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Modernizing the Front Lights (Part 2)
Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2017 is a better year for all.Anyway, as you recall in my last post I swapped out a first generation T10 LED parking lamp, as well as the OEM D2S Xenon bulb on the left...
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Some Increased Publicity... Plus Photos From the Cutting Room Floor
As most of you probably noticed, during the last couple of weeks I did a Speedhunters post where I described my multi-month "clean-up" of the engine bay. Also, my friend Alessandro did a very nice...
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First Time Ever All Fluids Change/First Visit of the Year to Nissan Prince Tokyo
So even though I've owned my car for over 10 years now, there is still a first time for everything - so this was the first time I had ALL fluids in the car, changed out at once. Anyway - because I need...
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Interior Modernization Project, Introduction
No doubt, you have already seen the article I published on Speedhunters about 6 weeks ago, describing my interior modernization project - which incidentally, is still ongoing.Speedhunters, however, is...
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After rejecting pre-made leather covers, I thought that maybe I could do the work myself. Order a bunch of leather, and then use some kind of glue. After all, we humans have been working with leather...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 2 - Sourcing the Leather
It turns out that Cechaflo would welcome the publicity generated by us working together. Not only would I feature him and his work on this blog, but also on Speedhunters. Can't beat that kind of...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 3. Sourcing Some Parts...And Planning Ahead
After the leather was ordered, while we waited for it to arrive, I decided that it would make sense to start sending Cechaflo (first name: Cesar) the parts he would cover in leather.Initially, the plan...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 4. Parts Repair and Sending More Parts
As soon as Cesar unwrapped the dashboard that had been sent to him from the UK, he inspected the dashboard. And having never seen an R33 GT-R dashboard before, he video taped his inspection so I could...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 5. Leather Finally Arrives but...
The leather from Hydes finally arrived, direct from Arzignano, Italy!Unfortunately, the first thing Cesar noticed after he unwrapped the packages was that the leather was skived to 0.7-0.8mm, so thin...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 5.5. More Photos of the Sub-Par Leather
Sorry everyone, I was planning to write about some parts that were sent to Cesar while this whole leather fiasco was happening, but I stumbled upon some more photos that Cesar had send to me when he...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 6. More Parts!
So after coming to the conclusion that there was no way to "save" the "Bentley" leather that Hydes had sent, we went ahead with Plan B, which was for me to pay Cesar for the replacement cost of the...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 7 - Some Optional Stuff!
With the leather fiasco behind us, it was time for Cesar and me to start thinking about exactly what would be covered in leather, what would be left alone, and what parts might end up being covered in...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 8. Dashboard Vinyl Templates
So apparently the proper way to leatherize a large piece, is to first construct several templates using vinyl, which eventually evolve into patterns against which the actual leather is cut.Cesar...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 9. Templates for the Glovebox Lining
As I mentioned at the end of my last post, a few days after Cesar emailed me to show me the vinyl molds for the main dash, he asked about how, and with what material, the interior of the glove box...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 10. Some Samples and Red Thread Plus...
In my previous post I mentioned that Cesar had a surprise for me.Cesar sent me photos of some small pieces he decided he wanted to practice on. Practice that is, using the leather, as well as some new...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 11: Some MORE Parts...
In my last post, I mentioned that, while waiting for some Alcantara that I had ordered to arrive at Cesar's, I had sent him a vent to fit into the rear of the center console. But, I had also sent him...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 12 - Stitching Length and some Completed...
On a visit to my Lexus dealer back in late August last year during this leather interior project, I decided to see how large the stitching was on their cars. In particular, the GS-F. Luckily they have...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 13. Where Should the Stitching Go +...
Decisions, decisions.Once we had decided to go with 3mm for the stitching length, the next step would be to figure out how and where the "french stitches" would be placed. Because the leading edges...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 14. Alcantara Mix-Up But a Hidden Blessing?
So as I mentioned in my last post, the roll of Alcantara that I had ordered and sent to Cesar back in early August (2016 - during the build), seemed to have been lost in the mail. So after a couple of...
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Interior Modernization Project, Part 15. Custom Center Console Modification
Because the Alcantara I ordered took so long to reach Cesar, he had meanwhile gone ahead and started work on another project - modifying the center console to accept the OEM Toyota Aristo rear center...
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