I checked out EZ Boy Interiors ("Rod Interiors"), and their Cruiser Panels are just the design I want (http://www.rodinteriors.com/panel-upholstery.htm). That's the good news...the bad news is that they don't do a ****on tuft instead of their pleats. The price, design, matching seat covers, and sizes are great, but I have an interior in mind and would REALLY like to find someone that does much the same thing, only in the style I'm looking for. Any ideas/sources, other than having it done locally? For the prices they offer, if I can't find a source, then I might just have to go ahead and do the EZ Boy interior. Thanks, guys...
Hi Desoto; I just got off the phone with Kelly at EZ Boy and got the same answer you did. I had a '40 coupe 40 years ago that I did diamond tufts in, and want to do the same on this one. EZ Boy sold out to Laboney Barron in October and they dropped a lot of the custom stuff EZ Boy used to do. I could damn near buy another car for what the local upholstery shop wants to do the job. If you find another outlet for upholstery, let me know. I'll do the same. Steve
Ask around on here...http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=174 It's the Social Group: Upholstery, pictures, inspiration, how to, history. Group Maintained by Chris Casny This group is dedicated, to Hot Rod and Custom upholstery. Share pictures of your, interiors, maybe experts will share some of their secrets. What materials to use, era correctness, period colors, etc. Was leather used widely, back in the 50's, or was vinyl king???? These are some of the questions, hopefully being answered here..... Show us what you got.
Tony, we have a guy here in Sebastian who does excellent work, unfortunately his prices are not even remotely sane. 2 small V.W. style buckets, basic vinyl, he qoted me $350-$375 PER SEAT!!!! I think he's lost his mind. So the prices you have in the link there are pretty darn good. At least for our area.
Tony, if your down here, remember to check out the boat upholstry shops too. They will have the good outdoor vinyl for the boat seats that can handle our sun and humidity better than some of the automotive material. A good marine shop will have access to some cool colors too, metalflakes etc.
Thank goodness you are here to enlighten us all of that fact. $375 to simply recover a single low back 65 VW seat is ******, not making a living. So let's recap, the game plan here next time is to THINK before you type.
For 375 a seat it should be tuck n rolled and very snug and even. If just basic covers then that is pretty steep. You're right about the boat upholsterers. In many cases you can get those guys to do simple seats for pretty cheap.
I ordered 4 yards of pleated vinyl and 4 yards of flat vinyl from Garys Upholstery in Florida, total with shipping was under $200.00. I got some black carpet locally and sewed everything myself. It's not that hard to do. I'm in under $300.00 and no, I never sewed a s***ch in my life before this time. I think the guys charging $350.00 per seat are priced about right given the cost of running a business today. What I did may not be what you want but I would give it a try. I've got some pics in my album here if you want to see how mine turned out, the pics are not of the finished interior but you can get the idea.
These are really nice seats, not replacing foam, just recover. I think most of us realize we are not talking Barrett Jackson cars here, but somewhat daily driver traditional hot rods. The O/P and myself are not far from each other and experience the same HOT, HUMID, SANDY, SALTY weather, no tops, no windows- drivers. Again, not Barrett Jackson cars.
That's the rub...the price. The patterns, cut-to-fit panels, and prices for them are just the thing, only where the pleats are I want to subs***ute two or three rows of ****on tufted rectangles...nothing fancy. Having the same patterns done locally will cost an arm and a leg. Like I said, for the price, I'm considering bitting the bullet and just going with the pleats...
have you priced out material and foam lately...im not talking cheap materal but good quality stuff or leather....leather is 300-500 a hide, and good vinyl is nearly $700 a roll(im talking the real good stuff that upholsters cant tell the difference between that and leather... when i was in school i bought 4 hides and a roll ov vinyl to do 2 door panels and 2 rear interior panelsand 2 bench seats it cost me nearly $2000 in materials and i did all the s***ch work mysel....and you clearly have no idea how much time it takes to s***ch anything
Well, for me, s***ching up my own interior is right up there with rebuilding my own automatic transmission. I wouldn't attempt either one. I know my limitations, and leave some things to others that know what their doing. However, I would have NO problem doing an EZ Boy Interiors type installation...thus, my original question...
No disrespect but prefab interior kits are not the way to go....no 2 ways around it they always look like ****....they are made off a pattern not to ur seat frame...it won't ever fit right every seat is different....I have seen 6 prefab kits and they all went to an upholsterer because the covers don't fit right
at the end of the day it's hard to compare apples to apples without seeing samples of their work with each quote.250 a bucket for a vw is about average for stock a looking refurb. custom work, pleats etc should be 350-400 per bucket.When it's all said and done it's worth whatever the 2 parties involved agree to and remember there is no swindle in an even swap!
