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

[MarcDeSoto]

All the Parts Books say is the headliner can be cloth or leather.  Haven't seen any cars with leather, except maybe the station wagon.  I took some pics of the interior of a 47 DeSoto business coupe in the 80s and I took at least one pic of the headliner.  Maybe I can find it?  I think the original headliner, at least on a Deluxe, would be what they called "brushed cotton" or "napped cotton".  

[MarcDeSoto]

Here's a pic of a D-24 Dodge business coupe showing some headliner material on the back of the front seat.  It appears that some of the back area is in leatherette and some is in headliner.  That is the color I remember as being original headliner.  

 

 

 

 

[sidevalvepete]

Marc. Don't know if this is any help but is a little more info which may or may not be of interest. I had my 38 Dodge reupholstered by an old tradesman locally who does a lot of 20s and 30s work. He gave me the choice of a vinyl, cotton cloth or woollen cloth headliner. He stated that the woollen option was as close to original as was possible to get now. I went with this option and am happy with the result. Not sure whether the woollen option extended to the late 40s though...

[Eneto-55]

3 hours ago, sidevalvepete said:

Marc. Don't know if this is any help but is a little more info which may or may not be of interest. I had my 38 Dodge reupholstered by an old tradesman locally who does a lot of 20s and 30s work. He gave me the choice of a vinyl, cotton cloth or woollen cloth headliner. He stated that the woollen option was as close to original as was possible to get now. I went with this option and am happy with the result. Not sure whether the woollen option extended to the late 40s though...

 

That looks good to me.  My understanding is that the original fabrics used was all mohair, which is made from the hair (wool?) from Angora goats.  It might be available someplace, but I expect that it would be VERY expensive.  (I recall that when I started on my Plymouth back in 80-81, it was being produced some place in England, but it ran around $50.00 / yard.)  So for me, the closest match is going to be a heavy wool suiting fabric.  Finding the right color & shade will be the biggest challenge.

 

NOTE: Camel Hair Wool might be another option.  I looked just a bit, and it is also expensive.

 

camel hair wool fabric

Edited November 29, 2021 by Eneto-55
add note

[Art Bailey]

45 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

That looks good to me.  My understanding is that the original fabrics used was all mohair, which is made from the hair (wool?) from Angora goats.  It might be available someplace, but I expect that it would be VERY expensive.  (I recall that when I started on my Plymouth back in 80-81, it was being produced some place in England, but it ran around $50.00 / yard.)  So for me, the closest match is going to be a heavy wool suiting fabric.  Finding the right color & shade will be the biggest challenge.

 

NOTE: Camel Hair Wool might be another option.  I looked just a bit, and it is also expensive.

 

camel hair wool fabric

Both of the companies I linked to sent me samples of the napped cotton, which looks just like the fuzzy headliner material. One was better than the other, to my eyes, but I can't remember which, and the samples are hidden away somewhere. 

[MarcDeSoto]

I think at least by the 40s, Chrysler used brushed cotton for headliners.  I think mohair was used more in the 30s.  In the original 40s cars I've seen, they used broadcloth for the seats, which is wool.  On the leatherette, the vinyl samples shown above are excellent duplicates of the original leatherette.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Here are the latest samples of windlace and headliner sent by SMS.  I like the top windlace 1A and I'm not sure about the headliner.  The bottom two look the best, I guess.  I think the 1-E is called a taupe color.  I'm really not sure what was original to my car.  I have some samples I took from a guy's 47 DeSoto Deluxe bus. coupe back in the 80s.  It would be great if I can find them!  

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by MarcDeSoto

[Bryan]

Headliner would go with 1C or same color slightly lighter.  ID too pinkish.  IE gray with brown? No. Look at pics 5 (headliner) , 7  and 8 of link.  1948 DeSoto Deluxe Pictures - Pics for used 1948 DeSoto Deluxe (cargurus.com)

[Eneto-55]

That windlace, do they sell that just as it is shown, w/o the round foam center?  (To my mind, that 1-A looks like what was in my P15.  I already have the foam rubber part, unless I find something better than what I have.)

[MarcDeSoto]

I don't know maybe they sell it without the foam, but I think they sent it without so they could mail it cheaper.  Yes, Bryan, you are right.  I can't have the windlace clash with the headliner!  That's why I'm being very careful before buying!  Thanks for the original pics of a 48 DeSoto Deluxe.  I know for a fact that is the original broadcloth, but I don't think they make that exact pattern anymore, so will have to select something close.  Looks like the Deluxe had a fairly plain door panel with a tan headliner? above the leatherette part.  

[MarcDeSoto]

Here is an old samples set sent to me from LeBarron Bonney about 15 or 20 years ago.  It shows some better choices for windlace.  The first pic is a bit out of focus because of the 1/2" core windlace.

 

 

[Cannuck]

Hi Mark I tried to post pics of my interior I keep getting that max size 3 MB. 

To answer your question re SMS fabrics ,that is where I got my broadcloth for my interior .

I had to go to the Better Business Bureau to get them to send my material  after waiting about a year. There is nothing wrong with the material the interior looks great .

