Interior: upholstery

[km420]

Has anyone here re-upholstered any of their interior on their own? Seats, door panels, dash? Installed seat belts? (4 door lark)

I'm looking for tips and advice.

[tim333]

Go to LeBarron Bonney's website, they have step- by- step videos.

[BRUCESTUDE]

Last year I replaced the carpet, installed seat belts, and am now redoing the door panels, wind lace, and window runs/cat whiskers.

The door panels were warped and the carpet on the bottom was toast. I used new panel board with new 1/8" foam along with the old upholstered covering (I replaced the rotten carpet with black vinyl). The old upholstery comes off easily (lots of staples) and the chrome strips hides the seams. I use 3M spray adhesive which works excellent. IF I WERE TO DO IT OVER I'd buy the precut door panels from a Stude vendor; while the panel board was cheap bought thru an upholsterer, it was a pain to get all the clip holes exactly right and as careful as I was I still had to alter a few of them. My original panels were warped enough that they weren't great for patterns.

Replacing the wind lace without removing the headliner is also a pain! The original, rotten stuff was wire backed and held in by metal tab. You have just enough space to loosen the tabs with a small screwdriver. Replacement wind lace is fabric backed, so I stapled small strips of thin leather which was stiff enough to slip up in the channel. The tabs bit into the leather to hold it too.

The seats I had reupholstered at a shop, kinda spendy but well worth it as they are super comfortable.

The carpet was bought from a Stude vendor and went in with some effort; it needed trimming and holes cut for seats, gas pedal etc. When I got it to fit right I used the 3M spray adhesive in some areas such as the transmission tunnel to hold it down tight.

[bezhawk]

When making door panels, remember that they don't lie flat when installed on the car. They are concave. When the upholstery looks good laying flat, it will be wrinkled when installed. Wind lace needs a second smaller bead just above the main cord in order to stay evenly above the metal roof edge. SI and some other Stude vendors have this. Otherwise it will pull out of the tabs that hold it. I like denser foam to hold its shape better than a softer foam for the dash. Layer up landau top padding foam. Find a wholesale upholstery supply house.
The burlap over the springs prevents the springs from cutting the foam padding. It is often rotten. There are metal wires in the burlap also, to reinforce it.

[unclemiltie]

If you want covers for a driver, then Lebarron Bonney has a good product which I have used several times.

They slip over existing seats. if yours are torn, hard, or the padding is pad then you will have to repair that first

You can also buy additional matching material for the door panels

http://www.lebaronbonney.com/custom-interiors.htm

[wlfrench]

Did GTs come with wind lace? If so does anyone have pictures of what it looks like installed?

[Greenstude]

When I had the door panels re-upholstered on our 1947 Champion sedan, a friend advised using ¼-inch plywood for backing instead of original-type 3-ply cardboard. I still am very pleased with the results many years later. The original cardboard was used as a pattern to cut out the plywood. The bare plywood was installed on the car for long enough to take the required curved shape before being upholstered. As a result, final installation after upholstering was straight-forward and wrinkle-free.

[voxnut]

I have heard of folks forgoing the cardboard and cutting door panels out of 1/4" ABS plastic sheet, and then forgoing the clips and affixing to the door with velcro. I have no personal experience with this, but it sounds like a viable option.

[r1lark]

I have heard of folks forgoing the cardboard and cutting door panels out of 1/4" ABS plastic sheet, and then forgoing the clips and affixing to the door with velcro. I have no personal experience with this, but it sounds like a viable option.

I used ABS plastic on my '54 sedan, but it was 1/8" thick. The square holes for the attachment clips are not that hard to cut, so that's what I did. Worked out well, reused the original '54 door panel upholstery.

[unclemiltie]

Ernie Loga makes cardboard panels for a lot of the door panels

[mbstude]

I have heard of folks forgoing the cardboard and cutting door panels out of 1/4" ABS plastic sheet, and then forgoing the clips and affixing to the door with velcro. I have no personal experience with this, but it sounds like a viable option.

That's exactly what I did on my '56 Prez. 1/8" ABS with the original padding and upholstery glued on, and velcro to hold them on. The original cardboard backer was soggy and rotten. Took less than 2 hours to do both doors.

[56GH]

The wife and I did the rear shelf and door cards with vinyls we bought at a fabric store using our home sewing machine and I put in the purchased carpeting in our 1957 President Classic. Had the seats done and installed professionally with fabrics of my choosing. Too much work for amateurs. Used new new cardboard for the doors and glued down thin foam sheeting first to give it a three-dimensional look and used original clips with very few chrome screwheads and washers showing.

Wouldn't mind knowing where the car is now! S/N G-7198421.

[jrlemke]

I'm looking for the chrome strip (u-channel) that runs along the top edge of the upholstery panel on my '61 Hawk. I think it is original. Mine was "crimped" with a pair of pliers! -Jim

[MrHemi2U]

I just found a website that may help you. Automotiveinteriors.com they seem to have everything we may need.

[BobPalma]

I installed two convertible tops in one day; the first one I'd ever do and the last one I'd ever do...the same top! BP