Just got my steering wheel retrimmed.
Now I know what it feels like holding a brand new coop wheel

Where? How much? Dammit, we need answers man!

You're too fast Stan

Got it done by a friendly chap named Joe at Trimdeluxe. Still waiting for my gearknob to come back as its getting the gear position embroided. Wanted it embossed but tooling would be too difficult and unfeasible

That looks superb, is the red leather a good match?......

Yeah that was my main concern when i was discussing it with him. When i emailed him a picture of the old wheel, he seem confident enough that he can match it. Looks pretty close to me. Will compare it with my seats when i get back.

Thanks for the info Kelv, I'm Googling now as I need the wheel done on my Golf GTi

I take you can send the wheel off to them ?

No problem Stan. If you haven't already found it, their website is Here .

Yeah thats what i did Rich. They are located in West Sussex so would be abit too far for me to bring it to them

Still have to think about retrimming the handbrake lever. Not looking forward to that as its a nightmare to remove.

cool, let me know how good the colour match is and i'll go from there....

Jeez you really are going for perfection Kelv .

Looks smart matey .

Baz

I'd love to know how they got the red inserts out, and back in so well......

Looks great,may look forward to getting my gear knob and steering wheel done next year

Was it £130 for just the steering wheel Kelv or was that price including your gear knob?

Baz

Well wheel is back on now and as far as i can tell tell, the red matches well . The rest just looks so glossy in comparison now.

Baz, its £130 for just the wheel. Gearknob is another £20 + £5 (embroidery).

this is screaming for a group buy!

agreed!! my plus wheel and nob are in desperate need of this treatment...

i enquired at fiat about a new wheel = £400 before vat...

Wow didn't know fiat still have steering wheels.

I can't imagine this being a group buy tbh. Retrimming takes time and your car will be off the road (unless you get a replacement). Best to do this on an individual basis.

how do you get the wheel off the car without setting off the airbag?

Disconnect the battery above all else first..

Follow this guide and all should be well

I see the guide says to leave the battery disconnected for 10-15mins but I usually leave the battery disconnected for an hour before working on removing the wheel as that is the general guide time given by most manufacturers when working on air bag systems.

Maybe the guide should be altered just to be on the safe side .

Baz

I usually don't even wait Baz!

An hour does seem like a long time?

thanks kelv27
i tried to find a guide on here for the airbag thing but nothing came up like your link, must of typed something in wrong

Your brave ,I just don't fancy getting a broken nose!

Sometimes I'll maybe just give it half an hour before working on the Coop's steering wheel but in most cases your supposed to wait at least an hour after disconnecting the battery so that any capacitors can be allowed to discharge before you go in disconnecting plugs and stuff.

Baz

I just close my eyes and turn my face to one side...

Yeah i just didn't know it takes an hour to discharge the capacitor. Most places mention 30mins. Anyway, I've changed to guide to say between 30mins to an hour

Cheers Kelv . I think most of the manuals are just being overly cautious to avoid any court action,so we might as well do the same .

Baz

any pics of the gear knob?

Before


After

and they even stitched the gear markings!

Yeah its a fiver extra to do that though..

ive emailed them now about re trimming my gear knob,hopefully good news.Looks like they did a great job

Let us know how it turns out coupedummy

Had an email reply from trimdeluxe today and look to be posting my gear knob off tommorow for refurb.

Will keep updated

Your gear knob looks lovely kelv27, bet you'll be getting the handbrake done next!! I assume the red is a good match, it looks it

Look forward to seeing the finish article coupedummy

Rich, I've already done the handbrake!
Apologies for not putting the pic up earlier.

superb ! bet it makes a big difference to the interior, what was the cost of the handbrake? Problem for me is i'd have to buy spare parts to send off for re-trimming, which would bump up the cost alot :-(

Yeah it does make a difference. Especially to the touch... Feels like driving a new car

The price of the handbrake is the same as the gearknob.
You don't have to buy a spare if you don't mind being off road for a couple of days while they retrim it. Removal and refitting is very easy and should take no more than 30mins. I've got a guide up at the How To section.

Richbi maybe picking up a cheap standard steering wheel in a bundle you can have.Im just after the indicators from the bundle,just return it when your is done if you want?

Will know later for sure first,at least your car wont be off the road then?

Cheers for that, but wont be doing it just yet I don't think, about to renew tyres, but will do it soon I hope!

Ohh, and what did you use the re-attach the gearknob Kelv ?

