VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Upholstery - Interiors & Glass Uphostery

Hello USA!
Where can I purchase upholstery,seat and wall to 1937 sedan?
It must be dark blue.Are there more than one seller i USA?
Bengt From Sweden

Hampton Coach of Massachusetts (USA)
They are found all over the Internet

I purchased a Hampton Coach interior for my '38 Master 2dr. Their installation instructions are almost no help at all. My car has front bucket seats with the hard backs. There were absolutely no instructions on how to affix the hard backs to the seat. I called them and they sent me the same lame instructions with nothing on the bucket seat backs and a cryptic note saying to stitch the hardbacks on with heavy twine. That was it. I wrote them a letter asking several questions and they sent me a curved needle with a hand-drawn picture of how the stitching should look. They did not answer any of my questions. Very, very disappointing response from a company who is supposed to have a very good reputation and certainly charges premium prices. I have not tried to install any of the kit yet and now I am wondering what other problems I may run into. I understand from previous postings in this forum that they cut the material extremely close with absolutely no excess. I am not sure I would purchase another kit from them but I will reserve that decision until after I install this one. This is all my personal opinion. Beamer

Beamer's post about his interior kit is distressing. It sure re-affirms to me why I do so little restoration work myself. I have somewhere between "NO" and "very little" skill / talent / aptitude and about the same amount of patience.

Accordingly, I feel VERY fortunate that I've lived in the same place for 30 some years and have developed a very good "network" of guys who help me get things done. (Read: I watch and they do.) So here's a great big salute to a guy named Jesus (pronounced Hay-Zeus) Osorio who LEGALLY immigrated to US of A from Honduras 30 plus years ago. Jesus has done everything for me from a just the little cap on the driver's side seat of the '54 to replacing the complete interior in a '71 convertible and everything in between. He is the greatest. And a good friend too because of the quality work and the fair prices. NOT cheap; FAIR. I always pay cash and I always include a "tip." Win - Win.

As for Beamer's "problem," I have no advice. Just thankful for my own sitch.

Bill.

Actually, I do have some advice for Beamer. He's probably already thought of it, but....

I was in Rochester several times in the 1960's when I worked for Xerox and it's a fairly good sized city. Seems like there should be an upholstery shop (or several) that work on the 'old' cars. Drop by and see if you can strike up a conversation and solicit some advice. Maybe even get the guy to go out for a cup of coffee or a beer after work. Or bring (one of) them with you. You know, sorta schmooze a bit. Sometimes that works wonders!!!

Bill.

When Hampton Coach was privately owned years ago they were a great outfit! Most of their materials were correct for the application that was ordered, their instructions were good and they were just an all-around good company to deal with. But when the Ford boys (read LaBarron-Bonney) bought them out it seems like Hampton Coach has slowly been declining. From what I have been told many of their original materials are no longer available and the instructions that accompany their product are fairly vague.



:( :( :(

I have Mail Hampton coach but they dont answer me.
What can I do?
There must be more seller in USA.
Help me.

Bengt From Sweden.

I purchased a complete upholstry kit for my '41 5pass Special Deluxe coupe from Hampton Interiors. The friend that helped me restore my car helped me install the kit. It was all original material everything fit. I could not have been more satisfied with their service. If I could follow their instructions and have it turn out the way it did anyone could do it. This was in 1999 and I believe Hampton and Labarron Bonney had merged. It is a lot easier to put in a complete kit than to piece meal from local shops and probably in the long run would be as economical JIM

Benget.... Try Hampton Coach email. www.hamptoncoach.com .
They have a toll free telephone number 1-888-388-8726.
JIM

:tired: I, too, purchased a complete kit of original material. While I am not an upholsterer, I can do most things given a fairly good set of instructions and feel I can do upholstery work also. However, at the risk of repeating myself, again, there were absolutely no instructions from Hampton Coach re the front bucket seats. And again, at the risk of repeating myself, the only responses I got from them following a phone call and a letter were to stitch the hard backs to the front with twine, and they sent me a curved needle and diagram of what the stitch should look like. This leaves a multitude of questions unanswered that I will not go into as most people are not interested anyway. I will carefully take the original seat covers off, document what I do very carefully, and I am confident I can ressurect the seats to look quite good. My whole point is that Hampton Coach was less than accommodating with instructions even though I paid just under 3k for the kit and shipping. Yes, there are upholsterers in Rochester but when I have this car on the road and someone asks where did I have this or that done, I want to be able to say I did it. To me, that is what having an old car is all about - I fix it; I keep it running; I keep it looking pretty good; and I enjoy it! I do appreciate the suggestions however. Beamer

I will try it 2007.

