DanQ

I didn't know you could do this, so I did some research. It seems doable if you have light colored stitching to start with. Changing black to red seemed to give spotty results. I decided against it, but I do appreciate the suggestion. I learned something new.

DanQ

I gave alex_c's suggestion a try. I already had red thread from my failed armrest experiment. I'm not sure I would call it easy, since it took me more than 3 hours to do it. I couldn't find any other "how to" instructions so this is what I did.

First decide what kind of stitching you want to replace the factory black thread. I found two kinds of saddle stitching that seemed reasonable.
Single needle or double needle stitching.
Watch some other videos (jhleather saddle stitch) to learn how to thread the needle by piercing the thread in an "s" shape and using beeswax on thread.

​​​​​​Removing the shifter and boot is easy. Release the boot by pulling up on the front. See the clips in the photos.
...edit..
Here is a link on shift **** removal
Shift **** swap

BEFORE you remove the **** from the boot, practice re-installing the **** on the shifter to learn the procedure of turning the **** vs turning the black collar in the boot. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.



In order to get to all the stitches, I pulled the staples. I also removed the black plastic collar by twisting, releasing the **** from the boot. It popped apart on me and I didn't see how the white plastic collar held the leather.

I started with the double needle method on the front single seam. Using a seam ripper, pull a few stitches at a time to make sure the backing stays aligned. Don't allow the stitching to get thick at the top or it will never fit back in the black collar. Try not to stretch the neck of the boot for the same reason.

It looks nice but is very tedious.
I used the single needle method on the rear two seams.

After all the stitching was done I couldn't remember how the black and white collars went back on the boot. You can see a 1/4" of the leather boot is turned down from the top.
I turned the boot inside out, and slid the white collar on the inside (against finished side of leather. Then I carefully pushed the black collar on, trapping the leather between the black and white collars. I needed a tiny screwdriver to tuck in the leather. This is the hardest part of the project.
​​Notice, the black collar has three allowances for the double thickness seams. Shaped like a peace sign. Align the allowances and the seams.

Turn it right side out and it looks like this. I don't know if the white collar notch is in the right place, but I got the **** back on.

Used my trusty contact cement to glue the leather back to the frame. I didn't have any tiny staples.Reinstall the shift ****. See linked thread above.

You practiced re-installing the **** BEFORE you took it apart to fully learn the quarter turn locking system?


All done! Looks good and matches the steering wheel.

Porsche_nuts

Thanks DanQ. I am going to give this a try. Better than spending $300+ on a boot with red stitching form Suncoast.

DanQ

Don't buy the one from Suncoast, you'll have the do the difficult boot change yourself.

After doing this upgrade, I can see why Exclusive Option wants $300 and your **** and boot. The labor to reinstall the boot on the collar is a pain. Better to buy the **** boot combination as it's a snap to install.

There is more to it than just the leather boot cost.

Bob Z.

Nice job, but if it were me it would be well worth $300 to have someone else do it!

DanQ

If any rennlist folks want to try hand stitching your shift boot, let me know, and I can send you some free waxed red thread. Send a message with info.

DanQ

I made a mistake on this comment. If the Suncoast boot/**** combination only needs a change from 6 speed **** to 7 speed ****, it is pretty easy. Just don't dislodge the black and white collars. Twist off the old ****, twist on the new one.

Jeff Gilliam

This information is amazing. I want to do the same thing with my front seats. My question is how much material should I order?

DanQ

Thanks, you should ask your trimmer if you are just doing the front seats. 1m (x 56" wide ) may not be enough. 2m is enough to do front and rear assuming no mistakes, but I have no experience with just the fronts. Sorry.

Joec500

and it arrived!!! I can't wait.

ZerOG

Very nice. Who is the supplier?

I’m looking for something similar but not identical.

titleistaddict87

nice joe! Who’s doing the upholstery work?

Joec500

Val's on Van Ness....He has great reviews and has done several Porsche projects like this including a recent Boxster Spyder.

SF Neunelfer

I didnt even know that we could take the center section out of these seats.. I thought it was only the GTS seats that you could change.

Good to know. Im also in SF, will have to check out Vals.

-R

Joec500

Technically you can't remove the center sections, he will need to unstitch all the center sections, so the labor is quite intensive.