Interior Projects Dallas TX

This month, our Project Tundra editorial features two interior projects — custom seats and light kit installations.

ROADWIRE SEATS

One of the things the Light Truck and SUV team believed would be important to the Project Tundra customization was to update the look of the interior. We wanted to bring some of the elements of the custom paint job inside the truck. To accomplish that, we realized we would need to replace the tan factory seats.

We turned to Roadwire for our custom seats. After looking at the colors available, we decided to go with black and blue leather seats.

Having never done a seat installation before, we turned to Madison, WI-based AMS to help out. We had done a dealer profile on AMS a few months earlier, and we knew the AMS team would be a good resource to help some rookie seat installers. AMS technician Jason Salas volunteered to help us out.

Just a few minutes into the installation, I was definitely glad we had asked for help.

After disconnecting the battery, we unplugged the seat's wiring harnesses under the seat. We removed the mount bolts and took the seats out to a work table. Not having worked on Tundra seats before, it took us a while to figure out how everything disconnected. We removed the seat cushions from the frame assembly. We then removed the seat covers, carefully removing the hog rings as we went so as not to damage the cushion assemblies.

After the factory covers were removed, we began the installation. First, the heating elements were attached to the new seats. Then, the seats were installed in reverse order as they were removed. Once we were satisfied with the fit, we re-secured the cushions to the frames, and reinstalled the seats in the truck.

We had a few minor bulges in the leather after we installed the new seats. I talked to a Roadwire representative to see how to best handle this minor appearance issue. "Heat," he replied. "Just let the truck sit out in the sun on a few hot days. The seats will naturally conform to the contours of the foam."

Editor's note: As of press time, the weather forecasters are predicting a high of 30 F today here in Wisconsin. Seems like we will have to wait a few months to subject the Tundra to the interior heat Roadwire recommends.

ACSO LIGHT KIT

Compared to the time and manual labor required for the seat replacement, the custom light installation was a whole lot easier. We used a light kit from ACSO Products. The light kit features LED lights with tubes to install under the dash, and LED bulbs to install in the storage container.

First, we removed the center cup holder and console cover and the two side kick panels for access. To power the lights, we used the included splices to tap into the power wires for the accessory power adapter in the storage compartment. Using included templates, we drilled holes for the switch mount and the storage compartment lights. The switch and LED bulbs were mounted.

Wiring harnesses were run forward on either side of the console for the under-dash lights. The light tubes were mounted on both the passenger and driver sides as directed by the installation manual using tie wraps (ensuring the reflective part of the light tubes were on the top side). The LED light cluster attaches at the inboard end of the light tube.

We did an operational check of the system before re-installing panels and covers. The switch has four positions — off, storage compartment, storage compartment and under-dash, and under-dash. We opted for both red and blue lights for the under-dash lights, and the colors can be changed easily from one to the other by disconnecting the bulb at the harness, installing the other bulb, and connecting it to the light tube. Consecutive pushes of the switch cycles through the four options.

Next month, we will cover the VIAIR constant-duty compressed air system and the KC HiLite installations.