928 Interior Decorating and Improved Shifting - Version 2.0

Nicole · 10-09-2006, 05:21 AM

I got lots of compliments on my interior decoration project described in the following thread:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=170073

But somehow I felt it was time to take things to the next level. So I decided to order an authentic wood kit for my car to replace the synthetic wood I already had. My initial plans was to order African Rose, which is not too dark, has a very warm tone to it, and is very lively. It had always been one of my favorites, and is very close to the factory rootwood color.

Then I found out that Jager had a special wood called "Bloody Burl" available in very limited quantity. In fact, there was only enough wood for two kits. And it was said to be very dark and very red. So I thought a wood that's dark and red could make a very nice contrast to my classic grey interior, and I ordered a kit sight unseen.

When it arrived, I really fell in love with its color, so when Roger Tyson called me a few days later to inquire about wood options for his black/red GTS, I offered him the second set. Can't wait to see how it turns out in his car!

Anyway, the kit sat in my garage for a few weeks before I finally got around to tear apart my center console and trace some slow vacuum actuator leaks. This was the time to fix, clean and redecorate the interior, and you can see the results below.

For demonstration purposes, I used all pieces of the 22-piece base kit, plus the seat switch surrounds and the new rear AC trim. The latter was of particular importance to me, because its thickness offers great protection for our delicate rear AC vents.

In order to make servicing of the AC control unit easy, I used rubber cement to attach the upper console trim piece. This way, I can remove and reattach it easily when needed - without any risk of damage to the wood. The trick is to put the rubber cement on both the back of the trim piece and the surfaces it will be attached to.

Following my philosophy of minimizing interior colors, I was thinking of adding a leather shift plate matching my interior color. However, in the end I decided to add a bit of contrast with an aluminum shifter plate. This would also go best with the silver Tip Shifter I planned to use.

Another goal of the "remodel" was futher enhancement of driving pleasure (in German: "Fahrvergnügen", or "Fahrspass"): I wanted to get rid of the slider in the factory shift plate, as it makes shifter movement real jerky. I used a spare shifter plate to dissect and install a custom dyed full leather boot. I drove the car for two days now, and can't believe what a difference this modification makes in shifter feel. Now it's even more fun to shift manually!!!

So here is the result. Let me know what you think!

PS: If you plan an interior upgrade for your car, please contact me. Based on your 928 model and interior coloring, we can find materials and products that enhance the beauty of your interior, and make it look more up-to-date. Most products I offer do not require any modifications to the car and can be removed without trace, if the need should ever arise.

Nicole · 10-09-2006, 05:45 AM

And then, because I had so much fun, I decided to add a little bit of pizzaz to my engine compartment with the Engine Compartment Lettering for the Intake Manifold.

Similar letters are also available for the cam covers - in red, black, or chrome.

Champagne · 10-09-2006, 05:58 AM

That turned out really well Nicole

Well done

Paul

fbarnhill · 10-09-2006, 09:39 AM

Nicole, it looks great. You have realy good taste when it comes to matching things to make them look factory

Normy · 10-09-2006, 10:04 AM

That looks every bit as good as you described Nicole!

The rear-AC covering is particularly nice, but your shifter mod is the best I've ever seen in one of these cars. You can tell a good modification easily- it looks factory, not "added on" and the shifter in particular fits this perfectly.

That shifter knob: Do you think they make one in champagne and brass instead of gray and silver? Where did you find this?

N!

MGW-Fla · 10-09-2006, 11:03 AM

That looks absolutely AWESOME Nicole! I just ordered some more Jager stuff last week, including more interior pieces! Their stuff is first class all the way & they offer things for our sharks that aren't available anywhere else!

ROG100 · 10-09-2006, 12:06 PM

Nicole,
Awesome - Once I receive my leather dash and console from Paul I will install my set.
Well done.
Roger

Joe '87 S4 · 10-09-2006, 12:10 PM

That looks really nice. Did they always offer the rectangle center vent piece or is that a new option?

Chuck Schreiber · 10-09-2006, 12:16 PM

Nicole,

Looks good!!! I really like the shifter!!!

