wchestnutt

haha yeah it does, not so noticabble in the flesh :p not 100% happy with the back panel, but haven't worked out what design would improve it yet.

some progress today :) Just need to fasten a few areas and this seat should be complete! Beauty of these seats is that I can put any colour in the middle and not require a complete retrim, so i may do a black alcantara insert set as well at some point to match the black alcantara going in the interior dash and door cards.

thats pretty cool thanks for the info, I may have too give that a try myself when I have the space in that case haha!

mate thats a great effort!! Well impressed. Look forward to seeing the final pics. Interested to know the final cost of the DIY respray!

Hello, My two cents... 1: Lots of us here use our cars all year arouond. It probably depends on how you drive, but I really enjoy the wet and use it as an excuse to learn how to have more control over the car. Certainly usable, but dont expect to put your foot down as it will step out. Under normal driving you are fine. 2: I have often had 3 or 4 adults (5ft9") in the the car, but I wouldnt put anyone taller in the back. And yes you have to shuffle the seats around a bit to make some more leg room. Generally I use it as a 2 seater, and peopel do moan in the back but I just find it amusing and hope they enjoy teh ride really. 3: cant help sorry 4: 5k+ although really hard to find nice onces recently. Always ask for the clubs advice on a purchase as they know a lot of the cars history and can weed out the lies and potential isues. 5: Depends how handy you are and if you look after it. Regularly service them (oil / filter) and get a decent onoe and you will be fine. Mine has caused me mnima; issued driving around 7k a year for past 3 years. expect some minor issues, but get to know the car and it can be very rewarding. and these are old cars, so dont expect it to be able to take a tonne of abuse without occasionally lettign you know about it! 8: I haven't seen a rust free UK model yet... Mine is a jap import and as a result is pretty clean underneath. Dont touch anything that is starting to show rust bubbles, i think that is one of the most common reasons these cars get scrapped. Good luck!!

they are Bride seats and I found some rails via facebook which had just gone for sale (Mondo linked me up). So that has saved a LOAD of hassle or expense importing rails. It was dark by teh time I finished messing around so photos soon :)

it is probably safe to assume they are cheap fakes, and would buckle on a pothole, but if you know what to expect then might be alright for a runaround for a while. I would only go with known brands and sources I trusted long term, but thats because I don't always spoot the odd hole. My Volks have always withstood a beating, but seem some pretty scary bends in wheels from holes.

Test fit the drivers side Bride low max Gias 2 reclining bucket seat... WOW!! I thought it would make a difference, but didnt realise how much. Maybe it is due to the lack of padding to absorb the G force when accelerating, the car feels like a go cart!! Complete transformation! :D. Rather low though ha ha

Aha yeah I get you now Mondo makes sense, I cant think how to pattern without going over the top though as the tension around the back is effectively floating due to the wire pulling it tight. Hmmmm. I wonder if I can lay my cover over the top of the original :p

Hello Si, Trouble is there is minimal foam on the so I wouldnt have been able to build a pattern without going over the top. This cover is stretched using a wire that runs around the back of the chair and is stitched into the fabric, then tensioned on a spring underneath. Once it is off the chair is just a carbon shell pretty much. Get your point about the fitment and adding foam though, unfortunately I am pretty sure it is symptomatic of the lining not having any stretch so it prevents the leather being able to stretch to a nice tight fit. When I built the pattern I have myself a few mm tolerance to compensate being on top of the fabric. I think the pattern is as close as I would get it, so hopefully the second final fitting will prove more successful. :) So far though finding them less stressfull than the shapes on the original seats!! Haha

This was the first test fit. I havn't put on the velcro fasteners which will hold the cover tight yet, and there are a couple of areas on the bolsters where I will add a little extra foam to prevent the pulling that is happening at the moment, probably as a result of the lining not allowing much stretch. This is the blue that will be used on the inserts...

here is the progress this weekend. Pattern creation: This is where I made an error I think. The foam backing I used doesnt have any give in the material, so this prevented the leather from stretching easily during the fitting stage. Next seat will be using a softer foam backing. Will it ft?! Unfortunately the clips on the seat belt holes snapped so I will hav to find a way to fix those. For now they are clamped :)

It will have a scrim foam backing :)

Haha you have scared me now :p put half the pattern together so far. i wan't it to be perfect this time so I am spending a lonnnng time gettign my pattern right :D

Ahh amazing!!! Any chance you can introduce me or link me to the page?... I can't see him. https://www.facebook.com/williamschestnutts

Hello! So I have picked up some bride Gias Low Max seats which came out of an Evo 8. I have the low max rails, but obviously these won't marry up to the zeds bolts. I can find a welder to do a couple hours work on it at some point, but is there a more straight forward way to attach these??... Any advice appreciated. best regards, William.

That Z logo looks great! The main leather I am using is a proper upholstery hide in black, it has a very fine/small imprinted grain and is very soft. The nubuck is intended but for the inserts again to add a bit of contrast, if it fails then I can replace with black normal leather, but my curiosity levels are far too high not to give it a try! Haha (probably the Same reason I started this project in the first place! :p) Thanks for advise about debossing, I think I will be staying clear of that given the cost and time.

Hi Si, wow that is pretty expensive! I hadnt looked into it yet, so perhaps a proper embroidered logo would be a better plan :P Thanks for advice re nubuck, I will give it a shot and see how it fairs. The car doesnt get too much use so hopefully it wont get too destroyed and I will treat it with uv protection keralux to try and help! Best, W

Hi Guys, thanks again for the feedback!! So been tinkering around the past week, and the interior is starting to come together a bit more. Retrimmed wheel has been installed and I have sourced some quality leather and thread instead of hit and miss ebay stuff. also fit a new JVC Touch Screen stereo which looks pretty nice imo. I have also just bought some new seats which I will be retrimming to fit in the car. I hope these will add a bit of an individual feel and perhaps modernise the interior slightly. I have gone for the bride Gias reclining low max seats (Genuine). They are red cloch at the moment, but this will be changed for a black soft leather with embossed (somehow) Zed logo, Thick Grey top stitching for detail, and a soft blue Nubuck leather for the middle panels. really excited to start work on these! Anyone had experience with the Bride Gias? Seen some pics of them retrimmed in leather for a less aftermarket look and they can look quite flash I think

Looks cool!

WOW!!!! didn't expect that NA or TT?

Ahh okay makes sense thank you guys! :)

Second for pirelli p-zero :)

Fit a new DAB stereo today. Single din touch screen CD/DVD player as it gives a super sleek look. Love the simplicity.

hello, So being a numpty I may have broken my airbag. Taming the wheel off, I missed the lower connector which connets the wheel to the airbag thing behind the wheel and when I pulled the wheel off a trail of ribbon fell onto my lap..... I have wound it back up and clipped it on again, but I am wondering if this has now blows my airbag stuff up... bit worried to reconnect teh wheel and battery now! Not really sure how an airbag sensor works.... Any advice?