What do you mean Rich?

As I remember, the gear knob id hard to get off, and putting it back on requires some very strong glue type stuff, just wondered what you used to refit, and get it to stay in place?

On my 20vt just pull the knob off.which is difficult.And puch the new one back down.It will stay in place

The gearknob is not that difficult to remove if you know how it goes together. I'll try my best to explain it...

The knob itself is made out of rubber (which is covered with leather). The core of the knob is made out of hard plastic. This plastic construction is then slotted into the metal shaft of the gearstick. The plastic core has many ridges and so does the rubber. The rubber and plastic then slots together.



I think what alot of people try to do is remove the rubber part and the plastic part of the gearknob together as a whole. This is understandable as most are looking at removing the whole thing to give way for an aftermarket gearknob.

In this case (getting the original gearknob retrimmed), we can leave the plastic part intact while we only remove the rubber portion. The rubber+leather portion we want can be removed by pushing it forward in a rolling motion towards the centre console

I hope my explanation is not too confusing...

Nope, that all makes sense! cheers

All ready to go in the post for the morning now,refurb of standard 5 speed in black with embroided gear markings.
how long did it take to recieve after posting kelv27?

Im really looking forward to the end product

The trimming itself only takes a day but Joe needs to send the embroidery work out to other people. Mine took a good few days as they needed to come up with the numbering template on the comp for embroidering.

I think yours should be quicker now that they can reuse the template. Just hope he notices that yours is up to 5 instead of 6!

sent my wheel and gear knob off today to the same place.
looks like the blokes going to have a bit of work from this forum.

i've been phoning around and the best price i got for the steering wheel to be recovered was £200 but Joe from trimdeluxe is doing it for £130, bargin i think.

Thats why i took it to him
Yeap business would really pick up for him..sudden influx of fiat wheels

it may not be just Fiat ones, after my neighbour laughing at me when i told him i'm getting it done, he's thinking about it for his Subaru now. turns out he on a Subaru forum and reconds the guys off there may also be interested.

Been told the embroidery should be finished today and in the post by tonight!

Post pics as soon as i get it back or if he send's any onwards

Drove Kelvsters coupe at the weekend..

the feel/look of the steering wheel is superb, I 'really' love the noise when you pass the wheel through your hands

That just brand spanking new noise just out of the wrapper, honestly it sounds so good as well as feeling superb.

His knob is nice as well

If I didn't have other stuff to do I would be sending mine away

my stuff goes to them son too, together with my bolster that needs filling - can't wait, and thanks to kelv for pointing these people out

No problem Proccy

Did you send your whole seat to Joe@trimdeluxe?

proccy, how much to "re-bolster" a leather seat?

sorry yes a big thanks to Kelv too

i don't know yet, i emailed him couple of days back and got no response just yet. it's also a possibility i may spend a day or two down there whilst he does this stuff....am i right in assuming the bolster comes off?

@ kelv - as above really kelv, not quite decided what to do but hope to find out in the next few days

No worries doody

Proccy, not sure if the bolsters come off on the recaros..but if you find out do let us know! I'm also trying to figure out how I can send him my seats. If only I was nearer

I enquired with another trimmer about getting my tan leather seats 'custom bolstered' to provide lateral support on the back. He said being tan would require him buying in a hide or half hide, around £400! He then reckoned including the work, I should budget around £1000!!!!
.... per seat!!
Err, yeh, that's about the value of my car, never mind brand new recliners!

Sending mine off tomorrow
Going for the black Alcantara look

hes not desperatly quick at replying to emails to be fair but he will reply.mines been sent back today woooo.here tommorow hopefully

Yeah sometimes he doesn't even reply..so best to call.

Exciting stuff coupedummy! I'm sure it will look fab.

Decided to take a drive out to West Sussex to drop my wheel off to Joe @ Trimdeluxe.
What a nice bloke he is and he does all this work in a lockup no bigger than a double garage!!!

Joe was busy working on a back seat for a Vaxhaull Victor but had time to show me round
Also had some nice ideas for other bits inside the Coupe

Should pick my wheel up next week

still waiting for mine to come back

He did look busy doody....try calling him.

might send him a email but i can wait a while longer.

Dont email him doody!!!!
Waited over a week for a reply....ended up calling him.
Think he's in his unit more than he is at home checking emails

Nice job, my only reservation is that the leather on a Plus/Le etc is smooth and the leather on the items shown is grained.

