PERRYinLA

Anything is possible. All it takes is money. Question is, are you willing to pay that much? An all-leather, all-panel job like that would cost way into the 4-digit range, and that doesn't include labor. You mind sharing how many euros that cost you, Soto?

sas0662

Thanks to all for the kind comments. You guys have been the inspiration for getting started on this!

abdul1000: thanks for the comments; I would be very interested to know what areas you would improve to bring up to the standards of the seats, as you mentioned!

I have contacted AutoStop and asked for the kit possibility; I will update anyone who is interested; just give me a shout!

abdul10000

Hello Soto,


If you notice in picture 1 I marked three areas that look alittle dull in comparison to the seats. The first being the big part of the door panel. Your seats have a pattern, but that section is just plain. Though, the door on this car is big and that probably adds to the this dull effect. If you want some ideas, try checking pictures of exotic sports cars that have the same seat design and a big door.

The second area is not as obvious and if you can change the top bigger part I guess it will be overshadowed and look alright.

The third area is the most noticeable. I think thats because the new leather is lighter in color and it is sandwiched between the arm rest and the seat. If you can bring the color to the same shade I think it will look fine.

abdul10000

One thing though, I noticed in picture 2 that the door panel is made to flow with the front console, so I am not sure that modifying the door panel would be effective. It may improve in respect to the seats but mess up the follow of the rest of the interior.

Ps. I am not sure if you can install the 98+ shifter panel but that would look beautiful in your car.

abdul10000

In picture 3 you can again see how the side panels look dull, but thats always the case. I always thought Lexus did a poor job designing that part of the car. Though, the seams improve the appearance of the panel.

Keep in mind that I am judging from pictures. In real life your interior may look allot better.

sc.Fred

nevertheless it's a sweet interior.. a BLACK interior woulda been hella fresh! (i'm biased to black interiors! )

a full kit would be a grip because you also have to consider that the company is from Europe so making it would cost a lot and consider the shipping costs as well if anybody from the states would want to do it

it would be worth it IMO.. the pix make it look imaculate

sas0662

I´m glad to see, we had the same thoughts!
I agree with you on the flat upper door panel and rear upper quarter panel both of them being dull by origin. I actually designed a partial "channeling" insert (like the ones in the seats) going down from the wood panel to the armrest, but upon testing it it proved too busy - and as you correctly pointed out - it broke the flow with the dash panel. Not much you could do with the rear quarter panel and the stitching did help.
The lower center console is due for recovering in the same leather; I wanted to wait and take it out when I install the ICE/Navi setup. I've been thinking of actually turning all the remaining 'brown' trim to black; we'll see.
I also like the '98 shifter plate; if anyone knows whether this can be done, please let me know.

Again, many thanks for your input.
Soto

abdul10000

Don't forget to post pictures when you get the center console covered in leather.

As for the black parts. If you are going to add navi plus possibly 98+ shifter panel with ****, you will have very little black parts to worry about. The only parts that will be black are a)Cluster panel b)Air control unit c)Door handles. So why paint all the wood in black?

If you can get the door handles chromed for example, your whole interior will look consistent in color shade and quality of surface. Remember, chrome will flow with almost anything. So, I suggest considering that rout instead of having to paint everything thats wood in black. Beside if you decide to add a wood steering wheel in the future you would have to paint the wood section in black too, and that wouldn't look too good.

The best way to know if the shifter panel will work is to buy a used one from a salvage yard and see if it fits or not. I don't think they will charge too much, but shipping may be high. Try calling Tap Recycling @ 916-631-7100, they have allot of SC's in their yard and they will probably understand what your talking about. Let me know what you think!

Senator

The gated shifter has been spoken about for quite some time now. I don't think that there has been a sucessful, economical, swap done before.

Josh

sc400

Wow! That was a superb job. I've always been a great fan of nice leather like Conolly.
If you don't mind me asking how much did this job cost?