BB interior woodwork and fabric

[frededwarrds]

Hello to all. I am in the process of restoring a BB coupe. It is finished in a mid grey fabric interior with wood trim around the doors. My 3 questions are; what is the type of material the fabric is made from. It looks like velour but not of course. Except for floor, all of the interior is covered with it. In Aussie land the seats were leather but l would prefer to fit fabric on the seats like U.S. home  cars have.  I have enough cars with  leather already. Also, is it available? ..Lastly, no one here can identify the type of timber used for the door trims. America is blessed with such a variety of beautiful timber. Unfortunately the car was left in the outdoors in Oklahoma  for about 20 years and is just a little manky on the edge of same pieces. . Not bad for 90 years. I’m also missing a 2 pieces from the top of the door panel. It would be good to match them. Any information regarding this would be much appreciated. 

[John_Mereness]

On 5/17/2020 at 3:30 AM, frededwarrds said:

Hello to all. I am in the process of restoring a BB coupe. It is finished in a mid grey fabric interior with wood trim around the doors. My 3 questions are; what is the type of material the fabric is made from. It looks like velour but not of course. Except for floor, all of the interior is covered with it. In Aussie land the seats were leather but l would prefer to fit fabric on the seats like U.S. home  cars have.  I have enough cars with  leather already. Also, is it available? ..Lastly, no one here can identify the type of timber used for the door trims. America is blessed with such a variety of beautiful timber. Unfortunately the car was left in the outdoors in Oklahoma  for about 20 years and is just a little manky on the edge of same pieces. . Not bad for 90 years. I’m also missing a 2 pieces from the top of the door panel. It would be good to match them. Any information regarding this would be much appreciated. 

Perhaps post a photo for best identification

[frededwarrds]

Hi John, thanks for the reply. I found these pictures. Not mine but gives you an idea. The wood is quite hard. I’m sure it is nothing too exotic. I have seen it on other USA built cars. 

[John_Mereness]

That looks to be mohair in the top photo.  Mohair is available via some of the Model A people and also was available from Bill Hirsch (but they may not be currently carrying).  You may want to post out on the general page that you are looking for Mohair - a couple bolts were available in March.

 

Now here is the flip side of the coin.  Mohair is commonly used in high end furniture upholstery and has the benefit of rub test and sun fade resistance - and if you really luck out you can get a mohair in the color you want matched to being synthetic (the benefit being you do not have to pack the car with moth balls).  My first stop would be to inquire via BRUNSCHWIG & FILS.  As a sidenote, velour (even quality velour) is similar, but tends to not be the same in really anything and would be a waste of your money and time as it would just look cheap and ...

 

As to the wood - perhaps cherry or a cherry stained elm ?  A mill that specializes in exotic hardwoods should be able to help - we have one here in Cincinnati such as https://paxtonwood.com/ (and usually a dealer of some sort is in every major city) 

 

[frededwarrds]

Hi John, Thankyou for the reply. It is the wood in particular I’m seeking. I hadn’t thought of cherry wood. It appears not to be stained, unless it is stained all through. We have specialised wood importers here and I can take a sample to them now that I may know what it is. The importers are not very helpful, for fear of misdirection , or plan old fashion ignorance. It will be a while before I need the wool fabric, moths are a problem here but not large. It must be the climate. Also. The car will not be left around in ‘deep storage’ too much. I seriously plan on using it regularly. Thanks again.