Upholstery Supply Source

[Steve Braverman]

With Lebaron Bonney gone and Hirsch out of the upholstery business, where can one find authentic fabrics and carpet for pre-war cars?

[Gtjoey]

Steve will you be at Peconic on Saturday?

If so , I’ve got one or two guys from the Midwest to discuss 

Gtjoey1314

if not call me on the cell, what car are you looking for?

[trimacar]

It's really getting tough to find fabrics for early cars.  Leather, no problem, lots of suppliers

 

I do see that Classtique now has a line of broadcloth and mohair, you might wish to check on them.  Some patterns are quite pricey, but at least there's some availability.  It's not just Model A and T stuff anymore.

 

Model T Upholstery from Classtique Upholstery - Ford Model A & T Upholstery, Tops, Benches and Kits

 

SMS has some fabrics, but they get kicked around pretty often for poor customer service.

 

I have no affiliation, nor do I profit from, either mentioned, nor any upholstery supply company.

 

Good luck in your search.

[Steve Braverman]

1 hour ago, Gtjoey said:

Steve will you be at Peconic on Saturday?

If so , I’ve got one or two guys from the Midwest to discuss 

Gtjoey1314

if not call me on the cell, what car are you looking for?

I will be in Peconic on saturday. I'm looking for carpet for my 1930 Franklin. I want to replace the front, and I'd like to match the rear as closely as possible.

[Gtjoey]

Ok

See you Saturday…..

I usually post the names but because people are so angry

Its always off the posts

love

Gtjoey1314

[Steve Braverman]

This photo show the carpeting I am looking for. Sorry, it was taken before I cleaned the car. The carpet in the front was replaced many years ago, and it's worn and doesn't match.

[Gtjoey]

I sent you a text

I think they can do it

Enjoy!

Im bringing this Saturday!

[jpage]

You might check with Bill Hirsch Co. for carpet. they used to carry the old style "hogs hair" style.

[TAKerry]

11 minutes ago, jpage said:

You might check with Bill Hirsch Co. for carpet. they used to carry the old style "hogs hair" style.

I looked on their site out of curiosity and all I saw were paint/coating products. Nothing about carpet. 

I have been on the lookout for correct carpet for my car for years now.

[jpage]

Maybe they've dropped their upholstery lines! Materials are getting harder to find.

[trimacar]

That’s correct, Hirsch no longer sells upholstery fabrics or carpet.

 

 

[TAKerry]

In fairness it does say they have a variety of convertible tops.

[trimacar]

7 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

In fairness it does say they have a variety of convertible tops.

Fair enough, I was thinking more of yardage goods.  It’s such a shame to lose themas a supplier.

[JFranklin]

This outfit may have something for you.

 

https://smsautofabrics.com

[bryankazmer]

SMS acquired both LeBaron Bonney’s and Hirsch’s upholstery lines. Tales of their responsiveness are not good of late

[TTR]

Just be very careful with SMS.

Its founder/owner(?) is a crook/thief who 28 years ago lied to my face (by making promises), took my money, never delivered anything nor refunded a penny.

[a sell]

A friend had a poor run in with SMS as well. They cheated her out of a fair amount of money. 

[Ed Luddy]

Good to know about SMS as I was looking at their website to order 1963 Pontiac Bonneville seat material. Any suggestions?

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

Good to know about SMS as I was looking at their website to order...

I have ordered from SMS Auto Fabrics

and have had no problems.  Don't count 

them as crooked automatically.

 

When I was having some upholstery work

done a few years ago, my upholsterer could

get the needed fabric from one of his other

suppliers, and they were less expensive than

SMS.  So let your upholsterer check his suppliers.

[60FlatTop]

I have not made any purchases from SMS but have worked on cars with their upholstery, embossing, and door panels. The work was excellent. The woman on the phone has always been knowledgeable and friendly.

 

For those looking for a little satisfaction, I did get some of his money for some Lincoln fabric books a few years ago.

