Nervous about seat re-upholstery

[Scoopy G]

I have been putting off having the seats in my 65 NYer Town Sedan re-upholstered. First of all it's hard to find a decent shop to do the work these days. I go to shops, but I don't ever see people sewing anything. There are no employees it seems. I expect to see lots of noisy sewing machines sewing stuff, but that just doesn't seem to be the case here in Tampa.

I researched the fabric and vinyl, and of course SMS has the stuff, if you are willing to give up your left nut to pay their prices. INSTEAD, I was able to find an exact match on the turquoise vinyl, and I was lucky to find a really nice fabric that is correct for a 67 New Yorker on ETSY, from a seller called Dead Stock Vinyl, for less than half of what SMS is charging. Sure, the fabric is for a 67 and not a 65 NYer, but who's getting picky? I'm not taking the car to Pebble Beach. And the 67 fabric looks and matches the doors etc. really well.

My real concern is the foam. Of course the old foam is shot, and is crumbling. Do these shops know how to re-do the foam correctly? How should I go about this? Maybe the existing front seat foam and cover can be revived without total preplacement? The back seat is damn near perfect.

Any advice, anecdotes, or horror stories on seat reupholstery would be appreciated.

 

[CBODY67]

The foam and other underlayments come in rolls. The foam in the pleats that make the cushion pattern is a lighter foam for that place on the upholstery, generally. Maybe a dacron-type, spongy foam-type material that will not settle-out with age?

The interior trim codes should work between 1965 and 1968, which can explain the good color matches you discovered.

The rear seat might look pristine, but the foam on it is suffering the same age issues as the front seat is. Getting harder and crunchier as the fabric has somewhat dry-rotted. Which means it is all more fragile than it looks.

Any "new" fabric you can find (other than possibly the high-priced newly-woven SMS items) will be as old as the car. Being on a bolt in the fabric warehouse has saved it from UV light ageing, though. Still, it can still be more fragile than when it and the car were new. Especially the fabric and not the vinyl. Although the vinyl can have dried-out over time.

For leads on an upholstery shop, NOT a generic upholstery shop, you might check the website for Katzkin interior kits. Reason is that they should know what OEM-spec quality is, as to sewing and such, and possibly do restoration-grade work . . . or know somebody that might. ALSO . . . somebody that will do the French Seams on the vinyl sections, too! Those "double seams" helped the durability and pattern integrity of the interior vinyl, by observation. Ford and GM did not used them, that I know of.

When you talk to the shops, use the phrase "OEM-spec" rather than "restoration". In order to get a price that is more normal, hopefully.

Keep us posted on your progress,
CBODY67

 

[Scoopy G]

Thanks 67. I tried to post photos but they were too big for some reason. I'm going to drive the car to one shop tomorrow, hopefully they have people at sewing machines doing upholstery work!

Cheers from Tampa,

Richard

 

[tbm3fan]

A shame you are not out my way. There is a fellow 3 miles up the street from me who I have known since 2007. Works out of his garage doing upholstery work for cars and boats for decades. He is 63 I believe and unfortunately has suffered a mild heart attack already. Did the seat in my F100 and the headliner and vinyl roof in the Polara. He knows his stuff and compared to shops around me is well worth it. Known by word of mouth.

 

[sprice]

A shame you are not out my way. There is a fellow 3 miles up the street from me who I have known since 2007. Works out of his garage doing upholstery work for cars and boats for decades. He is 63 I believe and unfortunately has suffered a mild heart attack already. Did the seat in my F100 and the headliner and vinyl roof in the Polara. He knows his stuff and compared to shops around me is well worth it. Known by word of mouth.

This upholsterer would almost be worth the shipping as this skill is becoming increasingly hard to find, especially if they are good at their trade. I live in a city of 3/4 million people and have not heard of any upholstery business providing decent work at reasonable prices. What I have seen and experienced from so-called "experienced or high end " local shops was disappointing.

 

[3175375]

I have been putting off having the seats in my 65 NYer Town Sedan re-upholstered. First of all it's hard to find a decent shop to do the work these days. I go to shops, but I don't ever see people sewing anything. There are no employees it seems. I expect to see lots of noisy sewing machines sewing stuff, but that just doesn't seem to be the case here in Tampa.

I researched the fabric and vinyl, and of course SMS has the stuff, if you are willing to give up your left nut to pay their prices. INSTEAD, I was able to find an exact match on the turquoise vinyl, and I was lucky to find a really nice fabric that is correct for a 67 New Yorker on ETSY, from a seller called Dead Stock Vinyl, for less than half of what SMS is charging. Sure, the fabric is for a 67 and not a 65 NYer, but who's getting picky? I'm not taking the car to Pebble Beach. And the 67 fabric looks and matches the doors etc. really well.

