Mondo 300

As always top notch work Si. that "Ginger" is a lovely colour, I actually think its a lot nice than the original Alezan...... which reminds me...... Nearly time for some more work

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Graeme... but I'm booked up til the last week in November...!!

Absolutely stunning work mate! I don't know how you do it! Also, where abouts in Durham are you based just out of curiosity?

Many thanks As to how I do it; sheer bloodymindedness!

I'm based in Trimdon Village, near Sedgefield. Not sure if you're familiar with these parts or not...?

It's actually a slightly deeper orange than the original shade, which I always thought was more of an orangey-tan kind of colour. It's definitely more vivid than the OEM stuff and, as I've mentioned, it's much much nicer leather as well.

The top half of his driver's seat feels absolutely gorgeous!

The gearknob... I umm'd and ahh'd about that myself before I settled on the design. The problem I found is that the OEM knob is designed in a peculiar way, and one that doesn't really lend itself to retrimming too well. I originally attempted to copy the design of the handbrake handle, by having machine-stitched seams, but the shape of the knob made it impossible to get a new cover around the machine and achieve a good finish!

So I opted for hand-sewn, cross-stitched seams instead as that ties the gearknob into the steering wheel, as they both share the same stitching pattern.

I'm confident that once everything's refitted back in Craig's Zed, none of it will look out of place.

So, some progress. Both headrests are finished and the driver's side top jacket is complete as well. Due to the position the seat was in when Craig removed it from his Zed, photography is tricky But I've managed as best I can.

Eagle-eyed people will notice that I've altered the design very slightly and done away with the small horizontal seam that is usually present just after the shoulder (on the long bvertical bolster section). I'm not completely sure why Nissan used it as I've just proved that it's unnecessary. I think my updating cleans up the lines

Despite the "washing out" in the pictures (due to the sunlight), the leather is the same shade as the parts I posted a couple of days ago. And the black topstitching really stands out against the ginger leather!

As can be seen, there is a shade difference between the OEM hide and the new leather but, as all the leather parts are being replaced, it won't look out of place and, to be completely honest, this is a much nicer colour anyway!

It feels like it's been a while...!

Craig (Cphil40381 - he's only got 11 posts on here or something!) got in touch wanting to refresh his cabin and, seeing as he's a fan of the Alezan leather trim, he wanted to keep it fairly original in appearance.

The OEM leather is available to buy new but it's both expensive and, in my professional opinion, not particularly nice leather anyway. So I decided to find some nicer leather that was a decent match for the original shade.

What I decided on was Andrew Muirhead Ingleston Ginger and it's absolutely lovely stuff! I've waxed lyrical about Muirhead leather many times in the past, so I won't do it again here... suffice to say, it's tough to find better.

I thought I'd start with the "easy" parts first, so may I present a gear gaiter, handbrake handle, gearknob and steering wheel:

Craig wanted some embellishments on his new trim, so black thread is replacing all the original orange. He also wanted perforated grips on the steering wheel so those and the top section are Andrew Muirhead Ingleston Black leather. Nothing but top notch materials here!

Still lots to do, but I think these pictures should whet his appetite and also show that the Ginger leather is pretty close to the Alezan hide... but much much nicer...

I could go on for days and days about depression and mental health issues, but I won't.

One thing I've learned over the years, and it took a while, is that there's no sense worrying about things you simply can't change. Mistakes you made in the past are just that: in the past. Letting them influence and affect you now achieves nothing except to make you feel bad.

I learned from things in the past, usually the VERY hard way, and now do my utmost not to repeat them. I'm not saying it's easy, by any means... I had to reach a point in my life where I was sick and tired of feeling "bad" about things before I could make a start on feeling better about everything!

You have to WANT to change things, I've found. Cliche it may be, but admitting there's an issue is half the battle! And your opening post suggests that you're admitting that, so that's an excellent first step!

I hereby offer £10 to the OP towards a decent re-retrim by a recognised trader on here. Not as a pity gesture, as a f*ck you to the person who made a mess of his wheel. The condition of this offer is that whatever is pulled from the wheel is posted back to the original trimmer with the above phrase, asterisk removed, written in the box/packet.

I'll chuck £10 in to that as well. Same condition.

Genuine LOL at the above quotes!

£270 is a lot of money for a steering wheel refurb. I know a chunk of that will be tied up in the reshaping (one job I refuse to ever even attempt!) but still, that's one expensive wheel!

The more I look, the more disappointed I become!

If I'm completely honest, I absolutely hate the look of these reprofiled steering wheels anyway... they just look as if they've melted or something. But this one looks even worse due to the poor fit of the new leather cover.

