superg
05-19-2001, 08:40 AM
I found wanted an arm rest, but passed on the optional item because it is too tall and gets in the way of shifting. Yet the standard hard plastic console is too low and uncomfortable. So, with a piece of black leather and some closed cell foam I have a very OEM looking arm rest just the right height. The cool thing is that the console lid is in two parts, an upper and lower, enabling you to tuck the edges of the leather between the two, screw it back together and have a great result. Some instructions:
uncrew the hinge of the flip up console lid. There are four screws on the underside of the lid that attach the upper curved surface to the bottom, enclosing the hinge mechanism.
Cut pieces of close cell foam for padding. I used a stack of three pieces of 1/2 inch foam (a seat pad I found at REI). The top layer overlaps the sides of the bottom two layers to give a nice rounded edge. The bottom two layers were cut a bit smaller than the lid, and the top layer is sized to wrap over the sides. On the sides of the top layer I cut a 45 degree bevel edge with a razor blade, then reversed this layer so the bevel was underneath. Objective was to avoid any ridges or irregular cut shapes showing up through the top leather. This took some trial and error, and some wasted foam, but the final result is symmetrical.
Buy a piece of black leather. I used black deerskin, which has the advantage of being thin and stretchable (important, because it helps avoid wrinkles). It also is not shiny and matches the steering wheel and my Momo shift boot (another small project).
The trick is to stack the foam on top of the cover, stretch and wrap the leather around the sides, and then reattach the under part of the console lid, which holds the edges of the leather in place. Duct tape may help keep one side of the leather in place while you work the other sides. I managed to only have a few very small wrinkles, due to the stretchability of the deerskin. This took some fussing. Overall the project took about an hour, once I had the materials together.
I did not glue the foam pieces to the lid, I did not glue them together, and I did not glue the leather to the foam. Glue might be a good idea to keep things from shifting over time and minimize leather stretch, but thsi sort of evolved as I went along and I am not about to take it apart now.
Result is a 1 1/2 inch padded leather arm rest that looks OEM and is comfortable. My family was blown away by how professional it looks.
Sorry, I don't have a digital camera to show the result, how I cut the foam, etc.
SUPERG
uncrew the hinge of the flip up console lid. There are four screws on the underside of the lid that attach the upper curved surface to the bottom, enclosing the hinge mechanism.
Cut pieces of close cell foam for padding. I used a stack of three pieces of 1/2 inch foam (a seat pad I found at REI). The top layer overlaps the sides of the bottom two layers to give a nice rounded edge. The bottom two layers were cut a bit smaller than the lid, and the top layer is sized to wrap over the sides. On the sides of the top layer I cut a 45 degree bevel edge with a razor blade, then reversed this layer so the bevel was underneath. Objective was to avoid any ridges or irregular cut shapes showing up through the top leather. This took some trial and error, and some wasted foam, but the final result is symmetrical.
Buy a piece of black leather. I used black deerskin, which has the advantage of being thin and stretchable (important, because it helps avoid wrinkles). It also is not shiny and matches the steering wheel and my Momo shift boot (another small project).
The trick is to stack the foam on top of the cover, stretch and wrap the leather around the sides, and then reattach the under part of the console lid, which holds the edges of the leather in place. Duct tape may help keep one side of the leather in place while you work the other sides. I managed to only have a few very small wrinkles, due to the stretchability of the deerskin. This took some fussing. Overall the project took about an hour, once I had the materials together.
I did not glue the foam pieces to the lid, I did not glue them together, and I did not glue the leather to the foam. Glue might be a good idea to keep things from shifting over time and minimize leather stretch, but thsi sort of evolved as I went along and I am not about to take it apart now.
Result is a 1 1/2 inch padded leather arm rest that looks OEM and is comfortable. My family was blown away by how professional it looks.
Sorry, I don't have a digital camera to show the result, how I cut the foam, etc.
SUPERG