There's a couple of Carpet guys that seem to actually make the parts (seats, door panels, headliners, etc.) with the original fabrics! http://www.smsautofabrics.com/ http://www.stockinteriors.com/ If I have to have Vinyl, I love Naugahyde (check out their cleaning instructions, too.) http://www.naugahyde.com/ Automotive fabrics are different from home fabrics, but if you don't have a choice, use 3M's Fabric/Carpet conditioners. They'll help preserve the colors. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...tomotive/Do-It-Yourself/Upholstery_Protector/ J.C. Whitney carry some carpet lines for later years (mid-70's & up). Their carpet page gives some names of manufacturers too: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Browse/tf-Browse/s-10101/N-111+10201+600001430/c-10101 I raised this because I was having a hard time finding Automotive Velour, until I got a good interior from an 82 Zephyr sedan. I just have to adjust the sedan back seat backrest to the Wagon's drop-down seat frame (a bit of stitching.) It turns out that Dupont was the main supplier back in my car's day, but they've moved on to 'molded' velour structures. Most new cars are using seats with upholstery that is applied when the seat foam is injected like this: http://www.naugahyde.com/productline.asp?pctg=8&id=37 This is the Auto Interiors trade show guide (starts tomorrow in Detroit), the only one that makes its own seats is Mercedes in 2007, the others shop it out. http://www.autointeriors.com/autointeriors07/public/enter.aspx Or you could use these dyes: http://colorbondtuner.com/index.html?PHPSESSID=6659087903603b6b375aa94f59a3ef63
A little off supject but did you find a "build sheet" during your teardown? I haven't found one in mine at all. Some manufacturers would put them under the rear seats or sometimes glued to the top of the fuel tank. There didn't seem to be a standard spot. Steve
I forgot one link. SEM make a good vinyl dye product that you can use on door panels and the carpeting. Its about $13.00 per can in Canada, but you need to use their plastic prep / cleaner or soap as well for the vinyl and a quality Carpet Steam cleaner product before you do the carpets. My door panels and the tailgate have carpeting, as does the cargo floor, so it costs a few buckaroons. http://www.sem.ws/ If you clean the interior metal trim with their soap, this same paint (rattle can only) will also work well (couple of coats). It comes out as a flat - almost satin finish, but you can use a clearcoat satin or gloss on top, for the metal parts, not the vinyl - it will buff up to a soft sheen with time and cleaning. Its good stuff. I did the headliner as well, because Mexican Fairmont wagons use the oldstyle hoops, so I couldn't get replacements. It had a couple of small cuts that I repaired with Tear Mender Adhesive (Canadian Tire - camping gear section) about $8.00 CDN$. The site has US distributor links. http://www.tearmender.com/ If you want to try upholstery, look here at the bottom of the page (Automotive): http://www.upholster.com/howto/ Hoop headliner installation: http://www.autorestorer.com/articles/art121.html http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38449&showall=1 Custom consoles (DIY): http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/CustomInteriorPieces.htm Custom instrument clusters: http://jr.rustecat.com/articles/cluster/ Automotive Fabric samples (helps to visualize what combines together): http://www.perfectfit.com/dept.asp?d_id=15994&l1=15994 We're visual animals, so it helps to whet the appetite for optional ideas.
I do have one outstanding issue though. My reclining seats each have an armrest that moves with the seat and swings up out of the way if you want to put some bag or something in between the seats. Well they were covered with a molded vinyl covering, probably like that Vacuum-formed Naugahyde. They were in really sad shape, so I used an X-Acto and peeled them off intact from the plastic frame, and put new vinyl on. The corners have a 1/4" radius - too tight for a sewn seam. So I decided I'd glue the strips (top and 2 sides for each armrest) and then fill or cover the seams or try to weld them (hot iron). The iron doesn't work; I did a test piece. I'm thinking of using PVC pipe glue, since it is vinyl glue, and then using the PVC cleaner to smooth out any bumps. I'm going to spray them with the SEM 'paint/dye', so silicone is out. So if anyone has a recommendation it would be appreciated. I'll test the PVC glue tomorrow (it's raining for two days) and see if it's paintable. It should be, since a lot of basements have those drain pipes painted with plain old latex.
Making a new Headliner I don't recall where I downloaded this from but its the complete instructions for rebuilding a 'wire-hoop' type headliner for a long roof. My Mexican Fairmont wagon didn't come with the foam type, so before I removed I looked for what's involved to make a new one from whatever I could salvage. I was lucky that mine came off intact, but other's may want to download and print these 3 pages. Its generic enough for any car brand. Hope it helps.
hey bubba dont forget just dashes,,,they are in sunny california,,they specialize in all those molded plastic dashes,, door panels and all that funky hard to find and repair stuff you cant get anymore,,,,,justdashes.com
I came across this link at another forums for GM cars and trucks they carry a lot of hard to find interior parts for late models cars. http://www.gm-car-parts.com/ http://www.vintageparts.org/index.php
For those who are going to tune up their interiors or dashes, 80Cutlass hit it on the nail! I lost all my links when my old harddrive died in January, and my CD burning software was no longer installable on XP, so my backups were toast too. Anyway, be patient and watch the intro. Then hold on for the nice range of stuff these guys do: http://www.justdashes.com If you don't 'like to watch', click here instead. Watching's good. http://www.justdashes.com/Index.htm
Great links mah man, very helpful!!! I got 4 different cans of vinyl paints SEM was the best. Now if I can just find where I put my dash board :banghead3: