What would it cost?

I'm in the very early stages of my first total restoration and am wondering what it might cost to have the interior fabric work redone on my big old 1929 4 door Chandler. Everything inside is original and would be useful as patterns to a person skilled in that profession. I'm just trying to get an idea of how much of my other stuff I may have to sell to get this vehicle into the condition it deserves to be in. I realize that as with building a house, it always costs twice as much as one expects. What have you guys spent on interiors?

Also, who would be a good shop to contact when I finally get to that stage? I am located in southern New Jersey.

If cost is an issue you might consider buying a used sewing machine, some hand tools, and doing it yourself. I know nobody ever thinks of this, but upholstery is easier than mechanical or body work (I have done all 3).

Seat covers??? We spent 3700 to 4700 to redo a car in the 1992.. from a shop..

I sent you an email

Joe

I don't think there is ANYTHING easy about upholstery....... :mad:

Even installing new door panels made for a vehicle is a PIA.

I'd rather get my hands dirty any time.......

I don't think there is ANYTHING easy about upholstery....... :mad:

Even installing new door panels made for a vehicle is a PIA.

I'd rather get my hands dirty any time.......

I agree totally ! An amateur job stands out like a sore thumb !

Wayne

A large sedan should cost you roughly $8000 in labor. That number could be less, if done by a "production" shop using foam and semi-skilled labor, or more, if done by someone specializing in antique cars and using original materials and methods.

That does not include cost of material. Don't use a cheap fabric, the cost of fabric is minor compared to labor, and if you buy some cheap fabric at a local store, you'll waste the money you spend on labor. That car probably used a nice mohair, Hirsch and others carry good quality material. You'll probably spend $1000 on materials, fabric, headliner, cotton, panel board, etc.

Another thing that might influence cost is condition of seats and springs. A lot of quality cars had each spring sewn into it's own pocket of material, and that's time consuming.

Good luck on your project....

I don't think there is ANYTHING easy about upholstery....... :mad:

Even installing new door panels made for a vehicle is a PIA.

I'd rather get my hands dirty any time.......

Agree with all my patients , there was no patients . Also to look at there portfolio of past jobs and customer reviews . My brother used a local shop here in Michigan for a 67 firebird interior $1600 for front and back seats. Good luck on getting it handled

This thought passed through my head yesterday actually. Car restoration is like anything else in life. There are some things we can do on our own, like mow our lawn, that may be just as good or better than a professional. There are other things, like restoring a car that we may be able to do ok at with practice, but in theory would never approach the skill level of a really good professional.

I guess it depends on the owner's skill level and what car he is working on. A high end car would only be wrecked by an amateur restoration. A cheaper car it doesn't matter and restoration may only make sense if the owner does most of his own work.

I have seen some great and award winning cars done by " back yard restoreers ". When people tell some one they can,t do it more than likely they are in the trade and need work. Years ago there wasn't the shops around , a lot of these were started by back yard guys that where good . not alllllll .

Sometimes a person is better off concentrating on doing what he or she does best so they can then afford to pay someone else to do what they do best.

Trimacar has a good figure there if you plan to farm it out. Like an old engineer friend of mine said. The odds of a good job are always 50/50. They either do it right or they do it wrong. He is an optimist compared to me. Plan on the 8 grand and expect some crying. It can range from the upholsters wife got sick to "your car must have been in an accident and one side is 3" shorter than the other". Whatever the excuses, they will have been used before.

So figure you are in for the 8. Take the chance and allow yourself $800-$1000 to experiment. Buy a $100 sewing machine at Walmart, a few yards of upholstery, and some supplies. See how you do on the back seat cushions. You might find out you are a natural with a little practice. The professional didn't get his skills bestowed by Congress. He got them the same place you got yours.

Just be patient. Remember "The level of perfection one can achieve is directly proportional to the number of times they are willing to do it over." The guy for 8 grand knows that.

Bernie

Certainly not trying to tell trimacar his business but 8K labor for seats,rugs,doors 1/4's and headliner sounds way low to me................Bob

And while you're at it buy a few cans of spray paint and a couple sheets of 180 sandpaper. No reason you can't paint the car too.

