1931 Cadillac upholstery

[1wonton]

What would be a good source for original fabric seat upholstery material?

 

ron

[jpage]

It would help to know what kind of material you're looking for. There are still several upholstery suppliers out there like Bill Hirsch or SMS, but you may have to settle for something close as many fabrics are hard to come by. With the loss of LeBaron-Bonney, suppliers are dwindling , prices  high and deliveries slow because of Covid.  I was hoping to purchase real mohair material from Lebaron when they went under and was surprised by the high cost of fabric, so I searched the internet and found a domestic  manufacturer that made  material for Lebaron - Bonney. I was able to purchase some at a really good price, but I had to buy a whole roll of 50 yards.  I decided to pull the trigger and then sold off what I didn't need! Worked out really well, I got some really nice fabric and was able to help out others with their needs and save them money too! The whole process

took  time and a lot of phone work but paid off in the end. Could be an avenue for you if you can't find what you're looking for! Good hunting!

[1wonton]

I called Hirsch and requested seven samples of cloth; they had no samples so I would say Bill Hirsch is useless in supplying cloth material.  Quit a good selection in their catalog, unfortunately they can't supply.  Wonder why they still keep the website open.

[Flivverking]

If you do a web search for" mohair fabric " and "mohair upholstery fabric" you will find it is being made and offered ,just not from the automotive venues as much.

 

Quailty mohair is not just a vintage car upholstery .

  One such upholserty fabric supply venue use to be

Corativefabricsdirect.com ,and showed some nice mohair offerings a while ago..

I bet still do.

  And there are others suppliers if you spend time looking out of the car box.

.you WILL find what you need! $,$$$

[1wonton]

Thanks.  What I was looking for was Bedford cloth.  I requested samples from SMS.

[trimacar]

You might try Jenkins in North Carolina, at one time he had some nice fabrics.

 

Careful with SMS, they will tell you they have a certain material, you order and pay, fabric doesn’t show up.  Just happened to a good friend, after three months he asked for his money back.

 

For the little use our old cars get, it probably doesn’t matter, but automotive fabric is made so you can slide on it getting in or out, sofa material you sit up and down on with no sliding.  

[mrspeedyt]

soon… when i get my 41 cad sedan interior redone….  i’ll just take it to tijuana. instead of ‘tuck n roll’ i’ll just ask them to use the modern grey cloth (seems to last a long time now ) and try to keep to the original pattern. i ain’t gonna restore this driver. just make it comfortable and reliable… and cheap. 

[Bob Giles]

Will this help you?

[bryankazmer]

You might want to get more info on the issue at Hirsch and whether it will be resolved.  I have wool Bedford Cord from them in my Packard and it is a very nice match.  With Bedford Cord, there are different "gauges" of ribbing size.  My past dealings with them have been excellent for both quality and responsiveness.

[1wonton]

I requested six sample of wool narrow-rib Bedford cloth from Hirsch.  The guy I takled to said they did not have any of the samples I wanted.  Thanks for the SMS info.

[Buffalowed Bill]

I've used SMS several times, always satisfied. You will understand when you are looking for a specific match and can't find it elsewhere. If just OK is good enough there are plenty of fabric outlets that can satisfy your needs. To my knowledge there is no other place in the world that does what SMS does. "Hemmings Classic Car" included a substantial article on the company, and it's unique model.

 

Today's hobby supply chain has changed a great deal in the last decade. As demand and manufacturing have both diminished so too have viable options disappeared. You can spend fruitless years following deadend leads, or you can give SMS a try. I'm just a hobbyist just like most reading this. Just trying to help. More then once I have found myself having to counter someone's bad experience with SMS. All I can do is try to restore some balance to the discussion. 

 

As an aside I believe that SMS acquired the LB inventory at time of that company's bankruptcy.   

Edited September 22, 2021 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[1wonton]

I requested samples from SMS but have had no response.  Tried calling but no phone number listed.  Checking reviews I am surprised at the number of negative comments.  I wanted to reupholster in original fabric but now will go with leather as it is readily available.

[bryankazmer]

Unless you have a "catalog car" like tri5 Chevy, Model A, etc, it's not a hobby known for quick fulfillment.  That said, I think the key to wool Bedford cord availability lay in the relationship of the main players (like Hirsch,SMS, and formerly LeBaron Bonney/Hampton Coach) and the remaining specialty mills that would make short runs for them.

 

I had a good experience with SMS, but it was buying NOS not repro, and years ago.  They are known for some time for being slow.  I have not dealt with Hirsch since Bill Hirsch's death - they were always responsive and accurate.

 

Leather in a closed car, except for the chauffeur's compartment of a limousine or town car, was very unusual but not entirely unknown.

[1wonton]

thanks.  I wanted to replace the upholstery in the convertible coupe, basically an open car.  the original build sheet says 59 T 131, which is a cloth material and I wanted to keep it original.  Leather looks better so I'll probably go with that.  The polyester bedford cloth looks good also.

[chistech]

In 32’, the Oldsmobile convertible coupe used three colors and two materials. Black leather front, black vinyl rumble was for all black, or maroon and black painted cars with a black roof. Brown leather/vinyl with tan roof for the two tone brown and two tone blue painted cars. The third option was a tan whipcord material, which was an option on all colors of cars and the roof was made of the same material. There’s a good chance your Cadillac had whip cord rather than a Bedford cloth as whip cord is more weather resistant than a broad cloth and GM used weather resistant fabrics in their open cars. Whip cord is very close to a canvas or today’s equivalent which Haartz sells as their Stayfast line. You can call Eric Haartz and ask him. He might have factory documents that could tell him what exactly your Cadillac used by those numbers you listed.

[1wonton]

Thank you chis;  I was just guessing about the Bedford.  All I have are some small remnants of the original seat material and the listing on the build sheet (59 T 131).  Ill check the whip cord and maybe give Eric a call.  Appreciate your help.

 

 

ron

[1wonton]

Upon further analysis it does appear to be whipcord material; do you have a source for this type cloth?

 

 

 

ron

[chistech]

Did you call Haartz?

[1wonton]

Yes, thanks for the lead.  Eric called back and left a very informative message.  He's looking into the subject and may call again nxt wk.

 

 

ron

[Akstraw]

I was looking for a Bedford cord this spring, and Hirsch told me that the mills they get it from in England had shut down for COVID, and they hadn't been able to get any in over a year.  SMS sent me samples, but I felt that their fabrics looked 1940's and later.  I went with a polyester cord that I think has the early thirties look.  It was very reasonably priced, and seems exceptionally durable.  PM me if you are interested in further info on that one.

[chistech]

16 hours ago, 1wonton said:

Yes, thanks for the lead.  Eric called back and left a very informative message.  He's looking into the subject and may call again nxt wk.

 

 

ron

Eric is beyond extremely knowledgeable in fabrics. He gets very busy so you might have to call him back. You can probably use the roofing material he sells, I believe I used T-39(might have the number wrong), but it will again be like canvas. Now the whipcord option was like that and I believe many ordered it for its durability and its weather resistance. It won’t be as plush as the leather of course but if you wanted complete authenticity to your car, then you can go that way. My own Olds has whipcord remnants on the roof bows and the interior panels and I thought about going that way as I painted the original scheme as my car was made. I opted for as close as possible to OEM and stayed true to that but chose to vary from the way my car was actually built. I used the brown leather and tan top on a black car, just not the whipcord. I am very pleased with the colors and comfort of my car. It’s your car so do it the way you’ll enjoy it most. Many of the top cars in the country are not restored 100% back to the way they were originally made.