Miata update: New leather!

(Click on images for larger view.)
So this has been a project in the making for some time, but it wasn't very hard to to, I was just nervous to do something wrong.

First find a good leather supplier, that can save you hundreds of dollars right away. I was looking at $200 for the leather alone which is called "Estate Leather" it's more durable and is thicker than the ones found in Acuras, Mercedeses. I got away with it for $50.

First I had to disconnect the airbag, which was a nervous hassle but necessary for obvious reasons. Here are pictures from the wire harness (mess) under and beneath the steering column. (Click on image for larger view)


















1 Disconnect the battery, wait 30 minutes for any voltage in the airbag system to dissipate.
2 Then remove the airbag from the steering wheel and remove the steering wheel itself.
3 Cut off the leather with a razor blade. What you want to cut is the thread because you want to use the old leather as a template for the new.

Once the leather was cut, the new leather was put through a sewing maching without thread so that the stitching would be even and easy on the fingers.
The stitching was the most laborious part of the whole process and took, due to my skills or lack thereof more than one day to finish. I therefore had to drive the car with the leather only partially fastened, and no airbag, but that was actually no problem since it was already sitting pretty tight, and it was only a temporary solution.
The last steps involved using vulcanizing glue from a spray gun that must have belonged to Frankenstein it was old, but it worked very well.
Putting everything back in its place was easy, and in order to make the airbag work again I just left the car sit with the battery disconnected for 35 minutes before I mounted and reconnected the airbag essentially resetting the computer.
I also carefully noted all my saved channels in my radio.
Heres the "new" wheel:
















I also decided to replace the vinyl that had adorned the shifter with some of the leftover leather. My upholstery friend pretty much made it from my cutouts in less than four minutes.



















For more pictures and comments from the work process go to my Frogstar site.
(http://frogstar.smugmug.com/gallery/5427258_U8pwB#331842121_NzNpw)