eBay Leather Seat Skins - 3000GT/Stealth International Message Center

Wombat · 06-17-2008, 04:32 PM

I'd like to start a thread on the leather seat skins I just recently purchased. I bought them on e-bay for $350 + $75 shipping not knowing what to expect. So far, I have been very pleased with the quality of the material and workmanship of the covers. I have only installed the one rear seatback, but it fits well and looks even better. I will post pictures of the covers once the final installation is complete, but here are some that I took when I first received the package:

And a link to the auction:

eBay Motors: 1990-2001 MITSUBISHI 3000GT REAL LEATHER SEAT COVER (item 280228433231 end time May-29-08 00:40:45 PDT)

Note: I used the 'best offer' feature and they accepted my offer of $350. I have heard that they may no longer be accepting offers that low as their cost for materials has risen considerably. I only know of two other people on the forums that have gone with this company, and I'm pretty sure both of those buys have been impressed. I know I have.

Only downsides I'm seeing so far - not enough hog rings and no material to cover the rectangular section behind the front seats. To remedy these problems, I went to Ace Hardware and had two of their sales associates dig up two boxes of hog rings for me for $2.50 each for a pack of 100. As for the rectangular section, I'll be taking them to a fabric store along with a headrest to get some matching vinyl and have those recovered.

I will continue to post pictures as I get them. Currently in the midst of recovering the bottom rear seat, which is being a pain since it was originally glued on.

Wombat · 06-17-2008, 06:48 PM

I completely redid the rear bottom seat because I hated the way it looked. I removed all of my hog rings and started from the rear of the seat and got the rear-most seam to line up with the edge of the foam. While I was installing the rear hog rings, I also had the front of the seat cover attached too so I could make sure all of the seams were where they are supposed to be. It took some muscling and my fingers hurt because of it, but I think this is the way to do it.

I then removed the front of the seat cover and folded it back and coated everything with the 3M spray adhesive. The problem I ran into was that the seat cover was too tight and the leather wasn't even touching the foam in some spots. I smoothed it out the best I could and temporarily installed two hog rings in the front while whatever spray adhesive on there dried. I'm going to leave the seat out in the sun for about an hour and hope the material loosens up so I can reapply the spray adhesive and get a smoother finish.

Here are some pictures of the process.

You can see the creases and wrinkles still in the seat. Keep in mind there are only two hog rings holding the front down and there are none in the sides. I can easily get the wrinkles out of the sides by using a little finesse and some well placed hog rings, however, I am out of the ones that were sent with the kit and the ones I bought from Ace are too large for my pliers, so I'm going to have to source another couple hundred before I can move on.

mynamiseli · 07-12-2008, 09:51 AM

Nice color choice, I believe mine are nearly the same, possibly a bit darker inserts. I also paid $350 plus shipping for mine. They initially sent me the wrong lower cover for a front seat and it took quite a while to receive the correct one. Also, I made sure they sent me two spare pieces to cover the backs of the front seats during the mixup. For the lower back seats I ran into the same problem you did. I ended up shaping some industrial hanger wire and ran four lines below the foam. This gave me points to hook the hog rings. I've attached a photo of both back seats below. For the price I would HIGHLY recommend these.

Wombat · 07-12-2008, 09:55 AM

Your rear seat came out very nice! I've had my rear seats in the car for a couple weeks now and I can see that they're stretching and starting to look pretty good. I still need to pull the lower rear seat out and redo it as the glue already came undone. Do you have any pictures of the coat hanger method you used?

mynamiseli · 07-12-2008, 10:33 AM

I sure don't.. it was a very simple setup, though. I just bent them into the same shape of the seat bottoms, then kind of weaved them in and out of the foam. There is thick frame metal running across the front and back to which I anchored the hangers. The lower rear is definitely the most challenging, I redid mine several times before I was pleased.

ganesht · 08-11-2008, 02:30 AM

Does anyone know if the heated seat inserts are any good from this seller?

mynamiseli · 08-26-2008, 10:18 AM

ganesht- I'm not sure, I was contemplating them myself but ended up not getting them. If you do let us know how they are.

ganesht · 08-26-2008, 01:26 PM

im still waiting to hear back from the seller, because i need extra leather to cover the door inserts with matching leather....

Also can anyone tell me how supple the leather is? does it feel like the stock leather did when it was new?