SharkSkin · 10-09-2006, 02:32 PM

Very sharp, Nicole! Are you going to hand out drool bibs at Sharktoberfest for people who want to ogle your interior?

dr bob · 10-09-2006, 03:08 PM

Nicole--

Have you and Paul looked at matching wood inserts for the knobs in the console? The wood looks spectacular in your car, but... The pictures with the great wood inserts make the knobs for the fan, rear AC, Rear AC temp look way out of place. It was easy for the factory to settle on easy-to-match no-glare black. Now your new wood bits push you dangerously close to the edge of a very slippery slope. On that slope are the above-mentioned knobs, the slider knobs with mini-LED's embedded in the ends, and either a blanking plate for the radio or a trim piece that covers at least the outside frame for the DIN-sized perimeter.

Your choice of the extra-dark wood with red in it is excellent.

For contrast, I've been spending the last week+ of "spare time" refinishing the larger of the two wood garage doors. It's 18' wide, in a red cherry finish. It doesn't have quite the finish quality that your dash pieces have, though. It's hard to find 18' burls...

DSC928 · 10-09-2006, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck Schreiber

Nicole,

Looks good!!! I really like the shifter!!!

Yeah nice shifter........Where is that on your site? I couldn't find it at "hookedoncars" or the Jager site. ????

Bill Swift · 10-09-2006, 05:44 PM

Very nice Nicole, can't wait to see it in person!

Charley B · 10-09-2006, 07:28 PM

Looks terrific Nicole. Did you end up placing the trim at the back of the shfter area under the center consol piece? I'm assuming, to make mine look right, that is what I need to do. The red works out much better than I had imagined when you told me about it. Very impressive.

IcemanG17 · 10-09-2006, 07:35 PM

Nicole
Looks great.....I like it better than the medium dark wood you had before.....bummer there was only two kits!

10-09-2006, 05:58 AM	#3
Champagne Addict Rennlist Member Rennlist Site Sponsor Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Corpus Christi Posts: 1,621	That turned out really well Nicole Well done Paul __________________ 1988 S4 AT Expresso Custom Ostrich Interior. Finely Crafted Leather for Porsche Cars

10-09-2006, 09:39 AM	#4
fbarnhill Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Wilkesboro, NC Posts: 455	Nicole, it looks great. You have realy good taste when it comes to matching things to make them look factory __________________ Frank Barnhill 79 Euro AT

10-09-2006, 11:03 AM	#6
MGW-Fla Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Jacksonville, Fla. Posts: 2,568	That looks absolutely AWESOME Nicole! I just ordered some more Jager stuff last week, including more interior pieces! Their stuff is first class all the way & they offer things for our sharks that aren't available anywhere else! __________________ Mel '85 928S; #333; 32V; AT; DunkelBlau/Champagne; Xpipe; AA chipped; Jager mods; Kinesis K28R wheels. '91 928S4; #364; AT; Grand Prix white/dark blue; wife's. '03 Roush Stage II Ford Mustang GT; silver/black; son's. '99 VW Jetta VR6; gold/tan; daughter's. '85 928S; #1076; 32V; AT; gold/brown;(Adopted Out). '90 911/964; Cab.; Linen/Linen;(911 Heaven). '04 BMW Z4 Roadster; 3.0; silver/black; (sold). 928 Owners Club - Fla Rep

10-09-2006, 12:06 PM	#7
ROG100 Addict Rennlist Member Rennlist Site Sponsor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Double Oak, TX Posts: 6,621	Nicole, Awesome - Once I receive my leather dash and console from Paul I will install my set. Well done. Roger __________________ Roger Tyson www.928sRus.com Email Roger@928sRus.com or call 817 430 2688 SPEC Clutches & Lightweight Flywheels at awesome prices Porsche 928 Parts - Porsche & OEM - World Wide Shipping 85 to 95 Fuel Hose Kits - Save your car Ford Injector O Rings Motor Mounts, Silicone Pan Gasket & Stud Kits MotorSport SLC X & Y Pipes in stock - BEST PRICES Replacement Diaphragms for the Center, Footwell & Recirc actuator

10-09-2006, 12:10 PM	#8
Joe '87 S4 Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 797	That looks really nice. Did they always offer the rectangle center vent piece or is that a new option? __________________ Black/Black 1987 S4 Auto

10-09-2006, 10:04 AM	#5
Normy Banned Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Ft. Lauderdale FLORIDA Posts: 5,257	That looks every bit as good as you described Nicole! The rear-AC covering is particularly nice, but your shifter mod is the best I've ever seen in one of these cars. You can tell a good modification easily- it looks factory, not "added on" and the shifter in particular fits this perfectly. That shifter knob: Do you think they make one in champagne and brass instead of gray and silver? Where did you find this? N!

