right then... here we go!!!
I used a couple of guides and youtube videos to reference how to remove certain elements of the interior so I am just going to bullet point the order in which i did things and the main basic points in how to swap it all out.
tools required:
- full socket set
- phillips screw drive ( various sizes)
- flat screw drriver (varrious sizes)
- set of torx head drivers (T15, T20, T25 and T30)
- panel release tools (ideally, can be done with out if neccessary)
- stanley/carpet knife
- superglue
Order of removal (some of these can be varied a little, some can not and must be done before the item before to get to it. This order does work for sure though so for those who are planning a complete swap it can be done this way:
1) remove old door cards and install new ones
2) remove seats
3) remove upper rear centre console
4) remove gear knob and handbrake surround
5) remove lower centre console
6) remove roll bar covers
7) remove plastic pockets behind seats (or speaker covers and speaker unit depending on what specification you have)
remove plastic trim behind seats
9) remove plastic trim under roll bar hoops
10) remove plastic trims on the side of each footwell,
11) remove plastic trim in upper section of both footwells
12) remove accelerator pedal
13) remove rear carpet
14) remove front carpet
putting it back together is in precisely the opposite order.
a few points to note.
- I cheated on the front carpet as removal would normally require removable of the entire dashboard which i wasn't wanting to do, so to get it out i ended up cutting a small section (about 20cm x 30cm) which sits under the dashboard and is hidden when the centre console is installed again. This does save a huge amount of installation time and effort though and makes no difference to the end result.
- I made the mistake of connecting the battery while one of the seats was disconnected (idiot!) now I have to get the airbag light re-set
- total time to swap out whole interior was about 8-9 hours with a couple of stops for tea/drinks/ciggies etc
- the most obvious point is to clean the entire new interior BEFORE you install it. makes the finish way better.
here we go then...
old door card off:
new one on:
second door card switched and seats out:
upper centre console, roll hoops and plastic trims all out (note the bottle to the roof a few inches above the locked position!)
side panel trims and rear carpet out:
everything out!!! (note the small section of cream carpet still under the dash. that is the piece that I cut around and left in position)
interior cleaned, new (valeted!) carpet front and rear in position. remember at this point to feed ALL cables through the relevant holes in carpet
bit of a jump forward, loads of plastic trims re-installed, centre console in with all new leather trims/gaitors (I had done these before)
detail shot of it:
seats back in, virtually finished:
Thats the lot for now, still have a few small bits to take care of but massively pleased with the result. only small issue I discovered is my new seats arent heated so I now need to take the heating element out of the old ones and switch em into the new one.
thats all for now folks!
thoughts and comments welcome.
Black '07 3.0si manual / aero skirts / matt black 19" Hub alloys / black grill / ZHP / piano black trim / Red leather sport seats