06-17-2008, 04:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
Wombat Like a Rat out of Water Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Central Jersey Drives: '91 VR-4 Trader Rating: (57)	eBay Leather Seat Skins I'd like to start a thread on the leather seat skins I just recently purchased. I bought them on e-bay for $350 + $75 shipping not knowing what to expect. So far, I have been very pleased with the quality of the material and workmanship of the covers. I have only installed the one rear seatback, but it fits well and looks even better. I will post pictures of the covers once the final installation is complete, but here are some that I took when I first received the package: And a link to the auction: eBay Motors: 1990-2001 MITSUBISHI 3000GT REAL LEATHER SEAT COVER (item 280228433231 end time May-29-08 00:40:45 PDT) Note: I used the 'best offer' feature and they accepted my offer of $350. I have heard that they may no longer be accepting offers that low as their cost for materials has risen considerably. I only know of two other people on the forums that have gone with this company, and I'm pretty sure both of those buys have been impressed. I know I have. Only downsides I'm seeing so far - not enough hog rings and no material to cover the rectangular section behind the front seats. To remedy these problems, I went to Ace Hardware and had two of their sales associates dig up two boxes of hog rings for me for $2.50 each for a pack of 100. As for the rectangular section, I'll be taking them to a fabric store along with a headrest to get some matching vinyl and have those recovered. I will continue to post pictures as I get them. Currently in the midst of recovering the bottom rear seat, which is being a pain since it was originally glued on. __________________ 1991 3000GT VR-4 - 13T, 550cc, E-manage, Walbro 255, AEM FPR 1991 3000GT VR-4 - These cars are addicting... 1991 3000GT SL - Spare parts/Test car

06-17-2008, 06:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
Wombat Like a Rat out of Water Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Central Jersey Drives: '91 VR-4 Trader Rating: (57)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins I completely redid the rear bottom seat because I hated the way it looked. I removed all of my hog rings and started from the rear of the seat and got the rear-most seam to line up with the edge of the foam. While I was installing the rear hog rings, I also had the front of the seat cover attached too so I could make sure all of the seams were where they are supposed to be. It took some muscling and my fingers hurt because of it, but I think this is the way to do it. I then removed the front of the seat cover and folded it back and coated everything with the 3M spray adhesive. The problem I ran into was that the seat cover was too tight and the leather wasn't even touching the foam in some spots. I smoothed it out the best I could and temporarily installed two hog rings in the front while whatever spray adhesive on there dried. I'm going to leave the seat out in the sun for about an hour and hope the material loosens up so I can reapply the spray adhesive and get a smoother finish. Here are some pictures of the process. You can see the creases and wrinkles still in the seat. Keep in mind there are only two hog rings holding the front down and there are none in the sides. I can easily get the wrinkles out of the sides by using a little finesse and some well placed hog rings, however, I am out of the ones that were sent with the kit and the ones I bought from Ace are too large for my pliers, so I'm going to have to source another couple hundred before I can move on.

07-12-2008, 09:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
mynamiseli My name is.. Eli Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Conway, Arkansas Drives: 92 TT 2K Mustang GT Trader Rating: (11)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins Nice color choice, I believe mine are nearly the same, possibly a bit darker inserts. I also paid $350 plus shipping for mine. They initially sent me the wrong lower cover for a front seat and it took quite a while to receive the correct one. Also, I made sure they sent me two spare pieces to cover the backs of the front seats during the mixup. For the lower back seats I ran into the same problem you did. I ended up shaping some industrial hanger wire and ran four lines below the foam. This gave me points to hook the hog rings. I've attached a photo of both back seats below. For the price I would HIGHLY recommend these.

07-12-2008, 09:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Wombat Like a Rat out of Water Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Central Jersey Drives: '91 VR-4 Trader Rating: (57)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins Your rear seat came out very nice! I've had my rear seats in the car for a couple weeks now and I can see that they're stretching and starting to look pretty good. I still need to pull the lower rear seat out and redo it as the glue already came undone. Do you have any pictures of the coat hanger method you used?

07-12-2008, 10:33 AM	#5 (permalink)
mynamiseli My name is.. Eli Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Conway, Arkansas Drives: 92 TT 2K Mustang GT Trader Rating: (11)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins I sure don't.. it was a very simple setup, though. I just bent them into the same shape of the seat bottoms, then kind of weaved them in and out of the foam. There is thick frame metal running across the front and back to which I anchored the hangers. The lower rear is definitely the most challenging, I redid mine several times before I was pleased.

Sponsored Links
3000GT/Stealth International Message Center Advertisement

08-11-2008, 02:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
ganesht Paid Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Drives: 3000gt vr4 Trader Rating: (5)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins Does anyone know if the heated seat inserts are any good from this seller?

08-26-2008, 10:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
mynamiseli My name is.. Eli Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Conway, Arkansas Drives: 92 TT 2K Mustang GT Trader Rating: (11)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins ganesht- I'm not sure, I was contemplating them myself but ended up not getting them. If you do let us know how they are.

08-26-2008, 01:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
ganesht Paid Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Drives: 3000gt vr4 Trader Rating: (5)	Re: eBay Leather Seat Skins im still waiting to hear back from the seller, because i need extra leather to cover the door inserts with matching leather.... Also can anyone tell me how supple the leather is? does it feel like the stock leather did when it was new?