Don't get me wrong; I understand all too well how difficult steering wheels are to trim, especially when they're all awkward angles like this one. But that finish is pretty bad, to say the least...

Speaking from a professional viewpoint... that finish is absolutely appalling! Sorry to say it, but that wouldn't even get in the post from me without being 100% redone!

It looks to me that there's been an unfortunately-placed scar on the reverse of that panel that just happens to line up with the perforations. That gives it an area of "weakness" and it's given way.

The only viable option is a complete replacement panel, I'm afraid.

Mmmmmaybe... I'll see how much work I've got through nearer the time....

Years and years ago, I had an old Fiat X1/9 that I "inherited" from my sister. It was on an old T plate and, frankly, had seen better days...

One day, the exhaust decided to give up the ghost. As these were mid-engined, the exhaust was basically just a backbox with a pipe attaching it to the manifold. This one had a big hole in the corner, and I couldn't afford to get a replacement...

...so I used to pack it full of newspaper, which would quieten it down nicely for a handful of miles. It was only when the police pulled me for the ash and flames blowing from the rear of the car that I realised that newspaper is, in fact, combustible!

I ended up having to fork out for a Janspeed replacement in the end. The X1/9 got it's own back by failing it's MOT less than a week later...

My mates mum is a upholsterer and there's a few upholstery companys in my area so not really looking for someone to do it just ideas of colours and if anyones got red. or if its better to dye them other than a full retrim.

The significant drawback to dyeing them is that the thread colour on the topstitching will also end up red.

Considered a 300ZX Twin Turbo...?

That looks amazing!! And a bit of wheel fattening up is definitely a good thing. I'll be I touch soon

I wonder which one you think looks amazing...?

Even though I actually have some Alcantara in my own car, it's something I prefer not to work with as it is ludicrously expensive and, all things considered, it's not really "all that"...

But, from my perspective, what the customer wants.......

Is that Devastator in the top right...??

It's an unfortunate mounting position on the Black Widow, Rob...!

Nice. I bet you wish you had started collecting the Star Wars figures, as some fetch over £5000 each now.

Funny fact: when I was much younger, I decided to sell all my Star Wars stuff. And there was a lot of it!!

So we did a car boot sale and every last thing went that day, and I was overjoyed (as you would be at about 11) to have £130 in my pocket.

You can probably imagine how retroactively gutted I've become over the years....!!

I've just made a start in collecting these:

The bank balance could easily be drained very quickly though...

Quite simply, children don't figure in my life whatsoever.

I have no finer paternal instincts worth speaking of... I don't have a great deal of time for other peoples' children... and, perhaps most importantly, I remember what an absolute nightmare I was as a youngster and so I have no desire for karma to inflict something similar on me!

I don't think there's anything selfish about people not wanting to have children. To be honest, I think it's an incredibly sensible decision considering the horrendous state of the modern world. Certainly, I wouldn't want to bring an innocent into today's world.

My missus would like kids, but we established early on that I wasn't the man for her if procreating was something she desperately had to do. Plus neither of us can particularly afford a child and, speaking personally, I don't really see the point in having one if it's going to be a huge struggle to provide afterwards.

Speaking as someone who was adopted at an early age here, that option always exists for those who are unable to have children of their own. But, as with everything in life, it should be a personal choice and not something that anyone should be made to feel guilty over (wanting kids or not wanting them, I mean).

 

 

As someone who has got to the age of 46 and by choice never had kids, the one piece of advice I would give is do not under any circumstances have them just because someone else wants them. Despite what the media wants you to believe, it's not mandatory to have kids and you can have a perfectly happy and fulfilled life without the little beggars!

I have to agree with this. I have precisely no interest in kids and my partner knows this. It's no secret that she'd love to have kids, but she's accepted that I'm just not the man that it's going to happen with.

We've had conversations in the past about her being with someone who does want children (instead of being with me) but it appears that being with me is more important. Plus there's the small fact that we couldn't really afford to have a child together; neither her wage or my self-employed income is particularly great at the moment, so where's the sense in putting a massive additional strain on it?

I hope the OP gets this situation sorted out. I've been in similar shoes in the past and it's an awful feeling to think/know that you're going to have to walk away, but sometimes it really is the only viable solution... once all the talking has been exhausted, of course.

Would love some but when they retail around the £400-£500 mark seems like a lot. I have HID on it at the moment so get plenty of light, but agree projectors look much better.

Ah. HIDs in ordinary halogen headlights are a major no-no for me... the glare for other drivers is horrific!

A set of projectors would finish that off beautifully