[Billfrombyron]

Work has just begun. Hopefully next week I'll have new tint, 3m ceramic 40%, wrap maintenance, polish and recoating, new sound proofing installed ( I used peel and seal butyl rubber type, there are several types) new carpet and mats, alcantara headliner and pillars/sail panels and a few other odds and ends.

Gonna be a new car when finished. The last image isn't my car, but shows an example of what I'm shooting for.

-Byron

 

[AAIIIC]

Gonna be a new car when finished.

Hell yeah it is!

Your existing carpet doesn't look bad (at least not the back half). Is the front part worn out? I assume you're just going with OEM (since I don't think anyone in the aftermarket makes a carpet for these cars)?

 

[Billfrombyron]

Hell yeah it is!

Your existing carpet doesn't look bad (at least not the back half). Is the front part worn out? I assume you're just going with OEM (since I don't think anyone in the aftermarket makes a carpet for these cars)?

Everything is being custom made by MK1 Dubai. You might know some of the people that work there if you ever caught any of the WCC Dubai episodes. When WCC Dubai closed, some of the guys stayed and started their own shop.

Same guys who wrapped my car a year back. They are using grade 2 alcantara for the headliner and pillars. Grade 1 is the cheapest and grade 3 is lambo stuff.

The carpet will be OEM grade and they will work their magic. I hate diamond stitch, so I wanted basically stock look.

Same for the seats. Doing new alcantara also.

The tint and everything should make the car a far more habitable place. And they are ceramic coating the leather and interior bits.

Last thing is waiting for my new splash guard to arrive (a better design than my custom one I made a few years back, then wheels. I'm really feeling the konig hypergram both for the look and price.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Just a preview. I'll have more tomorrow. Unfortunately the border is closed between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, so I can't see anything in person yet.

Hopefully Tuesday I'll be able to pick up everything.

-Byron

 

[AAIIIC]

Was it you that had talked about using insulation/sound deadening that one can get from a hardware store, rather than spending big bucks on the same stuff from Dynamat or whatever brand name?

 

[Billfrombyron]

Was it you that had talked about using insulation/sound deadening that one can get from a hardware store, rather than spending big bucks on the same stuff from Dynamat or whatever brand name?

Peel and seal butyl. Yep I've mentioned it before.
Guy in the Facebook page also gave me some inspiration to do it as his car came out fantastic also. (The red one in the example I posted.) I got it at Lowe's my last trip stateside. I attached a picture of the roller tool I bought in the vinyl flooring section also a screenshot of what I used. Make sure it's the butyl version by reading the back label.

It's similar to dynamat, but doesn't have the same noise suppression. It does however work very well in the smaller areas I've tested it in.

I also have a full layer of 5mm rubber tape in the trunk.

-Byron

 

[AAIIIC]

Cool, thanks for the pics. I'm trying to track down some vibrations/rattles in my daily Subaru beater, so this should help.

 

[Billfrombyron]

Well it's still just a tease. Popped the budget for new leather, so I will get that from L seat on the interwebs.

Border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is closed for 7 more days. Sigh. Another week in a shit box rental.

Turn up the brightness a bit on the video. The tint will be finished and the shop will get some good footage hopefully today or tomorrow.

I'm going to do dark grey on the remaining trim pieces and see how that comes out, I don't want to black them out totally. I'll match the visors after I finish up the trim.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Sigh. Another week of border closure. Hopefully now the 23rd I'll get the car back.

Figured I'd have them paint the wheels since it's another week and I genuinely feel bad.

Gonna be set with new leather arriving next month from Lseat.

Here is the color I went with, should go well with the purple calipers and Nardo grey wrap.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Still waiting for my car to be able to cross the border.

The paint shop was backed up so I'll have to wait on the wheels once again. Sigh.

Pretty much stuck in purgatory with this rental car while I wait.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Finally at long last it's back in my parking spot!!!

I'm super happy with the results.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Got some pics of the tint in sunlight today. It was 117f outside and inside the car is a perfect temp.

It's 40% xpel tint. Super happy I went with that.

First pic shows the tint vs untinted windshield.

-Byron

 

[Submariner409]

Car looks just wonderful but the quarantines sure didn't do your wallet any good !!!

Nice work.

 

[Billfrombyron]

Car looks just wonderful but the quarantines sure didn't do your wallet any good !!!

Nice work.

Leather is ordered also, so yep quarantine wasn't good to my wallet, but was good to my car.

I will do a diy video when I change the seat covers.

-Byron

 

[AAIIIC]

That was quite a saga to get the car back, glad it came out to your liking!

 

[wilbrod]

Congrats. Everything looks great.

 

[Billfrombyron]

Added some more of the sound proofing material I had left over to the trunk. Next trip stateside I'll bring a few more rolls to get 100% coverage.

So far, super happy with the results.

-Byron

 

[Billfrombyron]

Got the leather and alcantera inserts all picked out.

I went with leathertex, which is the same stuff Lexus is using here in GCC.

The benefits being it's easier to care for, and is really grippy to keep me in place. Going with dark grey alcantera grade 2 inserts.

They are removing 1.5" of foam from the seat base and replacing with medium density foam to keep the comfort and allow more headroom so I can actually wear a helmet in the car. Taking 1/2" out of the back also which will allow the existing bolsters to hug me better.

He will be doing this pattern and a slight reconfiguring on the seat base for better thigh bolstering.

-Byron

Going with dark blue borders on the mats, and heel reinforcement.

The alcantera looks black in this picture, but it's dark grey.

Shooting for something like this with better bolsters. Going with blue stitching.

Hopefully all will be finished up by Wendsday.

-Byron

 

[AAIIIC]

Looking forward to the results!

 

[Billfrombyron]

And not only did they nail it, they absolutely knocked it out of the park.

The lower seat cushion height is amazingly comfortable, the medium density foam helps soak up the bumps better and I sit at the perfect angle now.

The seat bolsters hug me fantastic for cornering and fast handling. The more modern look works amazing and the grade 2 alcantera panels keep me nice and cool in the heat.

The new mats are about 3/4" thick and don't move.

All in all it's now perfect. Exactly what I had in my head beginning this project.

-Byron