Hi All, On my radically chopped shoebox, it came with the seats in black and carpet in black. I made wooden door panels and stained and varnished them so it looks better for now. It feels like I'm inside a tomb sometimes with how dark everything is and I would have preferred white seats. Does anyone think all black seats with a white perforated headliner will look ok? I'm not sure what I will do for the side panels, probably all black but am considering combination of white and black.. or maybe all white and eventually some day redo the seats in white but that won't be for a while. Also, would ordering a stock headliner be a good call given the radical chop or am I better off having an upholstery shop make one from scratch? I'm still debating whether to do the headliner install myself or not.
I’d pick white as the dominant color for the headliner. But I would add black into it with some creative design that’s not too overbearing. ideas……
That white steering wheel is all the reason you need to go with a white headliner. I'd drive it. Personally, a black headliner wouldn't bother me all that much. It would have a certain coolness factor for that car....... but I do understand that it wouldn't be for everybody. If it's too much black for you, going with white is not a mistake.
White headliners always look good...until you get hand prints, smudges, or, with a super-long shifter stick, knuckle smears. Might be even harder to keep looking pristine/clean considering the top is chopped, too. I'd still go with white, though, to lighten/brighten up the interior. You have a lot of black everywhere, but the black and white contrast is never a bad choice.
Thanks, my thinking is for how little the car is driven, it would stay pretty clean even in white. What I'm struggling with is if its all white (which I prefer) I usually see white seats or at least seats with some white in it. all black seats and all black door panels and a white headliner might look ok or not.. im trying to visualize it. I think it would be ideal to not spend money to redo the seats in the short term.
Thanks, I think the black would look ok but scare away any ladies (or scare them away even more than already haha)... I'm going to shoot for white and leave the seats all black for now.
Those seats look just fine, so I wouldn't replace them unless there is a strong need to do so. Maybe look at slightly off-white headliner material, as that will soften the contrast a bit, and still allow plenty of light to be reflected throughout the interior. You could always go with mostly white (matching) door and quarter panels, too.
Thanks! Yeah by white I mean off white like the steering wheel which I painted in an off white. I agree throwing an off white headliner and some off white on the door panels will brighten it up and if later I really want to change the seats from black to something else I’ll be set up for it already.
Hello, My wife and I have always liked 50 Fords, coupes, sedans and trucks. We almost purchased a 50 Ford coupe as it was nicely set up and at the time, my surfboard could fit inside with the rear seat back taken out and the trunk lid locked when away from the hot rod. Careful measurements for the surfboard were taken and since it would fit, we were ready to buy it. But, my wife gave me the “high eyes” look and silently moved her head to the door area. So, we excused our selves and told he seller we would think about it. What my wife did not like was that the seller had a bad odor about him and the inside of the car was “aromatic” to say the least. I have a sharp sense of smell and at the sight of a nice 50 Ford coupe, I must have overlooked the floating aroma. We left it sitting there and moved on to another search. Jnaki The interior was a light grey material and it brightened up the whole insides of an all black car. Back in our teenage days, the teens had stock upholstery in their sedans. but, when one of our friends bought a 54 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, the first thing was to get all white tuck and roll upholstery inside, including the headliner, package tray and trunk. So, a long drive south to Baja, Mexico was planned and it turned out to be almost an all day thing. For a stock hardtop Chevy sedan, one did not look at the outside paint. The thing that stood out was the immaculate all white tuck and roll upholstery glowing through the windows and when all windows were down, now it stood out so much better than stock. Or black or any color upholstery. That must have started a trend as there were three other cars within a few months that also made the trip South to Baja, Mexico to get a similar white tuck and roll upholstery job. That same shop probably thought we were bucks up kids from across the border. But, bucks enough to barely get the upholstery done. There were a few differences. one had all 2 inch puffed, rolled pleats, including the headliner. The other two had a plain white headliner with rolled edging that ran along the edges of the roofline. It also ran across the curved roof line at various spaced pleats, from door to door. One had plain trunk walls covered like the headliner and the first one had 2 inch pleats. Instantly it made the three sedans look outstanding. One was a dark purple 46 Ford and the other was a silver-grey 56 Chevy Bel Air Two Door Post model. The lighter all white tuck and roll pleats + the plain interior roof was also in a local USA upholstery shop version inside of a red 1940 Ford sedan. The differences in overall look and installation was negligible, but that was with teenage eyes back then and the ever present cost differences. Today, a local upholstery shop would be our choice and in all white two inch pleats for your black Ford. It would not matter that most sedans in the old style custom car world just happened to have all white tuck and roll upholstery. In a black car, it would look outstanding. Note: When I had enough money saved, I had this Skylark Wire Wheel modification done to our 58 black Impala. Then a few months later, the idea of another road trip to Baja, Mexico to get an all white tuck and roll upholstery with a plain inside roof lines version and 2 inch pleats in the trunk area was considered. I did a re-roof for our mom’s garage and our backyard garage roof surfaces to get enough money. A simple recover with black waterproof sheeting, and a million nails to hold down the multiple spaced shingle roof sheets. No electric nail guns were around back in 1962-63. But, a two separate week long surf vacations in Baja and a couple of weekend surf trips north to Santa Barbara used up all of the money earned and saved. One thing pays for another… YRMV Normal 1600 pixels: resized to 800 pixels: resized to 400 pixels: resized to 200 pixels:
Our 57 Chevy has black seats & white headliner stock. Our daily Yukon has black w off white headliner. They both look fine. It's a pretty common set up. Add some white & black vinyl to your door panels. The white wheel to tie it all in. You'll be in good shape.
I'd strongly prefer a light colored headliner, just to keep from looking like a cave. I'll mention that you should sit in the car and shine a bright light on the underside of the roof at night. Make sure the gauge faces aren't catching a bunch of reflected light so you can see them. Might try parking another car behind with the lights on to check that too.
I agree, an off white headliner would look nice in it. You could also add a few off white accents lower to pull it all together too. I'd be tempted to buy some of the cheaper pre made tuck and roll vinyl in a matching off white to match the headliner and recover the door panels for now. Some of the pre made T&R vinyl is pretty cheap and will get you by in a pinch for a while. I wouldn't go crazy with it either, just cover the door panels and let it go, no fancy designs etc. ...
My concern would be in ordering a stock headliner. Are the headliner mounting bows in the same location after the chop and do they still fit? Dimensions change a lot after chopping.
Like @goldmountain mentions, you're likely gonna need a headliner made to fit. If that is the approach you take, why not the off-white as discussed, with a Black tuck and roll insert (maybe only 12 to 16 inches wide) running front to back in center to tie together all of the Black and White in the interior. One other thought, if you do the door panels in White and Black make sure to use the Black on the lower portion. I'm always bumping mine with my foot getting in or out and Black won't show it like White will. Great looking car by the way and I'm not even a Custom guy per se.
First off how have I not seen this good looking custom in San Diego before? I think white of off white headliner would look good. Plus it won’t feel so small inside the car with all the black.
If you want it white, get it made white. A couple of my late model vehicles have had dark interior with a light headliner, and my 62 Bel Air has a white headliner from factory with a tan interior. It makes it seem brighter and taller inside. Your car is sweet! It would look killer with an all-white interior (eventually)
Thanks, just seeing this but two main reasons: 1. I don't really have any friends around here into the car scene (older cars especially). I get a little stage fright about going to a car show. 2. I'm so frustrated at how bad the traffic is getting around here in San Diego. It's hard to enjoy the ride without all the stress... even just getting to the 101 and cruising North county seems so stressful to me... and with a chopped car a bit hard to see out of... I tend to drive around mission bay and fiesta island for short duration every month one time and then back inside. I agree on the off-white headliner.
Yeah traffic is a bitch at times but you gotta get out there more . I drive my chopped Chevy to work a few times a month and sometimes just go for a cruise around town. The smaller car shows or gatherings here in San Diego are more towards lowriders and not many here that are about Kustom cars. I do hate driving by around mission bay and or the beach area due to the roads being pretty bad. So many pot holes and people not paying attention. One of the guys in my club also has a chopped shoebox that we are going to make sure it’s a good driver soon. Finish the body modification too.
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