KAD36 Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 (edited) Am putting correct upholstery on the front and back seats of my 56R. Have the right material for trim code 452 coming from SMS. The car was reupholstered once over 30 years ago and the original patterns are lost. I am pretty certain the current fabric panel inserts are not correctly sized per factory dimensions, the fabric on the bench is different from the fabric on the seat back, and the seat back panels are misaligned front and rear with the bench panels. The fabric is getting worn and delicate. Anyone have the size of the bench and seat back fabric panels for the front and rear seats for a 55 2 door Super hardtop? Panels are simple rectangular inserts, nothing fancy. Addded a picture for reference. Not being too fussy but my thinking was the seat back fabric should be higher up the back of the seat.. thanks in advance Edited November 24, 2017 by KAD36 Pictures and clarifications (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 (edited) Dropped car off at local upholstery shop today with correct seat and trunk material.Theyve done great work on all the front and rear door panels prior. They have experience with older car restorations and were able to provide the following fabric panel measurements which they said came from factory patterns. Backrest - 17 1/4 inches left to right, 12 1/2 inches high Seat cushion - 17 1/4 inches left to right, 22 1/8 inches deep Hope this helps anyone Edited December 2, 2017 by KAD36 (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 Back seat is done. Front cushion sewed. Extra dense foam later added to the front seat. Bench is solid - no broken springs and negligible rust. Backrest and trunk to go. Touched up the red paint on the seat mount. Picture below is shot of the nuts that hold the clips on for the stainless trim around the edge of the seat. Never could get that off to polish. No time in the schedule to do it - will have to do it on car later 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemon Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Ken, will you post the cost analysis once you've finished? I would be interested to get a ballpark of what you expect here in the next year or so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosage Chavis Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Looking so pretty! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 Done! Had tire cover and jack stowage bags made with extra material. Use a scissors jack for tire changes. Factory jack with red oxide hold down spring is just for show and goes along for the ride. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 WOW! gorgeous! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Don't let it get to be too nice to drive! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted December 14, 2017 Author Share Posted December 14, 2017 (edited) Thank you all for the compliments. Just got it home and am absolutely thrilled with it! J&R upholstery in Binghamton did the work. Ask for Todd - he manages all the restoration work. Been waiting a long long time to get this interior right. Reminds me of how it looked when my grandfather used to drive it. Dang - it's 19 degrees out and those 2 heaters can still cook you out of the car in no time!. Got a chance to try the heated defrost mod using the dash control (hooked to the AC). With the ac temp switch off, and ac fan switch on, and re-routing the factory defroster duct hose to blow heated air into the AC evaporator intake, hot air came right out the defrost vents. Make sure the vents to the passenger side front and both rear foot wells are open if you ever do carpet and install extra padding to protect the floor from exhaust heat. Edited December 14, 2017 by KAD36 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 Finally got a jack and cleaned it up to go with that silly red clip. To think I threw 3 of those correct Buick jacks out of my grandfathers shed 35 years ago (after watching the mast bend trying to lift a corner of the car). Been lugging this stupid red spring around the country for years. Ok - thats done 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Widow makers. Looks good! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttotired Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Interior looks great I picked up on what you said about your a/c though, or what I think you said You directed heated air through the evaporator of the a/c? With what you said, I think the a/c was off, which is good, but you shouldn't be able to do that. Its ok for a/c air to go through the heater, but not the other way around. I wont bore you with why exactly (if you don't know) but it does the a/c no good at all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 The manufacturers technician went through my "desirements" and schematic at a trade show, which was similar to some other customers requests. The AC evaporator core has a heater core integrated into it. The core can act as a heater or cooler - one or the other- but not designed to blend both. Since both coolant (heater) and refrigerant coils are within the same core it is possible to plumb it so both refrigerant and coolant are flowing at the same time ( if trying to blow warm dry air). As I think as you pointed out that's a no no - the compressor would run forever as the evaporator thermal switch would never get cold enough to kick the compressor off.. Other climate control type hvac systems that allow air blending have a heater core separate and downstream from the evaporator core as you suggested, but those systems were larger and harder to achieve a low profile fit. The heater plumbing isn't connected in this install - the factory heat is retained undisturbed as are the functional defroster dash and heat controls. Wiith the compressor turned off, the evaporator fan on, and the stock heater on, the evaporator fan suction can pull in 100 deg heater air which is discharged near the fans intake and then is routed to the defroster or dash ducts. It's similar to the fan pulling in stagnant 100 deg cabin air or outside hot air which goes over the evaporator. The unit sees cooler conditions than it would if the heater function were connected and 180 deg coolant was going through the coils (while the ac is off.). Not hooking up the heater coils ensures a leaky ranco valve doesn't dilute the cooling effectiveness. Have had no issues. Hope this helps clarify - let us know if we missed something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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