SMS lead time

I am happy to report that the SMS V1Y headliner for my 1972 NYB, Buttercup, came in today and that it fits. See details here. It shipped on March 2, 10 weeks after the initial order was placed. Given that Christmas and New Year fell in that period, I am a happy camper.

PS: The two SMS employees with whom I communicated were helpful and had a sense of humor. Great experience overall -- it was my first but won't be my last.
 
I am happy to report that the SMS V1Y headliner for my 1972 NYB, Buttercup, came in today and that it fits. See details here. It shipped on March 2, 10 weeks after the initial order was placed. Given that Christmas and New Year fell in that period, I am a happy camper.

PS: The two SMS employees with whom I communicated were helpful and had a sense of humor. Great experience overall -- it was my first but won't be my last.

That might be a record!

Short wait time and the right top the first time!
 
That might be a record! Short wait time and the right top the first time!

I may have been lucky, or SMS may have changed their approach (as another great example, I got the vinyl material for Buttercup's seats in just a couple of weeks). Regardless, @73Coupe deserves most of the credit for my good fortune as he shared with me the drawings of his own top and allowed me to send them to SMS and to mention his name and fit problems in order to alert the person taking the order (Kim, I believe) to the fact that his own order had been messed up twice.

At this stage, my guess is that anyone who might be interested in an SMS vinyl top for a 1972 or 1973 NYer/NYB 2dr-hardtop can hopefully benefit from this thread and our posts, and get it right quickly and the first time -- @oliver @73Gold @Shelbyz08 may be interested in this piece of news.

If (I am not sure, but I think so) the 1972 and 1973 Newport 2dr hardtops share the same roof lines and vinyl tops as the New Yorkers, then this correct/speedy delivery should also be good news for @MattfromMaine and @ricks_RR (although I am not sure that Rick's green top needs redone).
 
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Last April SMS sent out an email to previous buyers announcing a decent discount on a purchase. I knew what I needed and sent a reply wanting to order some material for the seat bottom in my Cougar. The discount was for like 60 days I believe. Never heard from again till November when they emailed me and asked if I still wanted the material at the discount. Sure, and it arrived in January. Now sitting in the garage as my guy is a bit busy at the moment and this isn't a priority since the seat bottom seams split back in 1974.
 
SMS is indeed slow, but they are not the only interior / exterior soft goods place that can screw up an order. Few years ago, I ordered a vinyl top for my 71 Gran Coupe. I didn't want to go with old, possibly rotted paisley for the top, but did get vinyl paisley seat material from SMS rather quickly.
I ordered a black top from Legendary, and received a nice black top for a semi-fast-back, convex rear window Fury. Problem is that my top is a formal, concave rear window, and that info was sent in with the order. Legendary asked me to take pictures of the top, laid on the car to see what was out-of-whack. I did so, and they sent another top along, which was closer, but not right. Took a couple tries, but they finally got the right cut and then added the new cut formal vinyl top dimensions to their inventory.
I asked if they wanted the original (convex) top back, and they said to keep it, which I still have in a box in my basement. So, if anyone needs a top for a 69-71 Fury with the normal rear window (non-formal), I can make you a great deal...
 
Last April SMS sent out an email to previous buyers announcing a decent discount on a purchase. I knew what I needed and sent a reply wanting to order some material for the seat bottom in my Cougar. The discount was for like 60 days I believe. Never heard from again till November when they emailed me and asked if I still wanted the material at the discount. Sure, and it arrived in January. Now sitting in the garage as my guy is a bit busy at the moment and this isn't a priority since the seat bottom seams split back in 1974.
Yeah. I ordered my carpet from them during that sale. I sent them a request for interior sample swatches for my car. Silence. No acknowledgment of my request. Samples with price quotes showed up about two weeks later. I only bought the carpets and received them in decent time directly from ACC. I did speak with a very pleasant Kim on the phone at one point to confirm they got my order. I’ve found that works better than e-mails.
My take is that SMS is rather shorthanded and not real tech savy but do a great job on those embossed interior door panels and seats.
 
Within the last 18 months I ordered a headliner and seat material for my 65 Fury I cop car. They told me a few weeks. Headliner came as they promised and the seat material only took 12 more months......... But I got it and it was worth the wait!
 
I am happy to report that the SMS V1Y headliner for my 1972 NYB, Buttercup, came in today and that it fits. See details here. It shipped on March 2, 10 weeks after the initial order was placed. Given that Christmas and New Year fell in that period, I am a happy camper.

I mistyped 11 months ago -- what I received was the V1Y vinyl top, not the headliner. Fact is, I've been waiting for the latter since December 2020. I just got an email yesterday announcing that it would ship next week. 15 months after the order was placed, Buttercup and I are looking forward to finally receiving it.
 
Just in case someone is watching this string. I have a set of 1968 Newport Convertible door panel at SDS since July 2019 that still haven't been completed or returned. They have cited various reasons for this delay including COVID-19 manpower shortages, etc. The latest email sent was late 2021 with a change in responsibility on tracking orders at SDS. So far nothing more from them. I shipped the panels as they requested in 2019 to start the panels work all fees were prepaid. So far my car sits with no interior door or quarter panels.
 
Has anyone ordered a vinyl top from Legendary?

I was looking on their site and they offer tops for C-bodies. So I requested samples and got them within a week's time....

I'm going to eventually need a new top on this '71, but no way in hell I ever want to deal with the jamokes at SMS again....

Legendary Samples.jpg
 
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Has anyone ordered a vinyl top from Legendary?

I was looking on their site and they offer tops for C-bodies. So I requested samples and got them within a week's time....

I'm going to eventually need a new top on this '71, but no way in hell I ever want to deal with the jamokes at SMS again after that debacle....

View attachment 548606

I ordered the vinyl top for the Newport from Dante's. He had it in stock and it shipped quickly. Great guy too. This was 4 years ago though so YMMV

 
Has anyone ordered a vinyl top from Legendary?

I was looking on their site and they offer tops for C-bodies. So I requested samples and got them within a week's time....

I'm going to eventually need a new top on this '71, but no way in hell I ever want to deal with the jamokes at SMS again after that debacle....

View attachment 548606
Legendary has a pretty good rep.

The last thing I bought from them was a convertible boot and that was last year. The wait time was long, 3 months (IIRC) but they delivered within a week of estimate so I really can't complain. They were upfront about having to wait...
 
same. i ordered a seat cover. they told me up front that it would be 3-4 months due to covid issues. had it on my doorstep in 3 months and a week. very good customer support too.
 
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