Interior Restoration

[Guest]

This thread started out with the op wondering about the cost of having is interior done professionally.  Of course professionally does not necessarily mean a 100 point restoration, it depends what your professional is capable of doing and what you contract with him to do.

Trimacar mentioned that upholstery can be done by anyone.  I agree with that.  Also having upholstered one wingback chair I would not do a chair ever again or attempt an auto seat.  I did my door panels following a Fisher manual.  The first one took me five days, the second one was three days and the last two were done in one day each. Total ten days to do four door panels.  If I were to do it again I think my time is worth more that what a trimmer would charge.  In the time it took me (80 hrs) I could have earned enough to have had the whole interior done professionally.

Now paint is a different story, I enjoy it so it is not about saving money it is about doing something fun.

Owning an antique/vintage/collectable car is about enjoyment.  I once owned five 1930's cars one was a CCCA recognized car, three were ordinary cars and one was the car that my Grandfather bought new.  When it came to family or cars everything went except for the Pontiac that had been in the family from new.  I don't know if I could enjoy a daily driver that had $10,000 in paint and $9,000 in interior.

Brandon, enjoy your car, if it gives you half the pleasure that mine has given me as my daily driver  for 57 years you will have had a great time. All that matters is your enjoyment of whatever you have.  Do it now, enjoy it now, don't wait until you are old and then say "I wish I had done ???".

[Dale's Buick]

I showed the old upholstery to a local shop, and these guys have been around for a lot of years.   They redid the seats, carpets, padding and headliner, and all the trim for $2,700, although it took them almost a year to get it done.  I'm (trying to) attaching the finished product, which looks very close to the original. 

[NTX5467]

In trying to choose an upholstery shop to sew an interior together, I'd find out who the local new car dealerships use for their warranty repairs on vehicles.  There's usually one that stands out.  Also one that can do leather replacements on new vehicles, too, even if from a vendor's kit.  Key thing to me is that when you say "OEM level quality", they know what that means.  

 

The next step is to use OEM-level fabrics and vinyls.  There are even some OEM fabrics which look the same (as we found out in middle-1980s Chevy Caprices and Pontiac Bonnevilles), but one is significantly heavier than the other one.  In this case, the Chevy fabric looked "see-through" and the Pontiac fabric was very much thicker (and has lasted "like iron").  And the price was about (at that time) about $1/yard more.  If you're not going completely original and can tolerate a little color shade variation from the original (especially if you'll end up with the whole interior "done", then look at the color swatches at the trim shop.

 

Headliners can be tricky to install and not have wrinkles, kind of like a convertible top.  With the headliner out, you can add some more jute insulation between it and the fabric, possibly.

 

If you're going to do it in stages, buy ALL of the seat fabric and vinyl at ONE TIME.  This ensures that it all matches later on!  There can be variations in the 'dye lots" of things between batches, although the batches are made to the same specification range.  And also get more than enough to do the door panels, too, all purchased from the same bolts of material!

 

In another thread, the owner sent off for swatches, which were what he wanted.  When he did purchase the fabric a year later, what they sent was from a bolt of fabric wehre the screen printing of the design was offset and not acceptable.  Therefore, if they have what you need, get all of the fabric right after you get the acceptable swatch back!

 

Carpet prices can vary, too, as material varies.  Some come with a seam on the center of the transmission hump as others might be fully molder to the floorpan and need no such seam.  The protective cover of the exposed edges are another item to inquire about.

 

LOTS of things to ask about before it all happens!  Prices can vary, too.  When you find a good shop, they'll have plenty to do already.  Be patient.

 

NTX5467

[Bill Stoneberg]

On 9/22/2016 at 4:29 PM, buick5563 said:

Living in in my gated community  I expect certain wines to taste certain ways.

 

You crack me up Mike...

[Beemon]

On 9/22/2016 at 11:29 AM, Brandon Todd said:

I paid 200 for all four door panels. I think 60 for the dash, and 200 for the back seat.

 

This thread is a blast from the not so distant past. Brandon, what was the name of the place that did your work? Wouldn't mind finding something like that near me, that's about all I can afford.

[jackofalltrades70]

Very nice!

[Brandon Todd]

On 6/28/2017 at 4:41 AM, Beemon said:

 

This thread is a blast from the not so distant past. Brandon, what was the name of the place that did your work? Wouldn't mind finding something like that near me, that's about all I can afford.

I'm sorry!!! I just now saw this! The guy that did mine is just a local friend that lives near me and happens to do upholstery for a living, haha. Really talented and nice guy. Did exactly what I asked.