Some cosmetic upgrades on my GS
02-24-2013, 04:04 PM
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Some cosmetic upgrades on my GS
I picked up this 13GS in late November and have made a few improvements to it. Had window tint and 3m clear bra installed. Added clear front markers and got some Lloyd mats for the front, a weathertech for the hatch and a few other goodies (cup holder and trunk cover). Just finished an install of the Pioneer AVIC-X940bt (huge pain in the A** 
). First I wired it up from the speaker outs which probably damaged the amp, but the noise was way too high. Then I wired up the RC outs and the white noise was gone but a new noise was introduced, alsong with a pop. Added ground loop isolators, pop gone, noise still there. Started cutting wires to isolate the noise, it was the amp. Used the HU to power the speakers, no noise, no pop, just sounded like garbage. Had to get a Massive 1000.4 amp which I still have to mount as can be seen in the pics but it works like a champ.
I bought some hides on ebay and did my own leather wrapping using barge cement and hot glue. Also bought the DS Vettes armrests which did not match so I had to dismantle them and use my leather for the upper parts and then re-stitch everything. Of course I had to remove both door panels to install the armrests and wrap the lock bezel. Definitely not for the feint of heart. I have a new respect for DS Vettes and Carvaggio. Cuts and burns all over with this job. Overall, I'm pretty happy, not real satisfied with the door lock bezel around the switch (took the switch out and couldn't get it back in with the leather in the way) so I had to trim around the lock. It needs some kind of outer trim to hide the cuts in the leather. Open to suggestions. Next will be a center console pad. I think I'm going to order another hide and do the tunnel drapes, always liked how they looked. Correction; I'm going to cut the leather, get the backing, and let someone else sew it
). First I wired it up from the speaker outs which probably damaged the amp, but the noise was way too high. Then I wired up the RC outs and the white noise was gone but a new noise was introduced, alsong with a pop. Added ground loop isolators, pop gone, noise still there. Started cutting wires to isolate the noise, it was the amp. Used the HU to power the speakers, no noise, no pop, just sounded like garbage. Had to get a Massive 1000.4 amp which I still have to mount as can be seen in the pics but it works like a champ.I bought some hides on ebay and did my own leather wrapping using barge cement and hot glue. Also bought the DS Vettes armrests which did not match so I had to dismantle them and use my leather for the upper parts and then re-stitch everything. Of course I had to remove both door panels to install the armrests and wrap the lock bezel. Definitely not for the feint of heart. I have a new respect for DS Vettes and Carvaggio. Cuts and burns all over with this job. Overall, I'm pretty happy, not real satisfied with the door lock bezel around the switch (took the switch out and couldn't get it back in with the leather in the way) so I had to trim around the lock. It needs some kind of outer trim to hide the cuts in the leather. Open to suggestions. Next will be a center console pad. I think I'm going to order another hide and do the tunnel drapes, always liked how they looked. Correction; I'm going to cut the leather, get the backing, and let someone else sew it
02-24-2013, 04:24 PM
#3
Pro
I love what you did.................
02-24-2013, 06:08 PM
#5
Team Owner
Very nice.
02-24-2013, 06:16 PM
#6
Racer
Nice work. Good looking GS. I also have the 940bt. I got tired of the factory speakers and put some alpine components in the front and some polk speakers in the rear. no more factory parts on the radio. much better.
Nice work 
02-24-2013, 08:58 PM
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Thanks for the kind words. If you're thinking of trying it, don't use hot glue on the front of anything; every drop and blob will be easily visible. I used the barge cement for the front and anchored it with the hot glue. 3m 80 adhesive spray works as well.
Last edited by megaweapon; 02-24-2013 at 09:04 PM.
02-24-2013, 11:32 PM
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I'm guessing 30 hours (for the leather, the Nav HU was about 15 hrs due to all the trouble I had, ugh!). Once you have the leather cut to the approximate size it goes pretty fast; it's the curved pieces around the door that were the hardest to get right. Plus I added black velvet trim for the center console and glove box to mask the edges. It took a lot of leather to keep it all one piece for the center bolster and the two door latch pieces. BTW if anyone decides to use barge cement on any plastic piece, once you apply it you're committed. You can't remove this stuff without causing some damage to the plastic surface. The 3m spray can come off without too much difficulty. I thought I wasn't going to be able to wrap the aforementioned door latch trim after failing once, but managed to finally get it right with a bigger piece of leather (more than you would think by looking at it). It has quite a few curves that add to the difficulty. Watch the edges of the sill trim if you try this, they're very sharp believe me! Now I'm trying to decide if I want to do the tunnel drapes in the sand color or in a black/ebony leather.....What to do, what to do...
Last edited by megaweapon; 02-24-2013 at 11:35 PM.
