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Things to consider before restoring the interior of your classic car

11/25/2017

7 Comments

 

9 Tips Before You Begin an Upholstery Restoration Project

​When you think of a classic restoration, your mind may instantly go to the exterior. However, the interior is just as serious as an undertaking. Take a realistic approach to the project of restoring your classic car. In other words, take your time, shop around, do research and prepare a realistic budget. Keep in mind that you can find original factory specification, and photographs for guidance. Or have some fun hunting down the perfect parts, and accessories. If you don’t have that kind of time, or the patience, let your auto restoration specialist help you. It is important to remember that very few things go as easy as you assume it will go, to help yourself ,making plan is the best approach.

Here is a list of a few things you should consider before you start restoring the interior of your classic car.

Educate

​Learn all you can about the classic car you are about to restore. If you don’t know a personal auto enthusiast who can help, don’t be afraid to search the internet, books, magazines, or even seek a professional to help steer your project in the right direction. What are you trying to learn about? Learn about anything, and everything that could possibly help you with the restoration of the car of your dreams. For example, look at vintage ads, photobooks, and classic portfolio, anything that may help inspire the authenticity of your restauration. By learning all about your vehicle, it will help you realize what you want your restoration to be like, and the spirt you want your completed classic car to have.

​Hobby vs. Everyday

​Before you begin consider whether this auto restoration vehicle is for a hobby car, or for your main form of transportation. Restoring anything takes a lot of time and money, so you want to make sure that your goal and intentions are clear from the beginning. The upholstery for a hobby or an everyday car will be very different depending on what your needs.

​Set A Budget

​Find out how much your interior replacements will cost, and add a little wiggle room for unexpected fixes. However, once you set your budget, it should be a solid figure, commit to yourself, and don’t exceed it.

Get a Professional Detailing

​While you may think you can handle buffing, and polishing the finishes, you’d be amazed at the magic that professional detailers can reveal. You may realize that certain items, you thought would need replacing, now look good as new.

​Take Stock

​Do a thorough inspection of the vehicle, scrutinizing each section. Take note of the conditions of each interior body part, and electrical.

Get Estimates

​Your project will undoubtedly need the help of a professional at some point. A professional will save you time, and money because they will complete tasks the right way, the first time. With your own best interests at heart, make a detailed list of all the items you will want to get done by a professional, and get quotes. You can use this information so you can properly form a budget. Remember to honor yourself, and stick to your budget. 

Prepare a Work Schedule

​To avoid getting overwhelmedmake a detailed schedule of all the tasks you will complete, and when. This not only will help you keep a level head, it will also encourage you to stay on track, and have your classic restoration completed in no time.  

Organize

​Once you have a detailed idea of what elements this restoration will involve. Regardless of the extreme or slight level or tear down, document all the parts that need to be repaired or replaced. Don’t be shy, take photographs, detailed notes, and index items as you disassemble. Your detailed list will be your life line, when you are ordering parts, and plan to use the list again when you reassemblein the same order as your notes. 

Select a Pro

​Let’s say you’ve already painted the body, a unique color that you forget the name of, and the classic photo indicates intricate needle work on the upholstery. A restoration specialist will be able to help you make sure your entire restoration design is harmonious from the inside out. They also have their own tools. I’m not just talking about tools to properly restore your vehicle. But tools in locating original vehicles specifications, finding matching parts. A restoration shop also has standards to uphold, that means that your restoration must live up to their standards, making sure that your classic car is in capable professional hands.
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7 Comments
Jordan link
6/18/2018 12:51:06 pm

I've been wanting to get some custom stitching done in my car, and I think that knowing how to go about finding the right services would be helpful. I like that you talked about how you should prepare a work schedule for custom stitching, which was something that I hadn't really considered. I'm going to have to talk with a few custom stitching options and see what we can find!

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Randy Chorvack link
7/25/2019 09:32:22 am

I like how you said the upholstery for a hobby or an everyday car will be different. A hobby car is less likely to be used every day but it looks really nice. An everyday car will need to be durable and able to withstand the wear and tear of being used daily.

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Taylor Bishop link
8/15/2019 12:06:43 pm

I wanted to thank you for these tips before you reupholster a classic car. I like that you said to learn all you can about the classic car first because it can help you figure out what the restoration should be like. This also seems like it could help you understand how you can keep the car in good condition, before and even after the reupholstering.

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Fay link
6/15/2020 09:09:36 am

Thank you for explaining that you need to form a budget when you are looking to restore a car and then you can stick to it and honor yourself. My mom said the other day that my dad has been looking for a 1978 Trans AM dash pad for a project he has been working on. He has always loved working on cars and now that he has the time, he needs the right tools and parts to accomplish this.

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Bob link
7/22/2020 04:12:01 pm

I appreciate what you said about replacing torn sections. My car has big scratch marks on the upholstery from my cat. I need to have the sections fixed so that I can sell the car to my cousin.

Reply
kate hansen link
9/30/2020 02:28:59 pm

I loved how you suggested taking photographs of what needs to be repaired and replaced. My dad recently got a vintage car a couple of weeks ago, and he wants to take it to a place that can rebuild it for him, and he wants to make sure that he does everything right. I'll make sure to pass this information along to him once he finds a rebuilding service that can help him.

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Taylor Hicken link
10/1/2020 11:12:21 pm

You made a good point when you mentioned that seeking for professionals' help is a wise decision in order to make your antique car's design successful. My father just purchased this vintage car from his friend but he's quite unhappy with the interior of it. I will suggest him to find a professional upholstery service that can turn the vehicle the way he wants it to be.

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