof made for this before starting the interior (professionally, not my work).

[struikie]

very very cool work

JW

[JayCab]

Heated Seats:

I have been driving around in winter and can say the following about the heated seats. This may/may not be of use to others. Heat seats are a little rarer at this VAG vehicle age (I think from Mk4 Golf era forwards, pretty much all leather seats came heated). It may be a useful reference because I've effectively just built a brand new heated seat set with every genuine NOS component with zero wear / use.

1. OE Elements are dual pad single wire series design, with same wire length on base section and back section, 1 Ohm impedance each, 2 Ohm series load. This puts their power output at around 100W per seat depending on alternator running voltage / car electrical management.

(not that these cars have much "management", the running voltage does go up/down depending on charging state and load)

2. Control is thermostatic at six pre-set levels on the dial via a 10k Ohm NTC Thermistor integrated into the base element in the rear most part, such that the thermistor is sandwiched between the point where the backrest meets the base (and therefore it senses heat produced by both elements).

3. Harness design, connector and wiring layout is identical to Mark 4 Golf 1997 - 2005 era cars. However, element design is the older single running wire retained from the older era Audi's, made by IGB, not the newer carbon grid type.

4. Subjective feedback of heat levels as used in British Winter:
Pos: 1: Very little heat. Not really noticeable.
Pos: 2: Heats seat up to about body temp very rapidly. Not "warm", but does away with the "leather seat coldness" faster than getting into a leather seated car that's not heated. At this point, a passenger would not know the seat was heated. It just get's rid of the chill faster when getting in a cold car.
Pos: 3: Slightly above body temp. At this point you only just know the seats are heated.
Pos: 4: Warmish.
Pos: 5: Warm enough to be therapeutic to a bad back (ask me how I know)
Pos: 6: A bit too hot. Nice for sudden back pain but otherwise forget it. Uncomfortable / sweaty beyond 5/10 minutes.

I have read other reviews that say positions 1 and 2 are totally dead. Not sure I agree. The "getting rid of coldness" level is still a useful luxury. Probably much more appreciated in Nordic climates.

The thermostatically controlled heated seats of this era are still way ahead of the two/three level seat warmers on the cars coming out of factories today with fixed output levels. Under appreciated old school design!