Lol have to agree with you there, my buddy that does my interiors has my 56 chevy right now, thaught id save hime some time and get him a headliner... hes had to redo all the bow pockets; not from lack of experience... been doing interiors since 55
That's the truth I've seen a 40 interior from a big name company that an upholster refused to use it fit like complete ****...he ordered fabric and ended up s***chin a complete interior
you get what you pay for... go cheap get cheap... and I thought before I typed !! kwmpa... you said it The prices of stuff are climbing like crazy and thats not mentioning if it's a lagit business with God for bid INSURANCE to pay for and then theres taxes etc. etc. !!! it's 2011 man !!! things are expensive out there. A customer and the shop owner should have a good repour before the job gets started and one another should understand what they are paying for up front. If you brought a pair of buckets into our shop for an est. we'd strip one of the seats apart and see what we're working with from the start going from there on the parts and labor , design etc. time is money and custom.... open your check book !!
lol out here i got quoted a basic tuck and roll, i supply materials, 2 x 59 chev bench seats only, NO door cards or anythhing else, $1400. you read right, $1400. i did it myself it was rough but it cost 300. i am pulling the car down again and will be doing it way nicer and expect to spend 500 on whole car interior. the more you do it the more you learn what works..
So when you guys go back to work on Monday.....Work the whole day, calculate what it would cost someone to do the same job themselves and ask your boss to pay you that amount instead of your normal pay. Sound crazy right??? Someone has to buy material, pay workers, pay insurance, rent, etc, etc??? You are paying for skilled labor and materials. If you posted that for the amount his work was sub par then I understand but to put down someone elses trade saying it isn't worth it then you better be able to put your work up against theirs for the same amount paid or less. Come one, lets be fair. I am all for doing myself but that doesn't mean I am going to bash the guy making a living doing the same thing unless he is a screw up!!
ps. your upholstery guy knows what he's talking about... 65 VW seats are junk to start with and require alot of labor time replacing all of the junk horse hair and replacing it with a good quailty foam to build it up so he/she can get a pattern for the cover... thats just to get started ... start with a decent bucket seat ...
people always just want something for nothing...insurance, shop supplies, all the overhead, paying workers, it all costs monet....if you think its cheap the over head per month is crazy...and a good upholsterer the seats well be perfect go out and measure ur pleats the whole way down...there should be no more than 1/32" variation between the pleats if its more than that its junk in my book....i looked at a $100,000 custom merc one time and you could look at the and see them being crooked and you could see holes where they ripped s***ches out and just left them...i pick interiors apart...this should blow you away i have a buddy that has a 53 Caddy Convert that is a concours winner and he paid $11000 to have his interior and top put on...so no one should complain about prices...you do get what you pay for...if you want something done and done right its going to cost you...pre fab interiors are cheap and ****py, they look like **** and fit like ****....it all depends on what you want....if i put 700-800 hours into a car and make it perfect why cheap out on interior...
kwmpa, you are talking about a lot of money here, but you are RIGHT! My wife and I have been building stuff since 1980 (me longer, but she's young) I got the tapes Sid Chavers made, (Master upholsterer, Oakland Rdstr show winner, etc) It is another simple craft, just has to be set up for. Wife Joey has a Husqevarna Viking sewing machine, she was good when younger. Chavers tapes are basic to advanced. Learn as you go. But we no longer go to Tijuana for tuck-and-roll, cheap naugahyde filled with mexican newspapers and donkey****. So, $$ up and go with the brave new 40% tax increase we have to face in 2011 and pay the price (overhead) or do it yourself! Oh, about the 'kit' that doesn't fit? Think about making some wood bucks to form aluminum around. Now, imagine getting some pre-bent aluminum that will be attached to your bucks. Doesn't work that way, huh... Upholstering a car is as easy (and hour-eating) as properly covering a model airplane. Just more expensive.
i get what your saying im a metal fabricator and bodyman by trade, but i do upholstery on the side...I was trained in the best environment money could buy(went to school for it) and a friend has an upholsteryshop that ive hung around for the past 10 years...hes been doing it almost 50 years now...everything takes time and costs money....and im all for doing everything yourself i do that except for engine rebuilding(just dont have the cash to buy the equipment yet) and chrome which ill never do. Fact of the matter a seat is a buck for upholstery same as you cant buy pre bent metal and expect it to fit something that your custom making you cannot pre make seats and guess ever combination of seats modifiacation for all makes and models...it would be like someone calling me saying can you make this piece 4x3 with a compound curve in the middle theres so many bombinations that can fit a buck that it would be impossible to make that piece without seeing what youre working with same as you cant make a seat without seeing what ur working on...not all seat frames or seat springs are exactly the same even in cars of the same model year Yeah it is a lot of money....my long arm singer industrial sewing machine was $6000, my short arm machine was $4000...thats just in two sewing machines...i dont know if you priced a carpet binder at all but they are nearly $10000...what i am saying is i have never seen a kit that has fit right....there is always an issue as for the company in question I have issues with them because i have seen their fit...case in point i say a panel ordered for a stock model a door and one side came 1/4" to wide and the other side was 1/8" short...and they swore up and down it was all dut correctly and it was my fault...now bothe doors were exactly the same size and i checked them with 2 other model a doors...the problem wasnt my doors i was working on...then we got seat covers and the corners were s***ched 3" to tall and the rest of the seat was too tight...that also was my fault when i wordered it for a stock seat and used thier recommened foam....this is why i have issues...i had to remake something that was supposed to be right...i have also installed 5 stock kits for various early fords...i have always had to reshape atleast one or two things...it is easier and cheaper for me to just make everything myself.... again this is just what i went through and experienced everyone is different and has a different view i am just sharing my opinion here
The Jalopy Journal