And steel wool to stuff in the holes before the Bondo goes on.......................Bob

Bob, 8K might be a little low, but 8-10K for labor should cover it for a normal installation. Remember this is labor only, materials will add $1000-1500. I also quote a little low sometimes, but I have virtually no overhead. Also, that's based on springs being in good condition, for example. If there's a lot of rework that's needed just to START making the covers, then the cost goes up.

There are also upholstery shops that would quote a lot more than that. I know of one particular trimmer who does absolutely fabulous work, and his quotes would make your head spin. He'd probably quote 30-35K for this job. His work would be absolutely perfect, and he gets a lot of work on high-end cars.

As far as an owner doing it himself, absolutely, that's how I got started. I had a friend with an upholstery shop, he'd do cars for me, one day I had him quote a car and I said fine, as long as YOU are the one sewing. He said no, he'd give it to one of his assistants. After talking some more, he sold me a used Pfaff walking foot machine (one really needs a walking foot to do correct auto upholstery), and showed me a few tricks. I upholstered a few cars, then ended up working at a restoration shop in Virginia for two years, apprenticing under a trimmer of German descent, who taught me the old way of doing things, which I still practice. After retiring from an engineering professional life, I'm now just doing this as a hobby.

So yes, a little equipment, a few trimmer's tricks, and a LOT of patience, and an owner can do a good job himself. Happens all the time.....

I yield to your experience...............Bob

I didn't say upholstery was easy, I said it was easier than rebuilding an engine or doing a complete body and paint. And yes, I have done all three. My brother is an upholsterer, and like most upholsterers, will not touch a car because it is more work than house furniture. But he would do the sewing if I did everything else. Sometimes I did the sewing on his machine. I upholstered half a dozen seats and 3 full cars, have also installed ready made upholstery kits and ready made headliners. If you know how to work with your hands, have read a couple of books on the subject, and are willing to take your time and if necessary do some things over, you can do it.

On the other hand if you have a spare $10,000 why bother?

No need to yield, Bob, I'm just typing random thoughts!

Interesting someone likes doing furniture but not cars, I can't stand to do furniture, mainly because of the 10,000 or so staples that have to be removed....and to me it's boring, while cars are interesting!

Thank goodness we're not all alike!

Once I had a boss and we would have differences of opinion. I told him if we both thought alike there would only need to be one of us. Since I was older I would have already been here. Wasn't he lucky.

Bernie

Having never done any upholstery work and never having paid to have it done, the task of re-doing this vehicle's interior really appears to be a rather daunting undertaking in my eyes. I gave it a ballpark of 8 grand, as a wild guess, in my preliminary budget outline and it looks like that was pretty damn close. I got this car at the right price and had intended to just get it running and mechanically sound while keeping the appearance as "survivor" as possible. Now, my ideas have swung over to the full-on "frame off" side of the fence. I am a very capable guy, but I put upholstery in the same category as machining the block and pouring babbit...Leave it to the pros.

Thank you for all of your input. Now, who would any of you dare recommend in my neck of the woods. I live in southern New Jersey, near Atlantic City?

The Car: 1929 Chandler

Almost all upholsterers prefer to work on furniture because it is so much easier. Carry a sofa into the shop, set it on trestles, work on it for a couple of days and make $800 and up. Do 2 or 3 of them and have a good week.

Compare to working on a dirty greasy old car, taking out rusty bolts, making and installing headliner, door panels, as well as seats, that have a far heavier more complex mechanism than a sofa, and require more work to do. Work on a car for several weeks, of very hard work, and make the same or less than if you stayed in your nice clean heated shop.

And of course, if you do cars, you need a much larger more expensive shop to do them right.

Most guys don't want to be bothered.

The Car: 1929 Chandler[ATTACH=CONFIG]276975[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]276976[/ATTACH]

Hey guys. That there ain't no set of seat covers to be cobbled together..........Bob

Cost ???

You will get a bigger bang out of it, if you just have it done, then look at the bill when the upholsterer has it finished. Better yet, give him a blank check or credit card; it won't hurt as much that way.

And steel wool to stuff in the holes before the Bondo goes on.......................Bob

Scotch-Brite pads work much better than steel wool. They won't rust; try it!

Larry W

Schaeffer and Long is a full service restoration shop in Magnolia, NJ. If they can't do it in house I'm sure they can tell you somebody who can. They're one of the top restorers anywhere and they aren't cheap but it doesn't hurt to ask.

http://www.schaefferlong.com/

Almost all upholsterers prefer to work on furniture because it is so much easier. Carry a sofa into the shop, set it on trestles, work on it for a couple of days and make $800 and up. Do 2 or 3 of them and have a good week.

