VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Shock Cord for Upholstery?

We (Wife & I) are installing the Hampton Upholstery on my '34. We have the seat done and are ready to install the buttons which attach to a "shock cord" Evidently that is an elastic cord that puts tension on the twine attached to the buttons. Could someone give me a quick lesson on a shock cord and an idea where it could be purchased? None came with the Hampton Kit.

If I remember correctly my 1934 Hampton kit from about 1985 came with metal wires or hooks for this use.

My wife sent me up to Dick's Sporting Goods where they had shock cord for repairing tents. It looks awfully small (diameter) to me but she assures me it will work so we are back in production again.
I guess if it doesn't work, all we have to do is remove the seat from the car and do it over. Seems like Hampton ought to have included it with the kit.

Thanks for the reply!

I got my HC kit about 20 years ago and as I recall it did not include anything to attach the buttons to the frame. I tried to reuse the original wire loops but they are very brittle and broke easily. I used a combination of braided wire and some of the original hardware and it worked pretty well but not great. If I had to do it again I would check with a local upholstery shop to see what materials they use.

Well, as always, my wife was right. The shock cords from Dick's worked fine. We pulled the buttons down as tight as we wanted and there is still some tension on the strings which should keep the buttons from ever getting loose.