Since the SEMA show, we've been slowly working toward finishing our resident project truck, The Desert Dragger. Just last week, we pulled the truck into the shop yet again to make a few changes to the interior. The truck came to us already decked out in black leather, which was cool but not custom enough. In order to make the truck as visually appealing as possible, we needed to throw a little color into the interior, and black leather just wasn't cutting it. That's when we called upon Josh Handman and the crew from Leather Trim Limited from Arlington, Texas. Josh, also known by most magazines as "My Buddy Josh - Custom Upholstery," has taken great pains to come up with kits that easily replace the factory seat covers in most mini-trucks. If you can think it, he can build a kit for it, which can save you hundreds of dollars in custom upholstery. The kit we installed in the Dragger runs somewhere in the $500 range using tanned leather and suede in two colors. Follow along as we install Leather Trim's kit with some amazing results.
1.To begin, we simply unbolted...
1.To begin, we simply unbolted the four bolts in each seat and removed them carefully so we didn't scratch the exterior or doorjambs of the truck.
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3.Next, pull the door panels...
3.Next, pull the door panels by first removing the armrests, and then remove the screws behind the armrests that secure the panel to the door.
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5.If your truck is equipped...
5.If your truck is equipped with factory power windows and locks, make sure to unplug the switch pod before proceeding.
6.You have to lift the door...
6.You have to lift the door panel around its perimeter because the panel itself is clipped to the door. Lift the bottom first, and then lift the panel out of window track and away from the truck.
7.Back in the shop, we prepared...
7.Back in the shop, we prepared the seats for reupholstering by removing the four bolts that hold the seat bottom to the seat frame.This allowed us to completely remove the seat bottom from the frame.
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9.Without a seat bottom, here's...
9.Without a seat bottom, here's where we are left with the seat frame.
10&11.Using a pair of pliers...
10&11.Using a pair of pliers or wire cutters, work your way around the seat bottom and remove the factory hog rings that secure the factory seat cover to the seat bottom.
12.Peel the seat bottom cover...
12.Peel the seat bottom cover away from the seat from the bottom up. You'll find that the cover is still secured on top.
13.Remove the other hog rings...
13.Remove the other hog rings that secure the seat cover to the top of the seat and remove the rods in the seat.
14.These are the rods that...
14.These are the rods that allow the seat cover to be attached to the seat with hog rings. Make sure that you retain these because you'll need them to put the new seat covers on.
15.Next, we moved to the seat...
15.Next, we moved to the seat back and split the bottom of the cover where it attaches front-to-back.
16.The seat cover is removed...
16.The seat cover is removed much like the cover on the seat bottom. There are hog rings and rods that secure it as well.
17.We replaced the rods we'd...
17.We replaced the rods we'd pulled out of the stock seat covers to begin installing the new covers.
18.Using a pair of hog ring...
18.Using a pair of hog ring pliers, the new covers are secured in the same places as the stock covers, using the rods to secure the rings.
19.With the seat bottom ringed...
19.With the seat bottom ringed into place, the sides of the cover must be pulled down over the seat padding.
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21.This is made easier using...
21.This is made easier using silicone-release spray to help everything slide into place and keep from tearing the foam.
22.A few hog rings later and...
22.A few hog rings later and the seat bottom is ready to be reinstalled on the seat frame.
23.Next, Josh sprayed more...
23.Next, Josh sprayed more silicone-release spray on the seat back and carefully fed the seat cover over the seat back, pulling it tightly at the bottom.
24.The front and back of the...
24.The front and back of the seat cover were then put back together, making the seat back cover installation complete. Then the seat bottoms were reattached to the seat frame.
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26.Moving onto the door panels,...
26.Moving onto the door panels, a few screws on the backside of the panel were removed to allow the armrest mounts to be removed.
27.The area of the door panel...
27.The area of the door panel that would need to be glued was cleaned thoroughly using lacquer thinner to remove any protectant that remained on that area.
28.The area we were upholstering,...
28.The area we were upholstering, along with the backside of the new suede insert, was given a healthy spray of adhesive and allowed to sit a few minutes to become tacky.
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30.With the suede laid down...
30.With the suede laid down and smoothed out, the perimeter was cut close to the indention in the panel and pressed into the indent using a putty knife.
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32.When everything was reassembled,...
32.When everything was reassembled, the interior of the Desert Dragger looked far different than it had only about an hour and a half earlier in the day.
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