Upholstery Seat Panel Measurements-1955 hardtop

[KAD36]

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)

[KAD36]

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)

[KAD36]

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

 

[Beemon]

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. 

[KAD36]

PM sent

[Kosage Chavis]

Looking so pretty!

[KAD36]

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.

 

 

[JohnD1956]

WOW!  gorgeous!  

[old-tank]

Don't let it get to be too nice to drive!

[KAD36]

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)

[KAD36]

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

 

[avgwarhawk]

Widow makers.  Looks good! 

[Ttotired]

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

 

 

[KAD36]

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.