1929 Hupmobile project - Page 25

Dean_H. · April 23rd, 2009

After bolting the trunk on, I pushed the car outside to rinse it off. My yard is up wind from the shop and dust is a problem. It'll look clean for a few days. [img]<>/smile.gif[/img] Unfortunately, I have a million things to do right now and can't spend much time on the car. I would like to get the dash done next...

What a great looking car!

Dean_H. · May 22nd, 2009

I've been busy lately and haven't had much time to work on my car. But there are a few things I managed to get done, including finishing the last door, it fit well. This is the end of the cars exterior.

The door strike plate screws were stripped out. I used a skill saw to make a cut into the center post and pushed in a steel plate. Then drilled and threaded for machine screws, it feels solid and all the doors open and close now.

Finding cheap mohair upholstery took some effort. This remnant was the exact color of my original. I got it for $35 per yard and I took all eleven yards they had. Hopefully it's enough, I set up our spare room as a sewing room. Let the fun begin!

Decided to start with those strips that go along the door openings. In this pic I cut the first piece.

I bought this sewing machine about twenty years ago at a garage sale and basically never used it. When I pushed the pedal the variable speed wouldn't work - fast or off was not good. So I did some cleaning and oiling, before long it was running like a Hupp [img]<>/smile.gif[/img] and I was sewing like a pro.

Picked up some 3/8 tubing at Orchard Hardware. Here I'm pushing it into the freshly sewed fabric.

And the last pic - nailing it in the car. The upholstery seems like it's going to take awhile.

HarryJ · May 22nd, 2009

Dean..............and you can do upolstery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........Awesome!

Dean_H. · May 23rd, 2009

Harry, My options are - sit on a milk crate or start sewing. I chose the latter, it's my first attempt at upholstery work. Doesn't look too tough.

I had left the drivers seat back rest in while the body was off the frame, because it acted as a brace to help hold dimensions. Now with the body bolted to the frame, I unscrewed and removed it. There is a steel back, to support the springs. When I pulled off the fabric and springs, there were scraps of mohair, burlap, cotton, and even pieces of paper thrown in to prevent metal to metal contact. It appears the factory workers swept the floor for this needed anti-squeak material. Over the years it's sunk to the lower half of the seat back. But it amused me how we Americans were recycling long before it was politically correct. [img]<>/smile.gif[/img]

Dean_H. · May 24th, 2009

I decided to leave the original fabric on the seat back and just cover it with new material. This also saved me some time with the layer of cotton padding under the fabric, and... I'm recycling same as the factory did in '29. [img]<>/smile.gif[/img] Just for fun, I glued a piece of an old T-shirt on the original material, and wrote my name and the date.

Here it is after I installed it into the car. Sure glad I ponied up the extra cash for mohair, it looks reeeeeal nice.

Stllrng. · May 28th, 2009

Originally Posted By: Dean_H.

I decided to leave the original fabric on the seat back and just cover it with new material. This also saved me some time with the layer of cotton padding under the fabric, and... I'm recycling same as the factory did in '29. [img]<>/smile.gif[/img] Just for fun, I glued a piece of an old T-shirt on the original material, and wrote my name and the date.

Here it is after I installed it into the car. Sure glad I ponied up the extra cash for mohair, it looks reeeeeal nice.

I had to laugh when I saw the note in the seat. My Dad died in 1977, and he was famous for doing that. I found a couple of those notes ten and twenty years after he was gone. It's good fun and I think it adds to the history aspect. Thanks for showing us.

Big Beat · May 29th, 2009

Is that a Russian sewing machine? [img]<>/smile.gif[/img]
I have a similar one in the back of my garage.

The upholstery looks great already!

Dean_H. · May 30th, 2009

My sewing machine is a 'Brother' made in Japan. It wouldn't sew through panel board which I needed to do. After making a few calls, I got someone to loan me an upholstery machine. It looks older than the car, but it has a walking foot and big enough horsepower to sew through anything.

I'm waiting for some thread that I ordered, so I decided to paint the wood grain on my trim pieces. Having never seen or done anything like this, I got some quotes from the pros, but after learning it'd be $1500+ I decided to give it a try myself. First I painted the piece a light brown, and then using a fan brush, painted on the darker brown.

Once I had a 'wood like' pattern, I darkened the whole part by going over it lightly with a dryish brush. This picture is my finished product.