This installation guide is designed to help you fit an Optimise Automotive SPi or MPi front seat cover kit.

Installing seat covers is very different to installing “nut & bolt” items. There is movement in the materials and, as a result, seat covers need to be manipulated, pulled and installed through the fitter's touch and feel.

I recommend taking your time, do not rush the process and double check alignment before cutting or gluing anything.

If you have any questions during installation or need any assistance, please get in touch and I'll be happy to help.

Your Kit - What’s Included:

• 2x replacement seat cushion covers

• 2x replacement seat squab covers

• 2x replacement headrest covers

Tools Needed (Recommended):

• Slot head screwdriver

• Phillips head screwdriver

• Diagonal cutters

• Pin hammer

• Sharp knife

• Hog ring pliers

Preparation & Pre-Installation:

My SPi and MPi front seat cover kits fit just like the original covers (near enough), so when you remove the original covers from your seats, take a good look at how they are installed.

Remember to keep the elastics from the squab covers, as you will be using them to install your new covers.

Removal:

Before you start removing the covers, remove the headrests, remove the tilt handle knob (it simply screws off), remove the reclining handle using a Phillips head screwdriver and also remove the headrest plastic fixings. These are removed by turning them 90 degrees and pulling them out.

For reference, you do not need to remove the plastic cowling either side, between the cushion and squab, or the side squab seat tilt mechanism handle and cowling.

Start by removing the squab cover. The first step is to free the J-section filler from the J-section at the base of the cover. To remove the filler strip, prise it out using a slot head screwdriver.

With the bottom of the cover now open, reach inside from behind and release the hooks on the ends of the elastics that hold the face of the cover in the grooves between the bolsters and the face from the frame.

For now, that is all the fixings that need removing and you can start to pull the cover off by turning it inside-out until you get to the height of the internal fixings.

When you get to this point, release the other end of the hooks on the ends of the elastics from the frame from behind and feed them through the hole in the foam to the front.

You can then feed the black plastic piece through the diaphragm wires and through the slot in the foam, again from behind.

You can now continue to remove the squab cover. Feed the cover around the tilt handle and pull the cover off over the top of the seat.

Finally, remove the elastics from the squab cover by feeding them out of the sleeves and keep them to one side to reuse. With the squab cover removed, you can now remove the cushion cover.

Around the edges, underneath the seat, the cover is held into place using plastic strips/fixings. To remove them, turn the seat upside-down and, using a slot head screwdriver, prise the strips along the front and sides out.

The rear of the cushion is secured with a different style of plastic fixing that clips around the tubular frame. To remove it, again prise it off using a slot head screwdriver.

With the borders and tabs of the cushion cover released, turn the seat the right way up and remove the foam from the seat.

Then turn the cover inside-out. This will give you access to the face fixings and you can start to remove the hog rings using diagonal cutters, which hold the cushion to the foam.

With the fixings removed, the cover will be loose and separate from the foam.

Finally, you can remove the headrest covers. The headrests are injection-moulded foam and, as a result, the covers cannot be “removed” as such.

You will need to remove the original cover by cutting off the original piping using a sharp knife and then cut and peel away the original trimming, so you are essentially left with the foam.

At this stage, if you have a steamer, you may want to steam your foams. This will puff the foam back up to its original state, creating a better base for your new covers.

I also recommend painting your seat frame legs with black metal paint, such as Hammerite, before installing your new covers.

Installation:

With the old covers removed, you can install your new seat cover kit. Essentially, you are now going to reverse the process of removing your old covers to install your new covers.

Start with the cushion cover. With the foam removed from the seat and the border inside-out, the first step is to install the face fixings.

Using the hog rings supplied and hog ring pliers, attach the tie piping strips sewn into the seat cover to the metal rods in the foam.

For reference, the strips of tie piping replace the metal rods on the original covers.

With the seat cover installed to the face of the cushion, turn the cover's border around so it sits on the foam and then refit the foam to the seat.

With the foam installed to the seat, turn the seat upside-down so you can access underneath the frame.

Starting with the rear tab, attach the tab to the frame using the C clips provided. There are three clips per seat. These clips replace the plastic strips on the original covers and simply push on with a tight fit.

Ensure that you pull the tab nice and tight.

Then, starting in the middle of the front and working out around the frame, attach the border to the frame using the metal trim-clips provided. These clips replace the plastic strips on the original covers.

You can push and/or hammer the clips on using a pin hammer. Ensure that you pull the cover nice and tight.

When you get to it, cut a hole in the cover using a sharp knife to feed the tilt pull handle through. Double check that you have lined it up correctly before cutting the hole.

You can now start to install the squab cover. First of all, turn the seat the right way around and place a plastic bag over the seat back. This will help you to pull the cover fully down into the correct position.

Before you install the cover, install the elastics into the sleeves, just like the originals.

Then turn the cover inside-out to the seam line on the face, where the plastic pull-through fixing is sewn in.

You can then place the squab cover over the seat and pull it down, so the shoulders of the seat are tight against the inside of the seat cover.

Feed the headrest stalks through the holes in the cover and reinstall the headrest plastic fixings to help trap the cover in place.

Reach inside and remove the plastic bag by pulling it back over the seat, ensuring that the seat cover remains in place.

Next, feed the black plastic piece, the fixing attached to the face of the cover, through the slot in the foam and through the diaphragm wires.

You can then install the hooks on the ends of the elastics. Feed them through the hole in the foam and attach them to the frame using the same holes that they were attached to originally.

You can then continue to turn the cover around, fitting it neatly on the foam as you go.

Once fully fitted, reach inside from behind and install the other end of the hooks on the ends of the elastics. Feed them through the channel in the foam and attach them to the frame using the same holes that they were attached to originally.

With all the fixings attached, it is time to fit the cover around the tilt handle.

Cut a slit in the cover, making sure you cut the slit shorter than the length of the cowling so it is hidden when fed around, and feed the cover around the cowling.

Finally, with regard to the squab cover, turn the seat upside-down and fasten the zips. These replace the J-section and J-section filler plastic fixings from the original covers.

With the seat trimmed, you can now install your new headrest covers to the headrests.

Place a bag over the foam and, using a vacuum cleaner, suck the air out of the bag, creating a vacuum. This will shrink the headrest foam.

Place the new cover over the headrest and, once roughly positioned, remove the vacuum cleaner head so the foam expands and fills the cover.

Trim off the excess plastic bag and pin the outer cover, the stitched face, along the edge, trapping the inside cover underneath.

With your new seat covers installed, if you have a steamer, you may want to steam your covers as this will smooth out any imperfections.

Post-Installation:

With your new front seat cover kit now installed, you can reinstall your front seats into your Mini.

Finished:

I hope you love your new Optimise Automotive interior and enjoy seeing it transform your Mini.

When your installation is complete, please send me some photos of the finished result. I'd love to see your Mini with its new interior fitted, and customer builds are always fantastic to see and help inspire future Classic Mini owners too.