No turning back now

sixpkrt · Jan 15, 2018

After weighing the costly options of re-doing the buckets with the re-pos from Legendary, not to mention they are the wrong pattern for the Imperial, I decided to have them professionally done by an auto-upholsterer while the car is hibernating until next spring.
So that the leather could be matched, a big ole piece of leather was cut out of my seat for the sample.

cm23uoc · Jan 15, 2018

One of the important things to me is the proper Patterns for seats , Panels or carpets, I'd rather sit on the original rags than on wrong reproductions.

LocuMob · Jan 15, 2018

The first step. Be strong my brother, and your patience will be rewarded.

sixpkrt · Jan 18, 2018

Got a call from the upholsterer this morning letting me know he placed the order for the leather, and that he should have it in 4/5 days. So I thought I better get going on my end, and get those buckets out of the Imperial. BTW Mopars have the easiest seats to remove...4 nuts...done.
After getting the drivers side out, I finally found it......SCORE!!!

70NEWYORKER · Jan 18, 2018

Nice find! and the same thrill as solving one of those rubiks cubes if you can get it out in one piece.

Zymurgy · Jan 18, 2018

One of the best things I did was hire an upholstery shop to do my interior. He did a great job reproducing the same look.

sixpkrt · Jan 20, 2018

70NEWYORKER said:
Nice find! and the same thrill as solving one of those rubiks cubes if you can get it out in one piece.

The build sheet came out in one piece even though it was slightly torn before being removed. I plan on getting this laminated for safe keeping.

sixpkrt · Jan 20, 2018

Now just waiting on the call from upholsterer when the material arrives.
One project done for the day....

70NEWYORKER · Jan 20, 2018

sixpkrt said:
The build sheet came out in one piece even though it was slightly torn before being removed. I plan on getting this laminated for safe keeping.View attachment 163570

Don't laminate it. Get a good color scan of it and put original in one of those 3 ring binder vinyl sleeves. I'll see if I can find a pic of one and post it here. If something goes wrong during the laminating your screwed.

Xenon · Jan 25, 2018

Woowww,, wayyyy c00l sixpkrt....
Now clean that damn carpet....
Maybe a dye it to make it look new again....
Anxious to see the seats when done....

sixpkrt · Jan 25, 2018

Any product name recommendation for the dye? Never did this before.

oliver · Jan 25, 2018

sixpkrt said:
Now just waiting on the call from upholsterer when the material arrives.
One project done for the day....
View attachment 163572 View attachment 163573 View attachment 163574

Gorgeous car!!

1978 NYB · Jan 25, 2018

Very nice looking car!

72Fury · Jan 25, 2018

Did you try any leather products like leatherique, first? They look pretty decent.

sixpkrt · Jan 25, 2018

Not sure about applying Leatherique to carpeting. The buckets will be getting re-upholstered in leather when the material arrives. The back seat and buddy seat are in great condition.
The carpeting may need to be spruced up before the seats go back in, but I may leave the carpet as it is and just clean it using a carpet cleaner rental from Wallyworld.

sixpkrt · Feb 13, 2018

Picking up from where we left off on this thread, yesterday the upholsterer called to let me know the seats for the Imperial were done, and we made plans to meet today at his shop to pick them up.
When I first saw the finished product, I knew I made the right decision to have a professional with the skills and craftsmanship do the job.
The upholsterer, Bruce, takes pride in his work, loves what he does, and gave me a detailed description of just about everything he did while working on the buckets, from the grade of leather used, the fabric used under the leather, even the stitching twine he used.
They'll be back in the Imperial just as soon as I shampoo the interior carpet and do a few other odds & ends while they're out of the car.
BTW, I invited Bruce to the FCBO event on June 23rd in Volo. He said he'll definitely be there. He's very familiar with Volo, as he has done work on cars at the museum too.
Here are the before and after pics....