That's true for the seats maybe (although when new they are very slightly grained - definately not 100% smooth), but check this picture of when I had my Coupe for 1 week... (handbrake).

Yes I do believe the leather used in the retrim has a slightly stronger grain compared to factory leather but as kayjey mentioned, its not totally smooth either. Grains will gradually subside as they wear down.

addict - he's now quoted me £80 to re-trim one bolster - sounds good to me so i'm going for it


it's also obvious that whilst there will be grain in new leather, any car approaching 10 years/100k miles is going to have a smoother surface. i'm looking forward to getting mine worn in....

if its a driver bolster it shouldnt take too long to be re-worn anyway

got mine back today!!!

me steering wheel
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob006.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob007.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob008.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob009.jpg

and me knob
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob003.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s298/doodys/steeringwheelandgearknob004.jpg

Ahh Lovely..lovely

Congratulations doody!

Heres mine today!!wooo

How much was your steering wheel doody?

Another one!

Well done CD

Looking good.....cant wait to get mine back

£130 mate

Collected my wheel from Joe today
So soft

Can anyone help me with uploading pictures?

Picture

Done it

Just want to add a big thanks to Joe @ Trimdeluxe
Will be giving him my gear knob and gator for the same treatment

looking good Chef

Anybody got a spare knob
Will get that Alcantered too

Oh and the gator


and the handbrake

Very nice chef.

You're gonna have to keep your hands super clean now with alcantara

You started all this Kelv so thanks to you

Should I buy some driving gloves

Yes i think you should. Get Joe to make you a pair of alcantara gloves

mine's booked in too

Joe's doing ok from us on here

No wonder he's not answering my emails!

i'm thinking of getting Joe to do the front two seat too as they are just starting to crack on the bolsters

Hmmmmm quoted me plenty dosh to do mine....think over £500,
but that was complete refurb in Alcantara :)))

So soft

Call him....dont email

A little birdy on here told him and he has replied to my email

I have have finally decided to go for it wheel,knob hand brake lever i cant resist anymore.

Phoned Joe today top bloke must add seems to be well pleased with all the extra work said its always been VWs and Audis.

Also asked him about center console piece under handbrake and the horrid cowl covering the ignition.

I'll be interested to see what he says about those bits, and to see some piccys once done

Who will be the first to have his dashboard covered in leather?

Guys, calm down. Lets not go too crazy with the leather alright!

Good idea Kayjey!

I am considering getting the whole LE re-trimmed.

Steering Wheel
Gear Stick + Embossing definitely not stitched
Handbrake
Door Cards
Both Front Seats + New Foam Inserts
Rear Seat

That would presumably cost ££££?

If you do find somebody that can do (without paying silly money for tooling that is) that then do share it with us.

Asked about my dash and Joe came up with a great idea



Flocking

Alot of Lambos / Astons these days have alcantara covering on the dash, looks very nice, inside mine, iv covered the black plastic panels that start at the front windscreen, and sweep back above side & rear windows toward the 'parcel shelf' in black alcantara. It takes away a bit of the plastic feel, and its foam backed stuff too so looks pretty factory IMO, no pics though i'm afraid.

Indeed I shall do. It would need to be embossing as I won't alter the factory finish.



I imagine it will cost probably £1/1.5k It depends on my other projects whether I can justify the splurge. Also at the moment my leather is in excellent condition. But I know it won't always be that way.

I had the same thoughts but believe me, i've searched everywhere to get someone to do it. Its not a problem finding a person to do the embossing..its just the ridiculous price needed for tooling that makes it unfeasible.

Thats why i thought, embroided numbers is better than no numbers at all.

The center console handbrake area is a real headache for me i have looked at loads of other ideas
paint it black but it would only get scratched or buy a new one even more paranoia

id be telling the kids to take their shoes off just to get in the car

I have some pics of a 16vt console leathered that imo are very good ill upload them up please voice your opinion

Joe at trimdeluxe asked i could email them to him as it would help him get an idea of whats involved.

Iv used this stuff on the top on my handbrake console, its very sticky, can be warmed, bent round corners etc. 6" is the widest it comes though, so you have to 'secton' it. Iv found it to be pretty durable too, although it will depend on the time spent applying it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Self-Adhesive-Blac...14#ht_880wt_914

16vt leather console

Photobucket

I do like the leather console.... hmmm. Shame I am MR original otherwise I could be tempted with that now.

Why did I read this thread? This is now on my to do list.