Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks



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Joined: Nov 2010
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Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
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Hello

I am starting the upholstery, and my first problem is what should I use. Vinyl or leather.
Can you help?
Thank you.
Fernando



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Looks like nobody is going to answer, so I will say if leather was original go with that. I don't think it will be driven in the rain much anyway.

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Backyard Mechanic
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The original upholstery material was not leather.
I don't know the name for the material but it seems to be a cloth with a shiny black coating.
I'll try to get pictures to post in the next day or so. Tom

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That type of material was called "leatherette".

laugh wink beer2


The Mangy Old Mutt

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Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
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Thank you for your help!

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Backyard Mechanic
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If you are wondering about the original look of the leatherette, here are some pictures of the upholstery material from my 1926 Superior touring car.
Tom

Attached Images
P1080135R.jpg P1080137R.jpg P1080138R.jpg
Last edited by Headlighter; 10/09/18 07:36 PM.
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Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
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Tom
Thank you very much
Fantastic help
Regards
Fernando

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Backyard Mechanic
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Thanks for sharing the pictures. This helps show how the upholstery was sewn as well.


Chris
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Shade Tree Mechanic
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Did you have existing seat springs or did you buy them somewhere? Am starting my 25 Superior K touring. Has same body as your 26. Could use some help sourcing the seat springs. Thanks, Eric in Reno, NV


Rusty Junk
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The seat springs that I have in my '26 touring are original to the car. I was able to use them with only minor repairs.
Let me know if you need dimensions or pictures. Tom

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Yes, if you can give me the dimensions and corner radius size I can make my own. Are the seats mounted on plywood, then clipped into seat supports? I don't have anything to look at, so I am in the dark on how it mounts. Thanks for the help. Eric in Reno


Rusty Junk
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The seats are simple wire frames and coils.

The rear springs are attached to the structural body wood and the upholstery is fixed in place over them while the seat bottoms just sit on the wooden seat bases. The only interior storage is under the seats so the bottoms are easily removed for access.

Attached are pictures of the wood structure and seat springs for your reference. The backs are have curved tops to fit to the tub contours and I can't measure them since they are covered by upholstery. I can't measure the seat bottoms until next Wednesday (13th) and will send the dimensions then.

Tom

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1 Front seat bottom.jpg 2 Overview.jpg 3 Rear seat springs.jpg 4 Front seat springs.jpg 5 Seat back upholstery.jpg
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Shade Tree Mechanic
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Can you still purchase leatherette upholstery material anywhere

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Here are the dimensions for the seat bottom springs on a 1926 touring car as near as I can tell (they are upholstered now). These are the dimensions at the base and there is a slight overhang at the top (seating) surface.

Front seat bottom:
36 inch wide at rear, 37 inch wide at front
1.75 inch radius at front corners, 3 inch radius at rear corners
6 inch high at front and 5 inch high at rear

Rear seat bottom:
43.5 inch wide at rear, 44 inch wide at front
1.75 inch radius at front corners, 3 inch radius at rear corners
7 inch high at front and 5 inch high at rear

Note that the frames for the seat bottoms (part of the structural body wood) are not parallel to the floor. This is most noticeable on the front seat base which is higher at the front than the rear.

Hope this helps. Tom

Attached Images
P1090400C.jpg
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Wow. Thanks. This gives me a starting point. Thank You!


Rusty Junk
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Tom, Can you send me some pictures of the convertible top mechanism? I see bits and pieces for sale but don't know if they are right for my 25 touring superior K. If you have time, please send to: eericcf@netzero.net Thanks, Eric in Nevada


Rusty Junk
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Here ares some pictures of the top irons. Thought i would share them here as they might be of interest to others also.

The round eyes on long tubes are attached to the pivot studs in the body tub. The other parts (front and back sides in two pictures) that mount to them are riveted together. I fabricated replacements for the long tubes on mine as they were in poor condition. Fortunately, the other parts were in good shape. They would be quite hard to make from scratch. Tom

Attached Images
P1090189C.jpg P1010481C.jpg P1010482C.jpg P1010483C.jpg
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Wow! I had no idea they were so intricate. I don't know if I'll ever find a complete set for my 25 touring. Don't even know where to start searching. It's a sure bet I won't be making my own. Thanks for pics. People have been trying to sell me bits and pieces, but they don't look anything like this. Thanks for saving me a lot of grief thinking I had purchased the right parts. Guess I'll be searching for quite a while. Thanks again, Eric in Reno, NV


Rusty Junk
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My 37 p/u has a seat made with similar springs and I think the 47 to 54s were similar so one could possibly cut one down to size to fit a 20s.


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