Interior Help

[wolfy]

Looking for some expert help here.  I would love to do the interior myself.  I know I can order SMS fabric to match, question I have is.  Is there anyone that makes pre sewn seats for our cars?  Even if it is not the original fabric, just curious.  I have redone several older cars, 1951 and 1971 and 1997 Chevy trucks.  But I have rebuilt the foam and then simply put on a pre-sewn seat cover on it.  This is one you hog ring on and not a slip on cover.  I want a permanent fix.

 

I dont' have the skills or the equipment to sew it from scratch.  So curious if anyone any input here. 

 

PS car just turned over 41k miles this year!

[Doug&Deb]

Love that Highlander interior! I’m not aware of any pre sewn covers available. You may be able to find a local upholstery shop that could make them for you.

[joecoozie]

If the only issue you are having, as seen in the one picture, is that the seams have let go maybe an upholstery shop can fix that and you will have the original material still intact.

You may also find NOS seat covers if you search around. I found some for my 48 Chrysler and they are hog ringed in place so they are permanent

[wolfy]

Thank you both.  Sorry I didn't have the front seat, and it is completely gone.  I will try to search around to find some NOS covers.  If you find anything I would be in a big debt to you! 

 

I will contact some local shops to see what they will do, but I would love to do it myself 

[joecoozie]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225869822450?fits=Make%3AChrysler&hash=item3496e3f9f2:g:ZY8AAOSw3mdlUlm3&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8LMMzYakIEdiwOehAezg0jvvuGtKcoTqrOpoZkxauaUmx9QePgM3c0qRaNQXLlzLuoNXsXrJn5SoXCFGGbrA3GVivtjnQ4fMZbqJ2%2FYhCssFUTR1EQfWhuNJvM0vVH9LQ69dG3aoRj%2BC1Yd1IQcY%2FH%2BMJ3C3nMxip3kz9rl1Okzygzd%2FxVzq2SPswEqQr9bdyv%2BZZeuFnHLCK5u6rKEJD4kfR85rgrCsSu9ZGieduePgB%2FQ6GwJJNO2PfJElmGqTp%2BkD05HdGnEkSC0fbz61a%2B1skmb3bSzZoEx7gg02IgzUuMf1Xzahpg0exa0fFkYlYQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6yz_sf6Yg

[wolfy]

Wow thanks Joe!  Your searching skills are much better than mine.  I always struggle when trying to find things. 

 

That one you sent is pretty close. 

[Ivan_B]

I saw those covers on eBay, but then decided to make my own. If your front seat back rest can be disassembled (like the ones on coupes) you can attach simple one-material covers folded from fabric, no need to sew anything. Alternatively, you just take the old fabric off, undo the seams, and trace and cut the same pieces from new fabric.

[joecoozie]

3 hours ago, wolfy said:

Wow thanks Joe!  Your searching skills are much better than mine.  I always struggle when trying to find things. 

 

That one you sent is pretty close. 

No problem

[Eneto-55]

The new old stock seat covers are, of course, "authentic", but I would just look at the pictures for fabric choice suggestions.  I would think that they will crack or tear rather soon, if you could even get them unfolded, installed, and wrinkle free.  Obviously I could be wrong, but I'd rather use new fabric.  (But maybe nothing of that design can be found.  Not ready for seat covers yet - by a long shot.)

[Ivan_B]

2 hours ago, Eneto-55 said:

Obviously I could be wrong, but I'd rather use new fabric.

Not at all, old fabric would be rather fragile and unreliable, even assuming that the moth, mold, or the UV did not get it. Like an old pair of your favorite pants you still try to wear, it just falls apart. That's a good point.

 

[joecoozie]

Just my experience.....

 

I installed, on my 47 Chrysler, NOS seat covers that not only look amazing (no wrinkles, tears, etc) but they are as fresh as the day they were made. This was at least 15 years ago and they still are like new.

And I did the install myself - I am/was a noob when I did it. Just took my time and they look like they were factory/dealer installed.

The ONLY reason I put them on is because my T & C Sedan has the original vinyl/saran interior (white no less) and I wanted to preserve it. 

 

[Ivan_B]

How old were those NOS covers you've used? Probably not from the 40s? ?

[Eneto-55]

2 hours ago, Ivan_B said:

How old were those NOS covers you've used? Probably not from the 40s? ?

It would be interesting to know how recently that style of seat cover was manufactured.  I do not know, but would guess into the 60's at least.  It would also be interesting to know how the fabric design changed over the years.  (Wish I had pictures of the interior of the 48 Dodge my folks had until around 1960 or 61 - when I was 5 or 6.  They wouldn't be color photos anyway, but a person could see how large the plaid pattern was, something I would guess was part of the change over the years.)

[joecoozie]

6 hours ago, Ivan_B said:

How old were those NOS covers you've used? Probably not from the 40s? ?

I would guess at least 40+++ years old at the time.

They certainly were not newly manufactured when I bought them

[Sniper]

19 hours ago, Eneto-55 said:

It would be interesting to know how recently that style of seat cover was manufactured.

 

This is a great question.  Certain NOS items, imo, are not the best choice.  Things like rubber or cloth as part of the material used can and do deteriorate sitting on the shelf. 

Sometimes that's your only choice though, which makes it a conundrum.

[garbagestate 44]

I'm doing upholstery on my 47 windsor. If you're willing to watch lots of youtube videos and make many mistakes, it is doable, however, I am using wool broadcloth and managed to use a consumer grade Singer sewing machine. If you plan on leather, you might need something more along the lines of commercial grade equipment. Probably not cheap. good luck.

[Tired iron]

46 minutes ago, garbagestate 44 said:

I'm doing upholstery on my 47 windsor. If you're willing to watch lots of youtube videos and make many mistakes, it is doable, however, I am using wool broadcloth and managed to use a consumer grade Singer sewing machine. If you plan on leather, you might need something more along the lines of commercial grade equipment. Probably not cheap. good luck.

I went down that rabbit hole of learning how and doing the upholstery of my dodge meadowbrook.  I learned lots and it was really a lot of fun.  Online upholstery supply shops make it easy to choose whatever materials you want.  A used walking foot sewing machine runs about 500-700 on craigslist and there's so much help on Youtube university.  Not for the faint of heart or those with limited time, but otherwise can really be a rewarding experience for those of us who want to "do it all" on our car projects.

[Dan Hiebert]

A good auto upholstery shop should be able to make what you are looking for.  When I did our D24 (30 years ago) there were no pre-made kits, so I took my old seat covers to a shop, and they made replacements in a material and color of my choosing to the original pattern.  If I had wanted, they would have made them in the original taupe color, and a material close to original.  They didn't have any issues with me installing them myself.  I've heard of shops that won't make an interior for your car unless they install it, too.  They still got their money for the labor and materials to make the "kit", but didn't have to shoehorn me into their busy schedule.   

[harmony]

Have you looked at SMS for the material?  https://smsautofabrics.com/ 

[wolfy]

Thank you all for the help and suggestions.  I have samples from SMS for materials. I am not going to do my own stitching.  Just doesn't interest me.  I did however order some of those NOS covers.  They are decent, and I figured for under $400 in materials with new foam I will just do it myself until I get with a local upholstery place here to have it done right with OEM style materials. 

 

I got the foam the other day and the NOS covers.  I will take some pics when I get around to actually working on this!  Very much looking forward to it.