Welcome to TM from the other side of the world & congratulations on your purchase.
I'm sure Richard - Aus will say hello to you at some point on TM. He is based in Perth & has a '76 4/4 4 seater so not sure where about's you are from him - probably a long way away!
Has the leather cracked badly? Over hear we get Gliptone which comes in conditioner and cleaner versions. I use it to maintain my leather and keep it well fed but also I've used it on on aold Chesterfield chair and kept applying it to leather that had cracked. It did improve it remarkably and may be worth a try before attempting to replace.
http://www.liquidleather.com/Post some
when you can.
