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04-14-2021, 09:35 AM | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Topek, Kansas
Posts: 19
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Upholstery Question
My brother-in-law is close to completing the body work on his 29 Tudor and is asking for advice on upholstery. While there are upholstery shops in town none are totally familiar with Model A's but will do it.
His question is this; Is he better off to order a complete kit from Cartouche or Classtique and have a local shop install it OR should he just leave it up to the local shop to order the individual components and complete the job? Do you know if most shops end up ordering a kit or to they order the individual pieces of material and cut and sew it all up themselves? Thanks. |
04-14-2021, 09:44 AM | #2 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,181
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Re: Upholstery Question
Quote:
The leather fronts were great and easy to put on and came out well. I bought the foam padding and burlap from an upholstery supplier. If I did it again, I would not buy the kit. I think I could have done it cheaper differently. |
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04-14-2021, 09:51 AM | #3 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Walla Walla, Washington USA
Posts: 6,066
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Re: Upholstery Question
If you buy the material yourself, and make sure it is the correct material and of good quality...Make damn sure you do the research on the correct body panels to apply the new material on OR make damn sure you find someone who knows just what the heck they are doing...If not I garentee you WILL NOT be pleased!
Pluck |
04-14-2021, 10:21 AM | #4 |
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,436
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Re: Upholstery Question
Purchasing a kit and asking an auto trim shop to install it is a bit like taking eggs to a restaurant and asking them to cook them up for your breakfast. A person should talk to the owner of a trim shop and see if they are game for installation of a kit. They may or may not want to do that. A kit, like the ones that Classtique and Cartouche put together, generally have materials that are the closest that they could find for replacement of original materials and some may not be authentic reproductions. These materials are not easy for trimmer to come up with unless they are experienced on the particular vehicle that you have so a kit would make their life easier even if they don't do all the sewing and research necessary so they may very well not have a problem with using a kit. They are going to charge whatever it takes to install the materials and perform corrections for perceived faults that they find so it will still cost a pretty penny.
If a person wants authenticity in this day and age, it's going to cost more depending on the rarity of exact original materials. Folks with the early models find this out due to rarity of some stuff. The trimmer would have to be well experienced to get it all original as it came from the factory so keep that in mind. I would do it myself. Learning to use original tacking techniques and materials is easier than a person might think. Installing premade covers over seats and tacking or hog ringing them on is also easier than a person might think. Kits come with instructions and sometimes there are some good videos on U-tube so think about that as well. I learned to do it on my own so I know others can as well and especially if you don't have a sewing machine or skill for that. Kits generally come mostly pre-sewn and only require installation. |
04-14-2021, 10:22 AM | #5 | |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,181
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Re: Upholstery Question
Quote:
Youtube was my go to. The instructions in the kit were not very helpful I found. |
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04-14-2021, 10:44 AM | #6 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 925
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Re: Upholstery Question
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Have seen some Cartouche installations. Material was OK. The fit was not. That was mostly due to the seams in the wrong place.
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04-14-2021, 10:52 AM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Snohomish Wa.
Posts: 389
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Re: Upholstery Question
I have Installed complete LB interiors in two of my own cars, a 29 rdstr. & a 29 Briggs leather back. I have also helped three friends install 3 LB kits in their cars, a 31 SW 4dr, a 28 Briggs 4dr, and a 29 Murrey 4dr. These were all LB kits which are no longer available. I also restored a 30 tudor for someone else who wanted an upholstery shop to install an LB kit. The shop wanted a $200 charge just to order the kit. So I ordered the kit for the guy at no charge. If your brother in law has any skills at all a tudor kit is not hard to install yourself.
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04-14-2021, 11:17 AM | #8 |
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,486
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Re: Upholstery Question
There's more to it than simply ordering the fabric and asking a commercial shop to "make" an interior. You will need the patterns for the headliner, door and side panels, and seats. There's a lot that goes into upholstering one of these cars, especially with the front jump seats. As suggested above, go with a reputable source for a complete kit like Classtique. You will save in the long run and be happy with the end results.
Last edited by Gary Karr; 04-14-2021 at 12:52 PM. |
04-14-2021, 11:43 AM | #9 | |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tacoma, WA
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Re: Upholstery Question
Quote:
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04-14-2021, 12:10 PM | #10 |
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 387
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Re: Upholstery Question
By a kit from Classtique and have it installed by on old guy in the trim shop. Worked out fine with my ‘29 Tudor !
Henk
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04-14-2021, 12:15 PM | #11 |
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 387
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Re: Upholstery Question
I join Tacoma Bob, just over 4 k. In total will do the job.
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04-14-2021, 01:28 PM | #12 | |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Tennessee
Posts: 11,519
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Re: Upholstery Question
Quote:
Just so we are all clear, the material that ALL of us who are sewing interiors use is from Cartouche. Trying to imply that one kit manufacturer's material is superior to Cartouche's is pretty much false. Mike Francis & I are good friends, -and his predecessor (Elizabeth) and I were great friends too. With that said, there really is several others who can (-and do) fabricate "closer to original" than those mentioned above. (This definitely includes the former LeBaron Bonney's kits.) As far as 'fits' are concerned, I have been an authorized installer for both L/B and Classtique, -and from my perspective, Mike's fit & finish exceeds what L/B was producing. As far as seams incorrectly sewn or placed in incorrect locations, ...again most kit manufacturers are not interested in producing 100% authenticity, however, often times the blame needs to be placed on the interior wood kits for being incorrectly shaped, -or the seat springs not manufactured to the correct original sizes. Adding to what Gary was saying above, there is definitely more to correctly installing a 55A interior kit than watching what is available on YouTube. Most restorers incorrectly install the covers, incorrectly install the wadding, and the list goes on. Experience is definitely your biggest asset. Bob/Henk, I think prices have kinda gone up some now. To professionally sew and install all of the trim inside of a 55A will generally run about $7,500-$8000. Even a kit today will be $2700-$2800 range by the time it gets to your installer. Then factor all the time needed to do the top and interior, you are looking at 70-80 manhours if you want a quality job. |
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04-14-2021, 02:39 PM | #13 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cty., ME or Flagler Cty., FL
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Re: Upholstery Question
I have installed two LB kits, a 30 Town Sedan and a 32 Coupe. I did not have any experience with interiors but I was motivated to do a good job. It is just one more facet of old car restoration. If you are patient and persistent and careful you can do an excellent job. I have one more car to do, a 31 Cabriolet. I just kit myself for not getting a kit from LB but I kept putting it off because I wasn't ready for it. What is great about doing this work is that if you don't don't like the way it looks, you can dismantle it by removing the tacks and hog rings and start over again. Also, when you finally get the job done and are showing off the car, it is a lot of fun telling folks that you did this yourself. Ed
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