 I got my headliner from WLS headliners out of Georgia. it was a perfect fit and also looks great . Good luck with your project.

 

[Bryan]

3 hours ago, Cannuck said:

Hi Mark I tried to post pics of my interior I keep getting that max size 3 MB. 

 

 

Open with MS paint program, hit "Resize", enter about 40% and save to whatever filename "small".

[Eneto-55]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

Open with MS paint program, hit "Resize", enter about 40% and save to whatever filename "small".

I like to make the photos small enough that they will not overflow the screen if pasted into an email.  On my old digital camera, that means resizing at about 40%, but on my cell camera I have to go down to 35%.  

I sometimes also just open the photo in Windows Photo viewer, then use the snip feature to "capture" the specific part of a photo I need or want to post.  I think that probably results in an even lower resolution, but it is also how I get photos of cars in an old movie, or off of websites when they don't make any provision for downloading or saving the photo.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Eneto-55

[MarcDeSoto]

I found about five pages of samples from leBaron Bonney, who are now out of business.  What puzzles me is that they have such a huge choice of Broadcloths, but nothing very close to my broadcloth.  Shown below are Bonney's headliner samples and one carpet sample.  

 

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by MarcDeSoto

[MarcDeSoto]

I found a very piece of the original upholstery for my 48 DeSoto Deluxe.  This is the wool broadcloth that went on the seat.

As far as I know, no one makes this pattern.  

 

 

[Bryan]

2 hours ago, MarcDeSoto said:

I found a very piece of the original upholstery for my 48 DeSoto Deluxe.  This is the wool broadcloth that went on the seat.

As far as I know, no one makes this pattern.  

 

 

That looks like Junkers72 picture at the beginning of your post. Brown & 3 grays.

[Bryan]

1949 Chevrolet Wool Cloth PW-29 – SMS Auto Fabrics  Went through several firms..BTY, etc. No luck.

[Eneto-55]

I'm not saying that this isn't original - I imagine it is, although it doesn't look like any fabric I can recall ever having seen in a MoPar of that era.  But in the case of our 53 DeSoto, the seats were all redone, the whole interior except for the headliner, when the car was only around 10 years old.  Not only that, but the door panel trim was reversed to make it look different than the stock design.  I can't remember now if the chrome trim pieces were just put on upside down, or the left side put on upside down on the right, etc.  I think it was the latter, but I'm not sure w/o seeing it again, and comparing it to photos from other cars.  (My brother still has the car.)

But the seat fabric under the seat covers on my Plymouth (46) is the same pattern I've seen on other P15s, except that there is often a "tracer" or narrow thread line of the car's body color in the fabric.  Like you, I cannot find ANYTHING that looks close to the pattern and color combinations in that fabric.  (My car was 34 years old when I bought it, in 1980, and had been driven until only a few years before that, has over 91,000 miles on it, and had been painted twice - two different colors  - in its lifetime.  But regarding the seat fabric, it has seat covers on it, so I would tend to guess that what is under those is the original fabric.  That is incidentally the case with my folks 53 DeSoto - the original fabric was in good shape at the time my mom reupholstered it, actually just replacing the seat covers that had been installed before, possibly when the car was new.  I don't remember if the door panel fabric was taken off before being recovered.  I don't even remember what the seat covers looked like "originally".  Sorry for going on & on about this.  I get carried away with details.  That's what my wife always says, too.....)

Edited December 7, 2021 by Eneto-55

[MarcDeSoto]

It's odd that you say my swatch doesn't look original.  I cut it out of a 47 DeSoto business coupe with the owner's permission back in the 80s.  Look at Junkers72 pics.  It shows the identical broadcloth in his 47 DeSoto Deluxe.  The Customs were different since they tried to match upholstery to car color.  

 

 

[junkers72]

Marc , I am sure my interior was never touched . The small piece you found is absolute match to my car.

[Bryan]

For headliners of a solid color maybe it is better to buy from somewhere that doesn't supply for antique cars..They hear antique and the price skyrockets.   Looking at fabrics all you need is something of a similar texture that has a high tensile strength.   Nylon and silk have good strengths.  For appearance, look at this Brushed Wool Polyester Coating Fabric Polyester 60" Wide $12.99/yard (fabricwholesaledirect.com)

[Bryan]

Neoprene Scuba Fabric 90% Polyester 10% Spandex 58" Wide $10.99/Yard (fabricwholesaledirect.com)       Matte Milliskin Tricot Fabric 80% Nylon 20% Spandex (fabricwholesaledirect.com)   DTY Double-Sided Brushed Stretch Fabric 60" Wide (fabricwholesaledirect.com)

[MarcDeSoto]

Not bad.  But I'd rather pay the $239 to have a headliner made by ACME of Long Beach that is made custom for my 48 DeSoto business coupe.

[Dodgeb4ya]

I have used Acme Headliners...great OE headliners.

Been around for years and years.

Used to be in LA...don't know if they have moved..been sold or what though.

They used to be wholesale only. No retail sales.