 

I found this supplier through one of the Youtube channels that I think is good. https://www.upholsterysupplyonline.com/

[drhach]

Everyone has their own perception based on their experience. I would hesitate to accuse SMS of corruption. My take away from my own dealings with them was that their work is stellar. However, don't expect to be treated like royalty and more to the point, expect to be treated like an annoyance. In all fairness, I would imagine that they get calls all day from people wanting their stuff. But i have to wonder how many of those calls come from not quoting the timeline correctly the first time. They told me a year to finish 4 door panels. I didn't call them back for 14 months. Each time, they would say "next month". I would wait a month and send another note. The they started saying "your next in line after I do...." where each time they would name some different car. For upholstery, I wouldn't recommend having them do the work. If you can order the material and get it done somewhere else, you may actually get it done when you want it. In my case, there was more to it and I had to rely on them to do the work. It was all very frustrating and annoying. In the end, they did a great job. Doing what you say you'll do when you say you'll do it counts a lot for me. They did the "what" part but the "when" part was missed by a mile. 

[TTR]

On 9/12/2024 at 9:41 AM, drhach said:

Everyone has their own perception based on their experience. I would hesitate to accuse SMS of corruption. My take away from my own dealings with them was that their work is stellar. However, don't expect to be treated like royalty and more to the point, expect to be treated like an annoyance. In all fairness, I would imagine that they get calls all day from people wanting their stuff. But i have to wonder how many of those calls come from not quoting the timeline correctly the first time.

I certainly didn’t accuse them of “corruption”(?).

I just noted the founder/owner being a crook and lying thief.

I flew to his place of business, stood in front of him and handed over the cash he required to fulfill my order within estimated “6-8 weeks, no problem”. 
After three years of calling every 2-3 months and hearing BS excuse, even to my request to get my money back, I gave up.

 

I’m not at liberty to provide details, but know several other individuals who’ve had similar, i.e. unhappy outcomes dealing with him/his company, hence my cautionary comment earlier.

 

As far as I’m concerned the guy is a fncking crook (and knows it too), but has managed to build a specialty business with little to no competition and therefore able to get away with.

 

I can only imagine how much money he’s managed to scam off people who, like me, eventually just gave up wasting their time.

[JFranklin]

2 hours ago, TTR said:

 

I just noted the founder/owner being a crook and lying thief.

I can only imagine how much money he’s managed to scam off people who, like me, eventually just gave up wasting their time.

That's why we have a small claims court system. Use it.

[TTR]

32 minutes ago, JFranklin said:

That's why we have a small claims court system. Use it.

How many (interstate) "small claims" have you personally pursued to a successful outcome and without significant amount of aggravation, effort, money or time ?

 

Edited September 14 by TTR (see edit history)

[JFranklin]

2 minutes ago, TTR said:

How many (interstate) "small claims" have you personally pursued to a successful outcome and without significant amount of aggravation, effort, money or time ?

 

It is something I have done. It may be aggravating and time consuming, but it is also satisfying and a help to all of us to make scamers not get away with their activities. It never is a waste of time.

[TTR]

11 minutes ago, JFranklin said:

It is something I have done. It may be aggravating and time consuming, but it is also satisfying and a help to all of us to make scamers not get away with their activities. It never is a waste of time.

I've tried too (not on this case though) and realized there are easier ways to extract justice. Some have been quite satisfying. They say Karma can be an equivalent of a female dog and I have no doubts about that.

 

As for helping/warning others, that's what my comments here have been about.

 

 

Edited September 14 by TTR (see edit history)

[drhach]

It's unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be any competition in this market. That can solve many issues.

[Akstraw]

For carpet, I like the Wilton Wool offerings carried by a number of upholstery suppliers in the USA. (GAHH and World Upholstery just to name two).  They have a great look and feel.  It may be worth getting (buying) a couple of samples to see if it would meet your need.  
 

Also, I suggest you try your local carpet store.  One long-time business in my home town supplied upholsterers who were doing boats, yachts, and aircraft in addition to his bread-and-butter commercial and residential business.  He had a lot of samples and catalogs for specialty carpet suppliers.  He also stocked about sixty different colors of binding, and could cut and bind bulk carpet to your pattern.  Unfortunately, after two generations,  he was forced to close last year due to health issues.

Edited September 15 by Akstraw
Clarity (see edit history)