50 Studebaker Champion original seat material

[Studebaker Omaha]

As I worked my Studebaker front seat today, I found a layer I believe to be of the original seat material. My car is a 1950 Champion Deluxe series. I’ll use this as a reference for future reupholstery.

[tsenecal]

For 70 year old fabric, it still looks pretty good. It must have been in a non-wear location on the seat. Hope you can find a good match for it.

[wdills]

Yep, looks like the original. Rene at Southeast Studebaker has it reproduced. He had stock of the gray color when I had the interior of Dad's 50 Champion done. I think he tries to keep both gray and tan in stock.

[1inxs]

I have had very good luck with SMS Fabrics for vintage original vinyl and cloth for my AMCs and Studebaker interior. A good local upholsterer can do a fantastic job.

I haven’t heard any positive reviews from anyone getting interiors out of Southeast for a few years. I would definitely ask around to see when the last time anyone got the interior they ordered from Rene before you send him any money. You may be disappointed!

[Topper2011]

I believe SMS bought out a lot of the NOS material. They also sent me a perfect sample of my one year only, fragile 62 GT upholstery. They had asked for 50% down when I ordered over the phone back in March. I then sent them my seat covers and door panels in April. I've been in contact with them several times over last year and as far as I know, they haven't even started on mine yet. I emailed Kim two weeks ago about my seats and she said she would check that day and let me know what progress they've made. No word yet. YMMV. Fingers crossed.

[Studebaker Omaha]

I have some references from some friends of mine who've had upholstery work done locally. Although I'm new to the Studebaker world, most of the bigger suppliers seem to have a bad rep online, by failure to complete, deliver, or communicate with paying customers. I don't know if they're overwhelmed with too much business, or what.

[Hallabutt]

I have always been pleased with SMS's help. Mary recently bought material identical to yours from SMS, for here Regal, Champion, Starlight coupe. Your upholstery is certainly correct for your 50, but I suspect that most of the color has faded over the years. Her original is not nearly as faded as yours, I think that you will be surprised be the amount of color in the original. Look for an area not subjected to sunlight for a real comparison. Just curious is your car color Black Cherry?

[NCDave51]

I have some references from some friends of mine who've had upholstery work done locally. Although I'm new to the Studebaker world, most of the bigger suppliers seem to have a bad rep online, by failure to complete, deliver, or communicate with paying customers. I don't know if they're overwhelmed with too much business, or what.

...and working in a trade slowly dying.

I imagine most of the shops worth anything today are apprenticing on-site - do any of the automotive trade schools even teach this anymore?

[Topper2011]

An update: I emailed Kim again earlier and she got back to me assuring me they didn't forget about me. Will post on my thread when I actually receive the upholstery.

[Topper2011]

...and working in a trade slowly dying.

I imagine most of the shops worth anything today are apprenticing on-site - do any of the automotive trade schools even teach this anymore?

Dave, this was posted on Powernation. Apparently, it still is being taught.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsY7xdl30m8

https://www.wyotech.edu/programs/specialty-programs/trim-and-upholstery/

[NCDave51]

Very cool, thanks. So great to see because it is truly a skilled trade and art simultaneously.

We haven’t had cable for a long time but when I used to watch Dave Kindig‘s show and the upholsterer he used, I was dumbfounded how easy these guys made it look.

[Hallabutt]

Mary just looked at the material she bought from SMS. I asked if she was happy with it? Seems like the jury of one is still out on the question. The colors are similar, but the look is more of a tweed. The red does show up, but not a district red line like the original. I'll go down to the shop and compare later on today.

[Studebaker Omaha]

I have always been pleased with SMS's help. Mary recently bought material identical to yours from SMS, for here Regal, Champion, Starlight coupe. Your upholstery is certainly correct for your 50, but I suspect that most of the color has faded over the years. Her original is not nearly as faded as yours, I think that you will be surprised be the amount of color in the original. Look for an area not subjected to sunlight for a real comparison. Just curious is your car color Black Cherry?

That sample pic was of an area that was shielded from sunlight and excessive wear. The rest of the seat is really faded and dirty, and although there are no rips, it is pretty much unusable. The paint color of the car is an original falcon gray

[wdills]

"I haven’t heard any positive reviews from anyone getting interiors out of Southeast for a few years. I would definitely ask around to see when the last time anyone got the interior they ordered from Rene before you send him any money. You may be disappointed!"

I had Rene do the interior of my Hawk about 5 years ago, and Dad's 50 Champion 2 years ago. I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to finish painting Dad's car so I can start putting interior in it to see how it all looks completed.