Interior Tarting

My MX5 has a pretty presentable exterior appearance for a seventeen-year-old vehicle.

The interior was not so schmick.

Outside is now OK.

When I bought the thing, the interior was clean, but exuded a patina consistent with its age and use patterns. That’s a fancy way of saying that it was tatty.

Problems were worn leather (gear lever knob and steering wheel), discolored console cover (at the base of the gear lever) and grubby seats and seat covers.

The grubbiness was easily fixed, but the worn leather and discolored covers were a little more challenging.

Gumtree is your friend, and it didn’t take long to find some suppliers. Unfortunately, gear lever knobs (new old stock) whilst available, are expensive. Buying a replacement gear lever knob (for example) at $300 is my definition of over capitalization.  

Second hand steering wheels were also available, but the airbags are a problem. I couldn’t find anyone prepared to remove the current airbag and install in the replacement wheel. It was not a job that I was prepared to attempt.

This meant a different remedy. First, I bought a lace-on cover, but I’m not much at sewing, so the end result was not wonderful. I then bought a cheap slip-on cover with red stitching, and this, in my opinion, looks OK.

Red theme continues

I replaced the gear lever knob with an off-the-shelf accessory item, and whilst it looked OK, it was larger and heavier than the original. We have an old-fashioned shoe repairer in town, and I decided to give them a crack at recovering it.

Before - worn gear lever knob.

After - recovered by bootmaker.

They did so, using red stitching, and charged me $50. This did the trick in terms of both appearance and shift characteristics. The red stitching theme continues. 

Faux carbon and red inserts - note refurbished knob.

Gumtree was also good for supplying panels. The audio surround and the cover for the gear lever mount were available at reasonable cost ($25 for both) and had the advantage of faux carbon finishing, which lifted the all-black appearance somewhat.

I know, gentle reader, it’s not original, as these bits came with the MX5 SE, but what the heck.

In keeping with the red theme, and matching the red hardtop, I bought some red beading and installed it in various positions on the dashboard and door cards. I reckon it looks OK.   

Whilst no longer original, the interior is a more pleasant place to be, and in keeping with the Testarossa theme. 

(Click on pics to enlarge them).