Need some pics of original type interiors for 46-48 DeSoto

[MarcDeSoto]

I'm getting ready to have the interior of my 48 DeSoto Deluxe 3 window coupe reupholstered.  Right now, it has an old circa 1970s upholstery job on it.  My upholsterer needs some pics of how it should look.  I have some pics of my seats, door panels and back panel. So if you have an original interior or an interior done correctly, I need your pics.  Thanks, Marc.  

[Bryan]

Maybe these..  1948 DeSoto Deluxe Pictures - Pics for used 1948 DeSoto Deluxe (cargurus.com)   1948 DESOTO CUSTOM CLUB COUPE 6 CYLINDER for sale: photos, technical specifications, description (classiccardb.com)    https://www.oldride.com/classic_cars/852097/1948_desoto_deluxe.html#4  Seems like rear has 5 buttons on back, 2 on bottom seat.   OOps - 3 window coupe...haven't had my coffee yet.  

Edited November 4, 2021 by Bryan
Not enough coffee..

[greg g]

Did the different brands have individual color for thr leatherette pieces.  Mine includes 5he rears of the front seats, the door bottoms, the seat frame trim and the bulkhead for the trunk.  My car is a 46 Plymouth business coupe which has a light maroon color.  I am assuming that all p15s were the same. Never seen enough Dodges or Desoto to notice if they are different.  Think I have some pictures in my attachments.  All mine are original except the door buttoms.

M 

[greg g]

[LazyK]

the following link contains scanned images of original car sales brochures. you might find some interiors pictures

https://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

Edited November 4, 2021 by LazyK

[Bryan]

2 hours ago, greg g said:

Bottoms of mine 1948 Dodge..

[MarcDeSoto]

Bryan,  thanks for that pic of your interior.  Dodge is very similar to DeSoto.  Do you have picture of the package shelf under the rear window.  What is it made of?  I think the leatherette is a tan colored pig skin that goes on the bottoms of the door panels and on the seat frame.  Some cars had the pigskin on the backs of the doors and the bottom part of the trunk panel also.  It looks like they used seat broadcloth on part of your door panels?   Here's a pic of the factory Parts Book of a front seat of a DeSoto Custom and the rear area from a business coupe like mine.  I put a pic in from a 48 Chrysler Royal also because it was a seat fabric with a pinstripe that looks similar to mine.  I was told there is a Long Beach Calif. headliner shop that sells customized headliner kits, but I can't find them on a Google search.  

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by MarcDeSoto

[Bryan]

I'll run out and take some pics...It's cold out there...42 in SC before December..

[Bryan]

Here they are. under the back glass is different than at the seat and door bottoms.  Back glass area seems the same as on the sides under the dash.

[junkers72]

The best I could do today Marc . Don’t mind the light reflection through the windshield. All original 1947 DeSoto Deluxe.  The pattern on the front seat is the same but not as picture worthy. 

[MarcDeSoto]

Thanks Bryan and Junkers, excellent pics of your beautiful interiors.  You are lucky you don't have to pay an upholsterer to redo it!  I thought that the back shelf wasn't pigskin or cloth.  What do you think that material is?  Some kind of cardboard or oil board?  I found out the company in Long Beach that does custom headliners is ACME.  They only sell to upholstery shops, so they are not retailers.  

Edited November 4, 2021 by MarcDeSoto

[junkers72]

Check out this seller on EBay . The kick panels and rear tray are some kind of pressed board of some sort with a material sewn around the perimeter. 

[MarcDeSoto]

yes, from Bryan's pics it looks like the kick panels and shelf tray are made from some kind of Pressed cardboard.  I checked out Collector Auto Supply, but they don't seem to cater to antique cars.  

 

[joecoozie]

Try this guy. He has the package tray and maybe he can make the kick panels if he doesn't have them

https://www.ebay.com/str/musclemaniac5/Package-Trays-P-T-Insulation/_i.html?store_cat=1526609011

[MarcDeSoto]

Yes,  he has the package shelf for a 48 DeSoto, but he doesn't say for what body style.   According to my Parts Book, each body type had a different package shelf!   And he has the kick panels for 46-48 Chrysler, but not DeSoto.  He doesn't say if they are for the 6 or 8 Chryslers.   Maybe the Chrysler and DeSoto had the same kick panels?  I would need a Chrysler Parts Book to know for sure.  