My real concern is the foam. Of course the old foam is shot, and is crumbling. Do these shops know how to re-do the foam correctly? How should I go about this? Maybe the existing front seat foam and cover can be revived without total preplacement? The back seat is damn near perfect.

Any advice, anecdotes, or horror stories on seat reupholstery would be appreciated.

Nice find!
Do you have information about Dead Stock Vinyl? (Website, address, anything?) I looked online and via Google Maps and couldn’t find any business with that name.

 

[bnz84]

You could try calling a boat place. They might be more plentiful in your area. Even if it's not an advertised business it seems somebody always knows a guy. When I had my seats done the guy was also doing boats.

 

[MONC440]

A good upholstery guy will get it right. I got mine done by a guy in Wixom Mi a couple of years ago and they came out great. It helped that my guy had a web site showing his skills to the world. I didn't worry about the vinyl grain, I just wanted the color and pattern as close as possible. Mine were under $2K and he had them done in two weeks.

 

[volksworld]

bucket foam is molded but bench seat stuff is usually just flat foam off a roll with the edges just wrapped around the frame and glued or hog ringed to burlap underneath....edit,I just checked the original 68 back seat I had to strip to use the seat medallions...it wasn't foam, it was some sort of fabric covered cotton batting glued to burlap...kinda like the way a mattress was padded before foam was used...guess all the foam ones I've seen had already been redone

 

[tbm3fan]

This upholsterer would almost be worth the shipping as this skill is becoming increasingly hard to find, especially if they are good at their trade. I live in a city of 3/4 million people and have not heard of any upholstery business providing decent work at reasonable prices. What I have seen and experienced from so-called "experienced or high end " local shops was disappointing.

Actually does have a web site. Some of the reviews are a joke. What the hell is "local guide" anyway. Seems like a bot that goes around hitting one star for many as I see many.

Steeles Upholstery | Best Custom Upholstery in the Bay Area

 

[Scoopy G]

Monc440, those seats look great! I went to a shop today, and there actually was a guy at a sewing machine. The owner's son called the owner, who seemed like a very knowledgeable old-school upholstery guy. Quoted me $2500, and I supply the fabric and vinyl. I have a couple of other shops to call, but this was a good start.

 

[Scoopy G]

Nice find!
Do you have information about Dead Stock Vinyl? (Website, address, anything?) I looked online and via Google Maps and couldn’t find any business with that name.

DEAD STOCK VINYL....D. Lamar Brooks/Julie Thompson.....dlamrb@gmail.com....352-339-1078. I think if you go to the ETSY webite and enter their name, it should take you to their page. They have many many vinyls and fabrics. deadstockautovinyl.com

 

[Scoopy G]

DEAD STOCK VINYL....D. Lamar Brooks/Julie Thompson.....dlamrb@gmail.com....352-339-1078. I think if you go to the ETSY webite and enter their name, it should take you to their page. They have many many vinyls and fabrics. deadstockautovinyl.com

UPDATE ON DEAD STOCK VINYL: Lamar has sold off his inventory to a guy named CJ in Tennessee. Apparently there is a LARGE inventory of vinyls and fabrics from the 1970 onward. CJ's number is.....423-388-5855.

 

[MONC440]

Monc440, those seats look great! I went to a shop today, and there actually was a guy at a sewing machine. The owner's son called the owner, who seemed like a very knowledgeable old-school upholstery guy. Quoted me $2500, and I supply the fabric and vinyl. I have a couple of other shops to call, but this was a good start.

Thanks. Yes he did a great job. I shopped around until I found a guy that was reasonably priced and had experience with old cars. Sounds like you are on the write path.

 

[69Chrysler300]

A good upholstery guy will get it right. I got mine done by a guy in Wixom Mi a couple of years ago and they came out great. It helped that my guy had a web site showing his skills to the world. I didn't worry about the vinyl grain, I just wanted the color and pattern as close as possible. Mine were under $2K and he had them done in two weeks.

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The color certainly does not match at all. On purpose I suppose?

 

[MONC440]

The color certainly does not match at all. On purpose I suppose?

Actually the color is very close. The pictures just don’t do it justice. If you look at the pictures of the back seats old compared to new it is really close.

 

[michiganhotrod1]

Which seats does your car have - the flat bench or the split "buckets" with a center armrest? If the latter there are seat foam kits made. I did them on my 65 300 and they made all the difference in how the seats felt and looked.
Mark

 

[azblackhemi]

Here's the before and after pics of the seats in my 79 300. Not cheap but well worth it. The key is finding an upholsterer you trust.

 

[Scoopy G]

Those look really good AZ. I'm wondering if the whole upholstery thing is a dying art, with no new people entering the field, and the old guard retiring, leaving few shops to do this kind of work.

 

[azblackhemi]

Those look really good AZ. I'm wondering if the whole upholstery thing is a dying art, with no new people entering the field, and the old guard retiring, leaving few shops to do this kind of work.

Yeah I think that's the case with all the trades.