Cooks Upholstery And Classic Restoration
So you were driving your old classic the other day, when your cell phone slips right through the giant gash in the seat and off into some netherworld. The next 30 minutes are spent digging through what seems like a spider-infested hay bale (German car owners, you know what I mean) to retrieve your communication link with the world. Hey, maybe it's time to invest in a new interior. The interior is usually one of the last items completed in a restoration project. It should be done after the paint and bodywork to avoid the inherent overspray and dust that fills every crack. The insides should also not be given much attention until after major mechanical modifications and restoration because of the grease and other potentially fabric-damaging aspects of such labors. The difficulties of interior restoration are many. It is relatively easy to buy some seat covers and a carpet kit for even the rarest cars.
But the difficulties lie in the more unusual parts. Where do you buy a door panel for a 1957 Fiat? What about all of those molded foam panels inside of your classic German cars? No one makes them new, and the used ones you find in popular online auctions are usually high priced and of questionable reputation. As usual, the first thing you must decide is how you plan on restoring the car. Is it going to be a no-holds-barred, all-original restoration? Or are you going to have it as a daily driver that sees a lot of wear and tear? Either way, here's the path to saving money and getting better quality workmanship: find yourself an auto upholstery specialist. These people are true craftsmen, tailors for cars, if you will. They know all of the fabrics, leathers and vinyls available and can steer you in the direction of original parts or something that is cheaper, but of similar quality.
The secret is that the auto manufacturers do not make their own materials for interiors. They simply select it from material that is already available from large textile manufacturers or, on occasion, special order the material for a certain color or texture. A good auto upholsterer will know where to get all of these materials, new and old, and how to cut, trim and sew them into something that looks like it did when new from the factory. Remarkably, they are often less expensive than buying the materials already sewn into shape and installing it yourself. The vehicle in question today is a 1972 Porsche 914. Porsche purists beware, you may not like what I have done, but let's be practical. This car was originally a joint venture by Porsche and Volkswagen and in its most common four-cylinder configuration, quite slow. They are, however, fun to drive, so it is now my fun commuter car that can be taken to the track occasionally. Unfortunately, most of the interior pieces are quite expensive. The carpet and vinyl are all of the special Porsche variety, and we all know that Porsches cost more than Volkswagens.
To make matters worse, it is an open-top car that allows the direct rays of the sun to beat down unrelentingly on all its vulnerable plastics. In view of the above, here's what I've done to keep costs down, but still have a car I enjoy driving. Seats: The material used on them was originally from Porsche. It looks very much like the material used in Volkswagens. Not exactly, but it's difficult to tell the difference. They are from the same manufacturer and of the same quality, so I copied the crusty old seat covers with new Volkswagen material. I can't see it when I sit in it and it feels the same through a pair of shorts. If you are a Porsche fan, then have the upholsterer buy original material; it costs about three times more. Even so, it is still far less expensive than purchasing ready-made covers from a Porsche aftermarket supplier.