[joecoozie]

One email to him would answer all your questions

[Pete]

Musclemaniacs on eBay is a reseller for REM reproduction parts. REM doesn't do retail sales, but a number of eBay sellers carry their stuff.

 

https://www.remautoinc.com/

 

I've had good luck emailing REM directly with questions. I've bought some of their interior panels and also bulk fabric. I get the part number from REM for non-catalog items, then order it through Musclemaniacs on eBay.

 

Pete

 

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by Pete

[Eneto-55]

From my memory (my folks had a 48 Dodge, then a 53 DeSoto; the latter I remember well, since it was still driven until I was almost 17, and is still in the family) the kick panels, the package shelf, and the panel that was in the front part of the trunk (closing up behind the rear seat) are all the same material, a stiff pressed cardboard material that is embossed with a leather grain pattern.  I suspect that most people replace it with varying types of stiff hardboard material, and cover it with "naugahyde".  

[Andydodge]

I didn't realise that there were still some Naugas left.....I thought they had all been shot & were now extinct...........lol...........andyd

[Eneto-55]

12 hours ago, Andydodge said:

I didn't realise that there were still some Naugas left.....I thought they had all been shot & were now extinct...........lol...........andyd

When I was ready to post that comment, I was going to copy in a link about the animal called nauga, but mostly I just found statements saying that it was a made-up animal, to sell people on the name.  I grew up believing that it was a real animal, native to Australia.  Now I don't know what to think.  So, is it a real animal?

 

Or, what would people call that material now - "leatherette"?  The seat covers wore out on the 53 DeSoto, and so my mom sewed new ones out of naugahyde.  One thing I remember about it was how cold it was in the winter, to get in the cold car, and sit on those seats.  There were four of us boys that had to sit in the back, and one thing you made sure of, was to sit in your designated space, so as not to have to warm up another spot.  So anyway, the original fabric seat covers in that car were still like new when the car was "retired to the back 40" in 1972.  (My younger brother still has the car, but I haven't seen it for at least 5 years, and it sits outside, as it has ever since it was replaced as the family car in '66.)

[Pete]

From Uniroyal's website:

 

"In 1914, Naugahyde was invented at the U.S. Rubber plant in Naugatuck, Connecticut. It was the first rubber-based artificial leather ever made, and the first in a series of product innovations. Naugahyde is recognized as a global leader in high-performance vinyl coated fabrics and top coats."

 

So I guess Naugas were once wild in Connecticut...

 

Pete

 

 

[MarcDeSoto]

A friend of mine down in Imperial Beach south of San Diego, bought a 46 DeSoto business coupe just like mine.  I asked him if I could come down and take some pics of it.  I took some pics of the seat, which was out of the car, since it was original, but shot, upholstery.  So these pics, from the early 80's, are invaluable to know how the seat upholstery was done for my car.  So any of you can refer to these pics if you are restoring a 1940s MoPar.  

 

 

[chrysler1941]

It was interesting to view photos of under rear shelf of these post war model. These are very different from pre war as spare tires is mounted behind driver side and a huge access lid next to it. View photos (not my car).

[MarcDeSoto]

Yes, on the post war business coupes, the wood panels are fixed and do not open.  ARe the above pics from a 41-42 Dodge?  I think Dodge was the only make that put pin stripes on wheels, but I could be wrong.  

[Andydodge]

I first saw references to "Naugahyde" in the 1960's hotrod magazines I started reading around 1965/66 and even back then I am pretty sure that I saw that naugahyde was a brand name for a particular type of leather patterned vinyl upholstery.........its interesting seeing the pics of the various cloths, leatherettes and I suppose wool blends that were a common feature of USA cars......here in Oz I have read that real leather was more commonly used in Oz cars up to even the 1960's due to the various Oz tax & duty laws...........

............my Oz assembled & bodied Plymouth framed 1940 Dodge is a D15D( D for Deluxe) model and had genuine leather on the front & rear seats with a leatherette material on the door & kick panels, the hood lining was felt and the floor was carpeted front & back as were the bottom 4-5" of each door.

...........It also had fore/aft adjustable armrests which were originally leather on each front door with a centre fold down armrest in the rear seat and assist straps on each rear pillar which were also leather and across the back of the front seat a blanket robe or rope.

.........The back of the front seat was the same leatherette material as the doors with a carpeted foot rest built into the bottom of the seat back.Three interior lights are fitted, one above the rear seat/parcel tray which was originally a piece of carpeted cardboard and a smaller version of the rear light at the top of each centre door pillar............andyd