Since Ian put such a nice suggestion to post some photographs of something that is about as interesting to do as watching grass grow - hand stitching ... here are some really exciting photos. The seam in the second photograph looks a bit loose - this is because at the time I had not tightened the thread.
I had to redo the seam because the BMW leather and stitching had failed just between the seam and the seat's side bolster. Being the driver's seat it would have been collecting sweat for years and things just gave way. I unstitched the area - about 300 mm and used contact adhesive to run a length of leather to the back of the original trim. So, for most of the length I was pushing a needle through four layers of leather. That is why you can see a set of needle nose pliers in one of the photographs. I also used a leather off cut as a thimble to initially needle through the hole I had previously made with the awl. When I was just threading through the sound leather I was only going through 2 layers and I could push the needle through the awl hole without needing the scrap of leather or the needle nose pliers. I followed each stitch hole that was made at the factory. Pretty laborious - however, I got there in the end! Yes, Ian once the trim is finished and back on the Defender seat base I will post some more photographs.
I will take some more photographs and post them up when I cut the passenger side seat foam down and add two to three new layers of padding. I did not take any photographs of this stage with the driver's side seat mostly because it was a big experiment and I was not sure if it was going to work. It did though. I only have to modify how the BMW back rest fits onto the Defender frame. Nothing needs to be done with the leather trim or the foam. The centre seat will be all my work from cutting the foam to making a pattern for the seat base and back. By the time I get to start working on the centre seat I hope to have all the cabinetry that is currently blocking my access to my sewing machine removed from the shed and installed in the kitchen. Then I will have some space and time to teach myself how to machine sew. I really do not want to hand stitch the full seams that go along the outside edge of the two seat parts.
I have been mentioning that I bought the interior of a BMW without identifying the exact model. The donor vehicle was a BMW E34 which was the third generation of the BMW 5 Series. The 5 series was produced from November 2, 1987, until 1996. Snowy was made in January 1993 so even though I bought the interior because it was available only a couple of blocks away from where I live - the age of the BMW matched Snowy's age. This was lucky for me because the E34 did not have any inbuilt air bags or electronics within the seats.
Just done bibs and bobs today. With the tray off Snowy I have been assessing the condition of the steel frame that the tray is made from. The main component is 50 x 25 rectangular hollow section. Snowy came with a patchwork of warped and rotted tongue and groove timber decking and odd bits of checker plate that was wedged between the RHS and the rotted timber deck to form a patch. Well multiple patches.
Since it is now dark outside, I took some happy snaps with my phone's flash. Not the best of quality. Some sections of the head board where it joins with the front cross brace have gone rusty. Two cross braces that must have been where the steel mudguards were fitted have holes rusted through them as well. Lucky for me I have had the same dimension of steel sitting in storage for years. The farmer had replaced the steel rear mudguards with some old conveyor belt front and back sides. There was not top to the mudguard, so it left the area open and the tyres would throw stuff up under the tray. This mud and cattle dung was trapped against the steel forming a nice moist corrosive environment. Fortunately the steel sides of the flat bed tray are in very good condition.
I will be reinforcing the rear of the tray with a couple of rows of full width thicker walled square hollow section to provide reinforcement to where I am going mount a ute crane to the tray.
There have been small steps forward. Only a couple of weeks to go until Snowy gets towed to chassis repair place. I will need to do some more work on the driver's seat so there is something to sit on when the car is moved around on and off the trailer and driven into the workshop.
It looks like I will becoming very familiar with a wire brush mounted to an angle grinder. Then red oxide and a yet to be determined colour for the top coats of paint. I might stay with the white look.
Kind regards
Lionel
Last edited by Lionelgee; 2nd June 2024 at 05:49 PM.
Yesterday afternoon I unpicked a back head rest so I could use it to extend the side of Snowy's driver seat cover a bit more. Turns out that sun damaged leather is not worth a cracker. It just disintegrates when it is stretched. So, this afternoon I unstitched some of the rear seat back for some donor leather. Everything I am doing to Snowy's driver's seat I have to replicate for the passenger seat. Plus I have the middle seat's base and back to do. Finger's crossed, I have enough leather just in the rear seat back to finish Snowy's seats. I would like to be able to save the BMW rear seat base for another project.
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