Bengt From Sweden

So is there no other place that makes vintage kits???chef

If an alternative to Hampton is desired, we have a shop locally that carries vintage upholstery and door panels for most makes and models. Try this link: www.smsautofabrics.com

Here is another:
www.jacksupholstery.com

Not sure if they will send a pre-sewn "kit", but it might be worth inquiring through their web sites.

-Pat.

Thanks PAT!
I will Try your links.
Bengt From Sweden

Early on in this thread when I ran off at the mouth (errrr keyboard) about Jesus Osorio at Deluxe Upholstery, I should have mentioned that the material "we" used often came from Doug Pollock at SMS. I'm always pleased to "sing the praises" of Doug/SMS. I first met up with him in the late 60's (?) when he was located in Portland - off SE McLoughlin by what was then Irv Leopold Toyota. Later he moved to closer-in S.E. Portland, near 10th and Division. Larger facility. More product. Two - three years ago he moved out to Canby, OR. Likely a victim of the politicos anti-small-business mentality.

I don't suppose I could remember all of the cars I purchased material for over the years and it doesn't really matter anyway. A partial list (by year) would include 42 Chev Spl Deluxe, 54 Sport Coupe, 57 Nomad,'62 Impala Coupe, 63 Nova hardtop and so on. He ALWAYS had the ORIGINAL material in stock. And sold it for a FAIR price. Especially considering NO ONE else had it!! Of course this list doesn't include the many fellas I've "sent" to SMS for their cars.

I've mentioned SMS in other threads here in Chat. Happy to do so again. Good Guy; Good Place.

Bill.

I voiced the same complaint to Hampton Coach when I purchased a complete kit for my 48 Cabriolet a few years back. The first challenge was to confirm the kit as recd was complete. Even this was difficult based on the instructions as provided. I was able to get mine together, but did send the front seat out to a shop. There was a lot of little pieces involved in that seat, and it looked like there was some black magic involved in getting everything on / pulled even, straight, ect. A job in my estimation for a professional. It did come out very nice. I did the back seat and it came out nice too. I told them that they need to hire a couple of graphic artists and tech writers to get these instructions in order. They seemed to realize that there were issues relating to their instructions, but it's too bad that over the last few years have not done anything about it. For the kind of money they ask for these kits, the instructions should be better. For that matter the GM published shop and trim / body manuals are only margionally better. I have had the same frustration on many occasions, trying to use those manuals for various projects. Bowtie

While we're commenting on the Hampton Coach kits I can add a mixed review. The kit was fabulous and only a very little trimming of the fibreboard backing was needed to get the door panels to fit beautifully. Hey, maybe my door was out of whack!

When it came to the seats I too found the instructions lacking. I know it must be difficult to explain how much stuffing to use, but I sure could have used some help. Oh, and reinstalling the button retainers? Sure could have used a lot of help there! And the method of attaching the seat back upholstery to the bucket seat backs? Not a word in the instructions. Well, being somewhat inventive, I devised my own method and it is invisible to the eye. Only the next guy who removes the fabric will know how I attached it!

In all honesty I did contact HC and they were kind enough to forward better instructions, but even the newer ones were lacking. Lots of trial and error was needed, but just think about it...that's probably how most of us started doing mechanical work too!

Bottom line...they make a great product but for the money you'd think they could improve the instructions!

