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Old 10-03-2020, 05:44 PM   #1
Steve Plucker
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Default Those were the days....

As I am cleaning up around here I came across a box of upholstery that I used in restoring my 1929 Standard Coupe back in 1980.

In it was the receipt. The product was from Le Barron Bonney from December 1980. It was 2 yards of Plain Brown Cloth used for the door panels, quarters, back, seat back, roof rails, windshield header, and package tray. Very nice quality. The cost at the time was $14.00/yard.

I wonder what that same material is valued at today?

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Old 10-03-2020, 08:54 PM   #2
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Default Re: Those were the days....

The dollar is worth a tenth of what it was back in the 70s so you would have to put it in today's money I guess. When the Model A was new the money was backed by gold and silver, that is why coins would get worn down, they were constantly circulated because they had lots of value back then, now they just get thrown in a jar and have no wear.
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Old 10-03-2020, 11:05 PM   #3
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Default Re: Those were the days....

$14 in 1980 is worth $44.16 today

https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inf...was%2013.50%25.
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Old 10-03-2020, 11:06 PM   #4
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Default Re: Those were the days....

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The dollar is worth a tenth of what it was back in the 70s so you would have to put it in today's money I guess. When the Model A was new the money was backed by gold and silver, that is why coins would get worn down, they were constantly circulated because they had lots of value back then, now they just get thrown in a jar and have no wear.
Those gold coins were also filed on their edges to create gold dust. Not enough to make the coins non-negotiable, just enough to build up a small pouch of dust over time.
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Old 10-04-2020, 05:58 AM   #5
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Ha, the ratio is darn near Pi !
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Old 10-04-2020, 06:16 AM   #6
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Pi not round.. Pi r square..! I couldn't resist. kb
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Old 10-04-2020, 07:00 AM   #7
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Default Those were the days....

Mac’s sells its Cartouche Victoria upholstery kit for $2150.95.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...-material.html

And that obviously does not include labor.

What makes the fabric so expensive?

I see the kit includes interior panels (cardboard and fiberboard are not that expensive), some padding, some felt, hog rings, etc. $2150 just seems a tad steep for what it would likely cost to produce. Maybe I’m missing something.

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Old 10-04-2020, 09:17 AM   #8
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Those gold coins were also filed on their edges to create gold dust. Not enough to make the coins non-negotiable, just enough to build up a small pouch of dust over time.
That's why they put the little ridges around the edge.
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Old 10-04-2020, 11:27 AM   #9
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Default Re: Those were the days....

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Originally Posted by shew01 View Post
Mac’s sells its Cartouche Victoria upholstery kit for $2150.95.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...-material.html

And that obviously does not include labor.

What makes the fabric so expensive?

I see the kit includes interior panels (cardboard and fiberboard are not that expensive), some padding, some felt, hog rings, etc. $2150 just seems a tad steep for what it would likely cost to produce. Maybe I’m missing something.

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I think you missed the Labor portion which is very expensive!
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Old 10-04-2020, 05:45 PM   #10
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I think you missed the Labor portion which is very expensive!

I didn’t miss the labor part. It was in my post.


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Old 10-04-2020, 06:27 PM   #11
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Default Re: Those were the days....

The price in dollars is irrelevant. What matters is how many hours you had/have to work to buy it.
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Old 10-05-2020, 01:41 AM   #12
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Default Re: Those were the days....

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Originally Posted by Bruce of MN View Post
Ha, the ratio is darn near Pi !
That's just circle logic
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Old 10-05-2020, 06:59 AM   #13
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Default Re: Those were the days....

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Originally Posted by shew01 View Post
Mac’s sells its Cartouche Victoria upholstery kit for $2150.95.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...-material.html

And that obviously does not include labor.

What makes the fabric so expensive?

I see the kit includes interior panels (cardboard and fiberboard are not that expensive), some padding, some felt, hog rings, etc. $2150 just seems a tad steep for what it would likely cost to produce. Maybe I’m missing something.

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I have no knowledge on the said kit but it does sound a bit outrageous for the sum of its parts. To the OP's original question, that same fabric is still probably WORTH $15-$20 a yard! I wouldnt have an idea how many yards it would take for a Victoria, you have to pay to play!!
Kinda the same thing as to why a top of the line Harley is close to $50k!!!! a whole let less goes into one of them than a full size car/suv that you can get for the same price.
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Old 10-05-2020, 09:38 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Licensed to kill View Post
The price in dollars is irrelevant. What matters is how many hours you had/have to work to buy it.



Good point! (often overlooked)
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Old 10-05-2020, 11:54 AM   #15
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Pi not round.. Pi r square..! I couldn't resist. kb
Finished up as a declaration with "Cornbread are square."

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Old 10-06-2020, 12:34 PM   #16
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Default Re: Those were the days....

,,,

Last edited by Benson; 10-09-2020 at 10:17 AM.
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Old 10-06-2020, 08:34 PM   #17
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Default Re: Those were the days....

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Originally Posted by shew01 View Post
I didn’t miss the labor part. It was in my post.


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I wasn’t talking installation labor, I was talking labor
To manufacture the kit !
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Old 10-08-2020, 10:54 PM   #18
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Default Re: Those were the days....

In that same vein (with a slight detour), I have regretted not buying an interior kit from Le Barron Bonney while I could. Is there other 'A' supplies/services that should be taken advantage of 'while we still can'? We all have our favorite 'carburetor guy', 'shock guy', etc, so I'm thinking more of material/parts/tools that we still have access to before we're forced to buy (at a much lesser quality) overseas.
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Old 10-09-2020, 03:53 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by shew01 View Post
I didn’t miss the labor part. It was in my post.


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I think we're missing the labor cost of producing the kit -- cutting, measuring. All that goes into the box you get.
YOUR labor is added to that to put it on the car.
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Old 10-09-2020, 10:00 AM   #20
BRENT in 10-uh-C
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Default Re: Those were the days....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Plucker View Post
The cost at the time was $14.00/yard.

I wonder what that same material is valued at today?
Quote:
Originally Posted by katy View Post
Ironically your estimated value is not too far off as this is retail in 2020...

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...rd-437193.html



Quote:
Originally Posted by shew01 View Post
Mac’s sells its Cartouche Victoria upholstery kit for $2150.95.

https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_m...-material.html

And that obviously does not include labor.

What makes the fabric so expensive?

I see the kit includes interior panels (cardboard and fiberboard are not that expensive), some padding, some felt, hog rings, etc. $2150 just seems a tad steep for what it would likely cost to produce. Maybe I’m missing something.
Jonathon, I can't believe you would be asking that question after just spending half the day with us. To begin with, you apparently do not realize what all is on the list of the components that you receive for the $2,200, -however I think the bottom line is you are naïve about about the length of time it takes to turn some fabric, some panelboard, and some padding into a useable resemblance of what is supposed to be there.

Since you mentioned interior panels, let's use a door panel on your Victoria as an example. So a piece of good panelboard is about $11.00 delivered but it comes in 32"x48" size. I cannot order it in a Ford 190A Victoria size from my supplier. Therefore someone must cut it to the proper size and shape. The next issue is that it is one solid piece that has no provision for the door handle nor the window regulator handle. So not only do we need to cut the panelboard to the proper shape and make the edges follow the contour of the door, we now must cut two openings for the handles in the correct locations. No big deal until you miss the centerline of those holes by 1/16th of an inch! Also, be shoddy with the craftsmanship of the cutting, and you will either have a panel that extends past the door and rubs on the jamb area, --or it is cut too short and you see the inside of the door. Either way is unacceptable in my view.

So now we also need to modify the panelboard to accept the door clips which will provide the blind attachment clips a place to position too. How do you propose to get all those holes into the panelboard? Personally we use a scale to measure for locations and a special hole punch to insert the hole in the panel board, but again haste will make waste. I would need to verify on the print but I am guessing around 20 holes must be placed for the typical 190A door panel. Now we need to do the layout for the recessed door pocket. So all time totaled thus far, here we are a couple of hours into this one panel before we are even ready to install some padding or covering. Now go count the amount of panels it will take to cover everything from the two cowl kick panels all the way around the rear of the cabin.

Next, ...if you want an eye-opener, go count-up the pieces it takes to manufacture just once seat cover (correctly). You will need 6 for a 190A bodystyle. It takes time to layout the piece goods in the proper bias or graining direction, make sure the patterns are properly nested onto the roll, make all the cuts are correctly sized to avoid puckers or tight areas, pin the pieces together and then stitch the pieces together without wrinkles or shortages.

Of all the disciplines that we do in-house at my shop (-and think you have physically seen that we pretty much do them all here), I can tell you that us learning how to correctly do the Upholstery & Trim work has by far been the toughest area to learn and master.
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