VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Hampton Coach / Lebaron Bonney is Gone.

Hi Guys. I am David, who many of you have spoken to at LBB over the past several years. The rumor mill is true, they are done, Gone, kaput. First, I left the Company in September 2018, because they weren’t getting the work out. They also were not ordering what they needed to produce things. Long story short, Friday the 15th they closed for good. They owe a lot of people. I don’t know how many Chevy Guys they owe, but it’s a lot. I will tell all that I know, so if you contact me with a number, I’ll call you. It’s a sad, sad deal, because the people who made this stuff were Special.
For a company to buy them, at auction, means not much without the expertise to make all the patterns work.
I’m bummed for the Industry, and for all who are caught in the middle.
In my opinion, they were acting fraudulently for a long time. Taking deposits, in many cases 100%, and then not purchasing the Good to make. They were making purchase orders, so when I looked it appeared things were ordered. Then I found out that the PO’s were printed, but not Executed. No orders placed. Lying to both, Cam, and I everyday.
Customers would inquire, I would ask on their behalf and be told “ O about 3 weeks”, or something like that.
September 15, 2018 I demanded Scott Holbrook prove to me he ordered Leather for important orders. We argued, and he finally said “David, do you want to get paid? I said (not at the risk of the company being fraudulent!” That didn’t go over so well. He told me to go home and come back tomorrow. Well, this led to Scott Holbrook having to fire me, or show me the proof. I got fired.
As I said I would be happy to help anyone I can especially the Chevy guys, good luck to you all stuck in the middle!

the think I loved the most about my 1948 fleetline was the Hampton Coach interior. They are going to be missed.

David sorry to here what happened to you. I guess I should feel real lucky that I got everything for my 47 fleetline. Had a small problem with getting the correct trunk kit but Cam saw to it that I did. I was happy with the quality of everything.

Denny

Seems to be the new business model. Sad. I'll have to go elsewhere for material now. Glad I had held off ordering from them.

I had purchased assorted items from L B over the years for my 3 -----35 chevys. Everything was always 100% satisfactory.

The ford guys are really going to miss them with all their interior kits.

mike lynch

got my 1929 Chevrolet kit from them, Ted (Chistech) did the order and pickup. i am very happy with the quality of the interior and the installation Ted did.

i even called LB a few months back about an issue with my blinds & tassels they were very prompt to assist and provide the information i needed.

one more death in the old car hobby

Question who do we now go to for materials for our cars ??????

mike lynch

I was all set up to have my interior doe this winter on my 35. The girl that was going to do it used to work at HC and then she started her own place a few years ago. She was going to order the kit from them and do the installation. Now I don't know what I'm going to do? Do you know where they used to get their mohair from?

SMS Auto Fabrics

There are still shops that do a lot of custom work and they do not get their material from L/B. We will just have to do a little more research to find shops that can get the material. The guys that have no interior for patterns will have the biggest challenge.

This is sad news for you in the US. I will still talk to the local upholsterer about the seats and other trim in the my 38 truck.
Tony

What do you think was the primary cause of them going out of business:

a. Cost of supplies?

b. Availability of supplies?

c. Lack of skilled employees?

d. Cost of labor?

c. Mismanagement?

Does anyone know if some other company will take up the slack and start to mend whatever went wrong?

This is sad news.

Charlie

Be careful there as well. I contacted them for price and availability of seat cover fabric for my '53. The samples they sent were a different weave and $100 per yard. I used a local upholsterer when I redid the '38. He had a source for a synthetic that closely mimics mohair and wears much better.

As they say,"when you snooze you lose"!.....just another excuse for me NOT to finish my 38! Billu38

So what happened? Did they just go out of business and destroy all the patterns and burn the place down? LOL. Did someone buy them out and is going to restart a new business? Seems strange it would just end. I would imagine it would be a profitable business if done right, as it used to be.

Who might that local upholsterer be? What is the name of the fabric he used? I would like to tell the person that is going to do my car so he can order some. Do you know where your guy got the fabric from?

He's retired now and doesn't have a phone. I don't know where he got the fabric. I'd think any professional upholsterer would have access to a wide range of materials from varying suppliers. He had sample books with hundreds of fabrics & materials to leaf through. Ask around your area for good upholsters and talk with them.

It would be nice to know his source for the synthetic mohair.

David,

I have no standing whatsoever to make this suggestion but here goes:

Do whatever you can to obtain the LBB/Hampton Coach company and have a go at it.

You sound to me like someone who would manage it so that a sustaining profit is made and strengthen the company in areas that caused failure.

You seem to be the kind of guy who would demand top-notch work and take care of employees and customers.

Remember that money is just a detail and, probably, you would have little trouble obtaining the whole lock, stock and barrel.

If that is something you'd like to do, I would be amazed if you didn't succeed wonderfully.

Just make a reasonable offer to the party holding the keys.

Best wishes,

Charlie

Cabboy, I know an upholsterer in your area who does good work - friend of my brother. Located somewhere between Whitby and Port Perry. Focus is mostly antique furniture but he can do most anything and he does it because he likes it. Certainly might be useful to at least help find suitable fabric.

I hope it gets fired back up, I never bought the correct replacment trunk fabric for my 39 MD ,
or we see all the remaining contents of the company all fabrics & patterns on an episode of "STORAGE WARS"

Would be good to know him. While I am not ready to start I think I should get the fabric to have on hand. Main thing I would need is the seats sewn. All the rest I can do. The gentleman whose 1928 Durant I am re-wooding will need upholstery work done as well so he may be a good candidate if he is willing to do it. I can actually guide him if he needs.

David I'm so sorry about your situation with LBB. I was so planning on getting everything for my 38 Cabriolet from them as soon as my restorer was ready for it. I had also told him to call LBB to get the interior for the 37 he was just finishing up. I'm glad we didn't get taken by those, well I can't say how I feel about them without calling them what I want to. I hope you and Cam can find a company that will appreciate your talents.

Here is some more info on Hemming link:
Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard Holden Roadster new rebuild
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford Sedan new construction

https://www.hemmings.com/r/ct/NjE3N...les-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy/?refer=news