Coach

Coach, When you refer to, "...attaching the upholstery to the back of the bucket seats.", are you referring to the hard upholstered backs to the bucket seats? That was what my initial posting was mostly about. If this is what you are referring to and you worked out a satisfactory way to do it, would you mind sharing that with me? Thanks. Stuart

Sure, Stuart. Just don't 'gig' me if you ever get a chance to judge my car, ok?
Actually, the method I used is transparent on the outside. The original method of tacking the front seat cover is to stretch it over the top of the seat back and tack it to the cardboard/fiberboard that is riveted to the steel seat shell. The tack goes through the fabric, through the cardboard, and then tip of the tack bends when it hits the steel bucket. The bent tip of the tack anchors the material to the seat, like a barb on a fish hook. Problem is, in removing the original fabric and tacks the cardboard is damaged...in my case beyond repair. Working like an octopus, I pulled the fabric over the seat, drilled a hole in the seat, and secured the fabric to the frame with short sheetmetal screws. The screw head is covered by the fabric that covers the seat back.
The 'hard' upholstery that covers the seat back is sewn to the fabric that covers the seat front. I had to learn how to "blind stitch", which is basically a looped stitch through the two pieces that you tighten as you go. The seat back has 'piping' on the top edge, and you thread through the seam where the piping is sewn on. Put in a few loops loosely, then tighten a few loops back as you squeeze the back to the front. Leave yourself enough open area between the two pieces to get your needle in and out. A curved needle helps a lot when making this stitch. Also, use heavy thread that matches the color of the fabric. Be prepared for sore fingers, some blood, and perhaps a few colorful words you haven't uttered in a while. The blind stitch does not show from the outside if done properly. As I recall the stitches are to be about a half-inch apart, but mine vary quite a bit due to my inexperience.

The 'screw' idea is strictly non-stock, but the blind stitch is exactly as original. If you have the original seats, strip one at a time and use the second as a model. Be careful stripping the original fabric off the frame and note how it went together originally.

Let me know if this helps. It's difficult to describe but not too bad to do if you go slow. Remember, if you make a mistake it's only thread, not welding or painting!

Coach

Coach, Thanks for the info. I printed it out and will keep it with my other upholstery instructions. It may be late spring before I attempt to do the buckets. I haven't started the upholstery yet and I will probably do the buckets last after I have gained at least a little experience. I have never done any upholstering before so I am going to have to take it slow. Don't worry about a gig or unfavorable judging of your car from me! I am a live and let live guy! I will keep my car all original but do some things that were not original such as adding seat belts, moving the battery to under the hood, etc., but nothing radical that can not be restored. Stuart

That's the sequence I used as well. First the door panels and rear side panels, then the headliner (I thought that would be a bear but it went in super!), then the rear seat, then finally the 'buckets'. By the time I got to the buckets my fingers were pretty well bruised and sore from the tack hammer but I was gaining in confidence! I learned too late that when you think you have enough padding in the seat...add more! The replacement padding isn't as thick or plush as the original, so when I added the same number of layers of padding my seat came up a little bit 'thin'. As I suggested, keep one seat together as you do the other so you can model the buttons and the amount of padding to use.
Coach

Coach, Do you recommend getting extra padding or is the upholstery material cut to only accept what came with the kit? I am glad to hear you did not have any problems with the headliner. I know an important key is to number the support wires as they come out. Also, I heard it is a two man job. I have a good friend who has done a couple of vinyl ones but I guess the principle is the same for cloth. He said he would help me when I am ready. If I could ever get over my back problem, I would like to work on the car some. I'll be going to Florida for a week next month - maybe that will help!! Stuart

I'm really not the one to get advice from regarding the amount of padding...remember, I'm the one who screwed up his seats! I've since been told to add as much as you need or can stuff in, in order to get the right fullness. I don't know if the kit has the 'right' amount of padding or not.
I put my headliner by myself and it went in surprisingly easy. Just tack the rear of the liner at the rear window, thread the metal bars through the pockets in the headliner and then tack tightly to the header over the windshield. Gently stretch evenly to both sides and continue to tack. I guess the trick is not to pull it out of position too much. Just sneak up on your final tension and all the wrinkles will come out. If you are putting in a new wiring harness don't forget to re-wire the dome light before installing the headliner!
Coach

If the headliner is a tad loose, get a spray bottle with water and mist the headliner. When it dries it will be taut. Only a light mist, not sopping wet.

Thanks for the tips, Coach. I printed them out for future reference. Yes, I am putting in all new wiring including the dome light. As for Antique Mechanics tip on the light water mist, I am aware of that but thanks anyway. I need all the help I can get. I did move most of the upholstered parts to my warm basement yesterday so hopefully in the next few days, I can begin the actual work. It will be much easier thanks to all the help I have received from this site. I will probably be looking for more specifics as I run into the "weird" stuff. Stuart