Compare to working on a dirty greasy old car, taking out rusty bolts, making and installing headliner, door panels, as well as seats, that have a far heavier more complex mechanism than a sofa, and require more work to do. Work on a car for several weeks, of very hard work, and make the same or less than if you stayed in your nice clean heated shop.

And of course, if you do cars, you need a much larger more expensive shop to do them right.

Most guys don't want to be bothered.

Plus you don't need to climb in and out of a sofa repeatedly!

Well, I guess it would be fun to get to the end of a furniture upholstery job and say "Sofa, so good".....

Guess I'm going to have to quit putting numbers out there, as there are so many variables to an upholstery job. The quote you get from a large restoration shop is going to be different than what you get from small shops, and if you decide to go to such a restoration shop figure $15-20K for upholstery. I know, because I've worked in one. Not that there's anything wrong with that, from a business side, but tough on a hobbyist with a limited amount of funds to spend on a car.

By the way, Schaeffer & Long has been in business for a long time, and does excellent work. Fred Hoch is a fine gentleman and I consider it an honor to call him a friend.

We would have estimated about the same as Trimicar for the upholstery, under 10 for labor plus materials but there are always many variables. Do the window channels need replacing? Are the springs usable as is or are new ones needed? What quality materials does the customer want? Not many shops have been around as long as Schaeffer and Long for sure. "Sofa, so good, now I can lounge around unless I decide to chaise wife a bit".

Sheesh, now we're into the tacky puns, but I guess that's the staple of some discussions. Some upholstery jobs are tuft, and a lot of factors go into hitting an estimate on the button after springing into action. Thus, I pleat with you to consider all the stuff that's needed, and that'll better cushion the blow when the final bill comes. Then all will be welt, and you won't trim your bank account too badly and be called on the carpet for spending too much. Remember, no estimate on this forum is binding.

Don't work yourself into a leather. I promise not to needle you further. All I ask is a little common sense.

Sheesh, now we're into the tacky puns, but I guess that's the staple of some discussions. Some upholstery jobs are tuft, and a lot of factors go into hitting an estimate on the button after springing into action. Thus, I pleat with you to consider all the stuff that's needed, and that'll better cushion the blow when the final bill comes. Then all will be welt, and you won't trim your bank account too badly and be called on the carpet for spending too much. Remember, no estimate on this forum is binding.

LOL... Now that is funny. And so true. Mind you there are some down town couches, and back seats for that matter, that get more mileage than others. Dandy Dave!

Glad to see some common sense, but it's Murphy's law, if it was a snap everyone would do it.....

I was given a quote for $15,500+ to do my 1930 Chrysler coupe from a man who worked with a restoration shop. Went down the road and was told $12,500 and he didn't ask what body style it was! A friend who builds custom show trucks sent me to a small shop who had never done an antique car. Did an excellent job for about $4,500. Check around at ask for examples of his work and a customer list for references. I redid a 1953 Chevy years ago and will never do it again.

Glad to see some common sense, but it's Murphy's law, if it was a snap everyone would do it.....

Enough! I'm tempted to take a swing at you but you'd likely just duck or tuck and roll.

Man, you're hard to top, but I'll be back rest assured once I come up with something the panel will like, even if it's just sew-sew....

Nice to meet you at Hershey, bye the bye....

My high school English teacher taught us a pun was the lowest form of humor. Obviously she was right. Yea, nice to meet you as well. I have a few more puns and some are real singers but for now I think I'll just hidem.

I'm amazed at the prices you guys are quoting for upholstery work for a car. What kind of hourly rate do these shops get, $200 per hour? Seems way too high to me, when upholstery can cost much more than the paint prep and finish. Like anything else, shop around, talk to people and see their work and contact their references. I bet you can find some quality work for much less. Times are hard and some shops are crying for work. Not the big big shops that put all the money out in advertising and cater to the rich and famous, but other shops that do great work for a decent, fair price. I would think it would also be cheaper if you stripped out the car yourself, saved all the interior parts and gave them the shell only.

Sometimes a person is better off concentrating on doing what he or she does best so they can then afford to pay someone else to do what they do best.

I'm best at putting the gas in