10-09-2006, 12:16 PM	#9
Chuck Schreiber Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Plano, Tx. Posts: 1,485	Nicole, Looks good!!! I really like the shifter!!! __________________ Chuck S. 79 5spd SilverBulit 94 5spd Charlie Car

10-09-2006, 02:32 PM	#10
SharkSkin Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 12,059	Very sharp, Nicole! Are you going to hand out drool bibs at Sharktoberfest for people who want to ogle your interior? __________________ Dave A. 1978 928 5spd My 928 Site Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. --Douglas Adams There is no doubt about precisely when folks began racing each other in automobiles. It was the day they built the second automobile. --Richard Petty

10-09-2006, 03:08 PM	#11
dr bob The Doctor is IN Lifetime Rennlist Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Glendale, Ca (Los Angeles Area) Posts: 6,195	Nicole-- Have you and Paul looked at matching wood inserts for the knobs in the console? The wood looks spectacular in your car, but... The pictures with the great wood inserts make the knobs for the fan, rear AC, Rear AC temp look way out of place. It was easy for the factory to settle on easy-to-match no-glare black. Now your new wood bits push you dangerously close to the edge of a very slippery slope. On that slope are the above-mentioned knobs, the slider knobs with mini-LED's embedded in the ends, and either a blanking plate for the radio or a trim piece that covers at least the outside frame for the DIN-sized perimeter. Your choice of the extra-dark wood with red in it is excellent. For contrast, I've been spending the last week+ of "spare time" refinishing the larger of the two wood garage doors. It's 18' wide, in a red cherry finish. It doesn't have quite the finish quality that your dash pieces have, though. It's hard to find 18' burls... __________________ '89 S4 Auto, black Rennlist Member 928OC Charter Member SoCal 928 Co-Founder PCA SGVR Member Chairman, Glendale Yacht Club --------------------- Free advice and experience, with absolutely no relationship to real-world conditions. No warranty of any kind expressed or implied. Use at your own risk. Small parts may cause choking hazard. Harmful or fatal if swallowed. --------------------- Visit the SoCal928 group at http://socal928.com/

10-09-2006, 05:44 PM	#13
Bill Swift Fleet of Foot Rennlist Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 8,191	Very nice Nicole, can't wait to see it in person! __________________ Bill '89 S4 Automatic, Black on Black on Black "...the triple distillation of evil, the baddest machine on any block..." 1990 Miata, you guessed it, Classic Red SCCA SOLO Avatar: PCH just south of Half Moon Bay, DEVEK Days 2006 Photo taken by George Suennen When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson

10-09-2006, 07:28 PM	#14
Charley B Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Tracy, Ca Posts: 3,496	Looks terrific Nicole. Did you end up placing the trim at the back of the shfter area under the center consol piece? I'm assuming, to make mine look right, that is what I need to do. The red works out much better than I had imagined when you told me about it. Very impressive. __________________ Charley There is something about the outside of a 928, that's good for the inside of a man. '93 GTS 5 spd '88 S4 Auto Red '82/'83 Euro Track Car '55 T-Bird (Show Car) '01 Town Car (Myrtle the Turtle) '03 Deville (Plain Jane) '90 Harley Springer Softail '90 Harley 1200C Chopper

10-09-2006, 07:35 PM	#15
IcemanG17 Addict Rennlist Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 10,160	Nicole Looks great.....I like it better than the medium dark wood you had before.....bummer there was only two kits! __________________ Brian Co-founding member of the "Stockton Sharks Society" 89 S4 5 speed track beast!!!! BLACK WIDOW 360HP(in rehab..AGAIN) 79 5 speed.... 84 auto lemons project part deux 189whp 246torque 2008 BMW M3 V8 coupe, Melbourne red, Bamboo Beige extended leather, DCT, 19" wheels, loaded!! Corsa Exhaust=445HP!! 06 Acura TL (Wife) ---------------------- 02 Saturn SC2 (Sold) 92 Daihatsu Charade (G-Ride) 1.0L 3 cyl!! RETIRED 88 S4 Guards Red/Champagne Leather (gone to a new home)