Hello

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

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.

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

That type of material was called "leatherette".

Thank you for your help!

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

Tom
Thank you very much
Fantastic help
Regards
Fernando

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

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

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

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

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

Can you still purchase leatherette upholstery material anywhere

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

Wow. Thanks. This gives me a starting point. Thank You!

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

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

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

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.