Our new '47 Special Deluxe sedan

[Ivan_B]

I believe I've seen NOS covers like that for sale on eBay. There is a rope at the bottom, but they do cover the entire seat. You have to look under the seat to determine that these are actually covers. I've also seen covers like that in cars before. They look and feel like new upholstery.

By the way, when I got my car, with original interior in rather poor condition (falling apart from aging), I also covered it up, so it looks like it has been re-upholstered, but it has not been. And no sewing was involved, thanks for the folding front seat construction where you can take it apart and hide the folds

[Eneto-55]

I decided to take a couple of pictures of mine, in their current condition.  They are installed with hog rings, just like my Mom did on the 53 DeSoto I mentioned before.  'Seat Covers' kinda' means something else now - just temporary pull-over covers.  These were installed permanently, and as you can see from the photo of the front seat, the original upholstery is still there underneath the seat covers.  (In very bad condition in the front, as you can see.  Since they are hog ringed on, I have not seen the original rear seat upholstery, in all of the 40 plus years I've owned the car.)

Edited October 21, 2023 by Eneto-55

[Ivan_B]

Yep, looked about the same on my car. I just put some patches on the rips, cut new underlayment for the entire upper seat surface, and covered everything with new fabric of my choice

 

Eneto, you might want to clean-up your car... No good use to store trash in it, even if it is not currently being worked on ?

Edited October 22, 2023 by Ivan_B

[DonaldSmith]

"Picky, picky, picky." 

 

(Just kidding.  Comedian Pat Paulsen's shtick was to run for president. In answering his opponent's accusions of dishonesty, etc., those three words were his rebuttal. )  

[DJ194950]

Wonder if Pat P. is still alive and willing to be president??

 

?

 

DJ

[Eneto-55]

1 hour ago, Ivan_B said:

Yep, looked about the same on my car. I just put some patches on the rips, cut new underlayment for the entire upper seat surface, and covered everything with new fabric of my choice

 

Eneto, you might want to clean-up your car... No good use to store trash in it, even if it is not currently being worked on ?

As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  It's one of my greatest "faults".  Being a person who can repair or make something out of a part that was for some completely different use has its downside - that I see potential in most any odd bit.  (As an example, we had a "camp shower" out in the Indian village in the Amazon, and the shower head broke.  We were faced with going back to bathing in the river in the late afternoon, while it was still hot, or I fix it somehow.  I used the top part of an alcohol bottle, a Bic pen, some odd plumbing parts, and one of my daughter's toy tin dinner plates.  Punched holes in it with a nail, and made a 'new' shower head.  It was a plastic tank that held about 2 1/2 gallons of water.  I had made a pulley system to hoist it up as close to the ceiling as possible.  Then you sort of crouch down under it, open the shower head to get wet, close it, soap up, then open it to rinse off.  My wife & I could shower with one tank full, and our three children shared another tank full - until they got older and needed more water.)

 

Oh, the other option?  Call the airplane in with a new one, or with repair parts.  - To the tune of several hundred dollars.  (No roads anywhere around there within 40 or 50 miles, and by river it would be at least a 4 day trip one way.)

 

But since the doors are off on that side, lots of stuff gets put in the car.  Planning to build a shop in the next year, and maybe retire as well (nearly 68 now).  As it is, my work gets in the way of my hobby.  (I am self employed, and ship out a product that requires careful packaging.  So I save the foam and bubble wrap components come in, to reuse, and save on shipping costs.  So very little of the stuff in the car is really "trash", at least not to me.)  Our oldest son recently bought a house of his own, and is gradually hauling his stuff away, so that helps as well.  Obviously I'll have to clean it all out when I am able to start work on it again.  It's waited over 40 years already, so if I don't die first, I'll get to it eventually. At least I don't have a back field someplace with 20 some cars in it, all waiting to be 'restored'.....

Edited October 22, 2023 by Eneto-55

[Ivan_B]

It's great when you have the skills to fabricate things on the fly, etc. But there is a fine limit between being creative with what you have, when necessary, and just collecting clutter and spending extra time trying to make things from it, when you have proper materials readily available. Don't ask me how I know... ? So, make sure that your don't become counterproductive, that's all. A clean and orderly work-environment is very important for both a competent shop and a hobby garage alike

I don't like tossing useful things myself, though, I try not to by too much to begin with.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Ivan_B

[Sam Buchanan]

I know this is thread creep but I'll toss in this tidbit on work place organization for what ever it is worth. The following is an article I wrote 25 years ago for my aircraft construction journal and it has been reprinted in other publications.

 

Working Smart

 

This shop discipline has served me well and prevented me from wasting time chasing "lost" tools! 

[Eneto-55]

I agree on the standards for a shop or work area.  My car is currently in storage.  I do not have a shop - yet.  Working on that, but until that is a reality, the car will remain in storage.