The 'Stuff I Build' thread. Or...the 'Why I don't have a build thread', thread.

[92GMC]

Badass work man! I've gotta Learn how to do some stuff. Pm me if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you.

 

[JAW's]

Great Work Man. Too bad I didn't have the cash to send you my interior and have you unleash your badass skill onto my canvas!

 

[superdave]

Beautiful and thanks for sharing.

 

[sewlow]

So what does it cost to do work like that, I have been thinking about getting my seats done in my truck down the line.

I charge $60.00/hr. Just to give you an idea how long a job takes, the seats & console for my truck took 40 hours. But that includes a redesign of the seats where the color change is. It may look like a simple change, but the redesign required a total change in the sewing procedure. I had to make the 2 colored pieces separate from each other, then sew the top to the bottom while still getting all the seams to line up. That's not how the factory did it. The console probably took around 10 hours itself.
So without the redesign, & not including the console, the seats are in the 20-24 hour range. That works out to the $1200.00-$1500.00 range. For that $$$, I'll include the vinyl. For leather, that'll cost ya over & above.

Gorgeous work, you obviously put time and care into it.

I replaced my Mustang's convertible top myself but now I'm hoping to redo all the seats (a bit more challenging I know...). Any suggestions on where to buy materials like leather or cloth for seats? I've found some pricey options online, just curious if you recommend any place in particular.

Most of my suppliers are local. Between the 4 around here, I can get any color, texture, or print in vinyl or cloth. Leather is not their forte. The closest/best supplier of that to me is a company called 'Spinneybeck'. They're just across the border from me in Washington state. They're the co. that supplied the leather for quite a few of the aircraft I've worked on. THE finest Scottish leather! They specialize in aircraft leather & fabrics. Not something that would be used in a vehicle, due to the prohibitive costs of the supplied paper work for the burn test certifications. But they have leather for vehicles. Not the cheapest by any means. But, you get what you pay for. With the hides they sell, the waste (which can be quite a bit with leather) is minimal. The hides are damn near perfect & have few flaws which helps to cut down the waste. Why do I prefer hides from Northern Europe? They cattle is raised specifically for their hides. And Europe doesn't use barbed wire nor do they brand the livestock. That's a North American cowboy thing. N. Europe is still using the same fences that the Romans built outa stone.
PM me, & I'll send you a list of other leather/upholstery suppliers.

Badass work man! I've gotta Learn how to do some stuff. Pm me if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you.

NP! I'll get back to you today sometime.

Beautiful and thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

 

[sewlow]

O.K. Photobucket decided to work for me.
This is one of my Dad's cars. A '52 Chevy hardtop. He bought it brand new when he was 18! I grew up in the backseat! Through the mid-60's to the late '70's, it was his winter beater. An absolutely unstoppable tank in the snow! In the late '90's, after sitting for many years, Dad decided to restore it. The beginning of the nightmare. The resto was to take 3 years. In 5 years, it had gone to 3 different body men. The first guy had the car for 2 years. For the $2500.00 that the ole man gave him, all he had done was take off the front bumper, & remove the front windshield in that time. The second guy was supposed to femove the body from the frame & fab new body mounts. All he did in a year was to wrap the old body mounts in tin, then give 'em a coat of bedliner. (Like the ole man wouldn't notice that!) Body man #3 was the right guy, but it still took him over 2 years to finish the job. It then took me & Dad another 2 years for the final assembly. We rebuilt the engine, trans, & the rear-end during that time. Completely re-wired from front to back. I took on the job of polishing all the stainless. A bigger job than what I figured! As you check out the pix, look at all the stainless this thing is wearing! All this time that the car was being restored, Dad always said, "It's just a driver! It'll never be judged!" My opinion was, "Dad, how many times are we gonna restore this? Let's do it once. Let's do it right!" Don't know how many times I had to slap him upside the head with that before he got it! But, it was worth it! In 2011, The Vintage Car Club of Canada, voted it the best newly restored car in Canada for that year! But it ended up costing the ole man about 2X as much as what the car is actually worth!

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The door panels had been done before. And done wrong! There's supposed to be pleats in them. But where? Over a 1 year period, I searched out & hunted down several other '52 Chevy hardtops just to get some pix & measurements of original door panels. Not a lot of those around, let alone the few that had original door panels. That grumpy old guy said I was wasting my time. But I did manage to track down an unmolested set! Just for the measurements. 3 hours away in a car that was just days away from being sent to the crusher.

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The visor mounts had to be fabbed outa stainless. Only sedans came with the visors from the factory. Their roofline is wider across the windshield.

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[sewlow]

'71 Challenger Convertible. Yea...It's got a Hemi! And (OMFG!!!) a stickshift! I'm a Chevy guy, but DAMN!
This top came out perfect! It had to be! This is a $150,000.00-$200,000.00 car!

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Num-num-num!!!

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Love the stripe!

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[RyanMerrick]

I charge $60.00/hr. Just to give you an idea how long a job takes, the seats & console for my truck took 40 hours. But that includes a redesign of the seats where the color change is. It may look like a simple change, but the redesign required a total change in the sewing procedure. I had to make the 2 colored pieces separate from each other, then sew the top to the bottom while still getting all the seams to line up. That's not how the factory did it. The console probably took around 10 hours itself.
So without the redesign, & not including the console, the seats are in the 20-24 hour range. That works out to the $1200.00-$1500.00 range. For that $$$, I'll include the vinyl. For leather, that'll cost ya over & above.



Most of my suppliers are local. Between the 4 around here, I can get any color, texture, or print in vinyl or cloth. Leather is not their forte. The closest/best supplier of that to me is a company called 'Spinneybeck'. They're just across the border from me in Washington state. They're the co. that supplied the leather for quite a few of the aircraft I've worked on. THE finest Scottish leather! They specialize in aircraft leather & fabrics. Not something that would be used in a vehicle, due to the prohibitive costs of the supplied paper work for the burn test certifications. But they have leather for vehicles. Not the cheapest by any means. But, you get what you pay for. With the hides they sell, the waste (which can be quite a bit with leather) is minimal. The hides are damn near perfect & have few flaws which helps to cut down the waste. Why do I prefer hides from Northern Europe? They cattle is raised specifically for their hides. And Europe doesn't use barbed wire nor do they brand the livestock. That's a North American cowboy thing. N. Europe is still using the same fences that the Romans built outa stone.
PM me, & I'll send you a list of other leather/upholstery suppliers.



NP! I'll get back to you today sometime.



Thanks!

Thanks for the info!

 

[92GMC]

Your mailbox is full

 

[sewlow]

Your mailbox is full

Ooops! Thanks!

 

[sewlow]

Couple more bike seats. I like doing these. One of the first things I started doing. They're small, so it's just bench work. No crawling around inside vehicles. Way lighter than an electric bench seat!

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