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b230ft in 145i Build thread

well 75% done with the seat bottom thought id show it off still have to block some seams and stretch it on. Dont know yet but i have to use some batting in there to get some of the creases out.

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well still have some work to do on the seat back but its coming along. It gets easier every time. Still allot of work for this novice.

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still have to take in some seams a bit but better to make it a bit big than too small :)

May have some photos of a new seat by the weekend.
 
So got to work on the seat back. The leather was so bad that if you bend it it breaks. These seats were left to the sun in a sealed car for 11 years. there out of a 1969 so the leather is falling apart.

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The back bolster was so stretched out that even in the full tight position it was loose.

So here it is. I used some tow strap and re hemmed the seat bolster straps to fix the problem.

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Well got the seat bottom finished up and mounted to the bottom frame.

Top

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Back bottom

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Front bottom

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not to shabby for my first time making seat skins.
 
well got the top section done too!

The new next to the old.

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I need to clean up the plastic knobs and the seat after all the work but only got 1 more to go.
 
Wow looking good, how is the quality of the leather/fabric? I'm curious how you will make the back-seat, I've put 740 seats in the front but the bottom of the back-seat sill needs to be taken care of.
 
Well the 145 back seat is in good condition on my car. I was just going to fabric dye it black as its cloth on the back seat.

If it rips ill just take it out and make a pattern as well.

It's allot of work, I'd be happy to lay out the process for ya but expect it to take many hours to finish.

1) remove seat in question.
2) carefully inspect seat and see how its all attached.
3) pry d-rings or other attachment point loose so you can remove seat skin with minimal ripping.
4) get a marker and label all sides of the patters with a number or letter where the connect, IE A,A B,B etc.
5) get a seam ripper and remove each section of fabric.
6) lay fabric out on new material and trace line around the border of fabric add a ruff inch more to the border.
7) Cut out new fabric.
8) Label that piece the same as the old one.
9) lay old fabric cutouts onto new fabric cutouts and draw a line around the hem line (where it was sown) this way you know where the stitch needs to be when you resemble the parts.
10) sow all new pieces together on the hem line you drew. (remember its not an issue to go back and take it in but its hard to let it out so sow on the outside of the hem line.
11) trial fit. Mark excess overlap and pin it for taking in.
12) take in all extra.
13) test fit again.
14) if good attach to seat and install!
15) enjoy new hotness.
 
So got tired of working on the seat so fig id post a howto fix your 140 Rheostat (dimmer switch)

This will be the 4th one Ive fixed now. First time for my car. Every one else has just been jumping the leads on their dimmer. This does not fly for my application because i hate bright green lighting at night and I'm putting red leds in there and don't know the brightness and want to be able to dim them.

First remove the knob. You have to be careful they break.

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I put a rag around the knob and wiggle and pull up with pliers.

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Remove the two Phillips screws on the back and pry up right were my screw driver is.

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You should see this.

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This is where you will be puttin your digital multimeter to test your dimmer to see if its the dimmer, the board, or where they connect. as you can see there is lots of corrosion on it but ya never know.

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So you have connected your digital multi meter to the plugs and set it to resistance in ohms. Move the dimmer left to right stopping periodically. If the resistance moves up or down when when moved in one direction finishing at no resistance 0.00 and the other way no reading at all your Rheostat is good. Move onto checking the board or where it connects to the board. Also in the full on position it should read 0.001 or less resistance. As you can see in the photo mine reads no sig so its the Rheostat.

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Pull the locking tabs up on the back of the Rheostat. It will come apart. Be careful !! there are 2 springs under the copper plate! As you can see in the photo mine needs allot of cleaning.

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Here is the back side. Ive already clean the center part a bit by scraping with a small eyeglass flat blade. Note: this copper is soft stuff. Take your time cleaning with any sharp items or it will gouge it.

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After scraping i used a brush to clean it up a bit more.

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Then some steel wool.

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Here the plate the sits ontop of the 2 springs cleaned up.

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Put it back together the same way it came apart. May take some time aligning them springs on the plate. Use some dielectric grease to keep corrosion from coming back quickly.

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Now its 0.00 in the full on position and it gos up as i turn it. yaaaa fixed.

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yes my multimeter led screen has lost 2 bars :)

guess i have to work on the seats again.
 
Question on the little Diahatsu alternator. Is that unit internally regulated or did you have to use an external unit?

It looks like a nice option for B18/20 since it's smaller than Bosch or Delco alternators...
 
What a nice job on those seats. Well everything really, this build has been a great read. what nice careful work.
But damn those seats are nice.
 
Well got the seats done. The first one i put out in the cold i brought in. Well it looks like the cold stretched it out and made it wrinkly :(

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But with all the new foam and only 120 USD im happy to have done it. However in the future ill just be buying wreaking yard seats and welding them to the seat frame. Cheaper and less misery. Good learning lesson though. Hope they last 10 years !

Thinking about warping a towel around an iron and flatting out them wrinkles.
 
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