An Interest to Improve
In 2017, a search was conducted for a replacement leather shift boot for a newly acquired 2007-model Honda S2000. Finished in Grand Prix White, this AP2 sported a tired red and black factory interior. Stiff and dried out from the harsh California sun. The original graphite-colored (as labeled by Honda) leather shift boot was a particular point of interest due to its central location in the interior. it had become glossy, shriveled, and petrified after years of baking in the cabin of the S2000 under previous ownership. An eager search began that would initiate the restoration process.
Some early research suggested the perfect leather shift boot for the S2000 should include a few key elements that would help it flow seamlessly into the interior:
First and foremost, it should be cut from genuine leather material–not an artificial substitute–and possess the correct texture, grain, and matte quality.
Secondly, the stitching design should play well with other stitching patterns found in the S2000’s interior.
Third, the red shade of the thread used during stitching should be attractive and able to highlight the deep red tones that already existed in the late AP2’s updated interior. Ideally, it would be a reasonable match to the early-model AP1 as well which sported brighter reds in its interior design.
Lastly and importantly, the silhouette or shape of the leather shift booth should be taller and more fitted than the factory component which was shorter in length, exposing more of the shifter mechanism.
Unromantic Market Options
At the time, there were several vendors of interior parts for the S2000. Interestingly however, it seemed as though there wasn’t one legitimate solution that was well-supported by the S2000 community in the same way other parts categories had enthusiastic recommendations for go-to manufacturers. With so many options on the market, why was this the case?
One vendor offered affordability in their leather shift boot and other soft goods although reviews online were mixed with reports of questionable fitment and finish. At the time, the vendor didn’t picture the actual product being sold. Buyers simply had the option of choosing their desired configuration from a drop down menu. There was also an ambiguous wait time.
Another vendor offered a similarly-priced leather shift boot and depicted it well online, although the shift boot was offered without the mounting holes necessary for installation. Users were tasked with measuring and producing their own mounting holes in order to install. Additionally, the grain of the shift boot was inappropriate. It was much smoother in its texture, much like some Napa leathers and clashed with the rest of the interior of the S2000 which sported a series of mid-2000s grain leather and vinyl materials in its cockpit.
A third option was actually an OEM product–not intended for sale in the US. Honda produced a genuine equipment red-stitched leather shift boot for the S2000 “Ultimate Edition”. A UK-only variant. Quality was as high as you would expect from an OEM although the darker shade of red thread used during stitching wouldn’t match well with the red thread used on MOMO’s 350mm Monte Carlo steering wheel that was planned for installation down the road. MOMO used a much brighter red hue which was more attractive in its appearance. Matching this steering wheel specifically was important because it would save the work of recovering the steering wheel at a later point.
The Search for Customization
Dissatisfied with availability in the market, a new search began for custom solutions. In 2017, many weeks were invested visiting countless custom upholstery shops and inquiring whether they could fabricate a product that would meet expectations. Shops in the mom-and-pop sector as well as full-scale restoration companies specializing in exotic platforms were vetted and after many visits, several patterns emerged.
Small upholstery shops often rushed the material selection process and offered materials that only somewhat resembled the textures found in the S2000’s interior via one-inch samples from outdated supplier catalogs. Whenever a suitable material was found, industry minimums required the purchase of ten times the amount of material needed for one shift boot. How could any individual rationalize this for a mere leather shift boot? This alone would triple the total cost of a finished product unless leftover material from a previous job was selected. Unsurprisingly, this was a frequent sell given that this material was paid for by a previous customer, reducing the material cost for a new inquiry to zero. The largest obstacle with smaller shops however, was they were often spread too thin across various works to dedicate the right level of attention to important details.
Well-established shops with the right skills and tools were simply uninterested in spending any amount of time on a single leather shift boot for a mid-tier Japanese sports car. They would take on full interior customization–or nothing. This was frustrating because their showrooms often featured exotic work for European platforms that aligned well with criteria for the leather shift boot search. If only they could be convinced to take on the job. Eventually, a white lie was pitched, explaining that the leather shift boot would be commissioned by an interior design studio willing to fund a batch of premium leather shift boots if they would produce them (ironic). At the time, this was out of scope but finding a way of selling a few extra dozen units was a small feat that could be sorted later.
After contracting a number of shops to produce several batches of shift boots in order to determine which was able to meet expectations–all failed. Some makers were able to find the right material but executed poorly. Others executed decently but not perfectly.
A few thousand dollars later and a year or so of fruitless searching, it was decided that the humble obsession of producing the highest quality leather shift boot for the S2000 would be assumed as a new project with no compromises. The right shape, the right material, the right thread, the right stitching, the right construction, and it would be made available to other interior enthusiasts. And so began the process of designing an ideal leather shift boot for the S2000.
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