I am looking for both the front seats (left and right buckets) and rear seats for a 1931 Chevy 2-door coach (including hardware). The project I purchased is lacking its interior. hoping to find the correct seat frames and will have them re-upholstered down the road. Also looking for information or website where the upholstery kit can be purchased. I am also missing all of the dash gages, are there reproductions available if originals are not available? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Gary
Finding correct upholstery for these older classic cars is becoming more and more difficult.
Over the last few years 2 of the major sources (LeBaron Bonney and Hampton) merged to try to survive and were still not successful. There is a company SMS trying to meet that need but they are also struggling.
The core issue is the high cost to have someone reproduce these materials in such low quantities. Think about how many different patterns and colors there are just for all the models of Chevy’s built in the 30’s and 40’s. Add to that how many different makes there were in that time. Then consider the demand (customer) side of the equation. How many people are restoring a 1931 Chevy and want new upholstery?
It is not a favorable economic scenario.
SMS may have the material. They do excellent work producing interior items but are VERY slow due to being overwhelmed with orders. If they have the fabric I think it would ship fast however if they have to get it (the owner of SMS also owns a fabric production facility ) I would keep looking elsewhere as it could be a long wait. It took a year for them to get the fabric for my 51 and still after 11 months they are working to complete my order which will be two years old come March 2022. Their original quote was four months.
Actually, I used to frequent the Lebarron Bonney Hampton coach facility and was a recommended installer. They did not lack business. They didn’t only produce early chevy interiors but produced many years into the 70’s. They were always making interiors and the shipping department was always filled with boxes to ship out.
There are a couple reasons they went out. One was a new landlord increased the rent by a lot. The other, in my opinion was pore management. Won’t get into my reasoning but I do know so “inside “ information. I alone had four customers lined up for interiors at the time they closed and had just finished getting over the previous 4-6 months before they closed 3 complete interiors. I’m was just one installer. They were NOT lacking business nor were they lacking inventory as I was shown all the materials to complete a 30’ chevy interior one week before they closed the doors. The materials on their racking was quite extensive.
I bought an interior from LeBarron Bonnie in 2013. It is fantastic. Also bought carpeting from them and although not a factory item looks period and really dresses up the interior. Also the satisfaction of installing it myself. If known then they were not long for the world would have bought a spare interior kit. No eating or drinking allowed in my car.
Found the front seats, still looking for a back seat.
i am redoing the door panels and interior of my 39 2 dr sedan. if I use ABS material for the panels what size and where can I get it? can ABS be molded to form armrests for the rear panels?