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

[lester622]

You do some very nice work, I wish you where closer to me I would have you doing the interior for my 68 Camaro. Interior guys that know what there doing are actually do quality work are few and far between

 

[sewlow]

Continentals. Not Lincolns. From '58-'60 these were a separate vehicle from the Lincoln line.
'58's were the best design IMO. After the '58's, Ford watered down the design.
This is a '58. \/.

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A '60. Same owner.

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These are the door panels that were in the car. Actually still on the doors! Like this! The rest of the parts for the doors, & most of the rest of the interior was in the trunk, in basically the same condition, or scattered through out the various boxes that were in the box of a '40's IH that was bought at the same time.

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Stainless polished & new leather for the armrests. Test fit. Still have some smaller parts to paint black.

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Passenger D/P.

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And repeat.

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Test.

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Rear interior 1/4's. Before.

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After.

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When I do resto's, I've been told that I'm slow. (*****, *****, *****. Wawa-waaaa! Shadup! Just wait for it!)
This is why it's take so long. This is why that time is worth it. Everything is bagged & tagged, labeled, recorded & catalogued.
The time I spend doing that makes the assembly so much easier. Any customer that shows up with EVERY screw & fastener for the whole interior in a coffee can gets charged $$$! Taking stuff apart before bringing it to me is NOT saving them money!
I spend a lot of time making sure the final result is as close to perfect as I can possibly get it.
I go to sleep with numbers & measurements bouncing around in my head!

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Yea, the corner closest to you got remedied. Door panel hardware was still at the platers.

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KInda hard to see in this pic, but check how the seams/pleats, in the seats, line up with the arm rest & the 1/4 panel seam/pleat.
Door panel carpet to 1/4 panel carpet.

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Top too. 2X! Mechanic working on the top switches, left a screwdriver in the top well somewhere. The rear window not only goes up & down when lowering the top, but there's a center section that can go up & down separately from the top being raised/lowered.
THAT's what got broken! The screwdriver was in the track on top of the switch. When the window went down to lower the top, the switch was triggered too soon. Things got seriously messed up after that. Mechanic (old, old fart!) couldn't get it to stop. By the time he got to the battery, the window had shattered, the window frame twisted, & the top shredded. Good thing that that wasn't my screwdriver they found in there!
Where the hell do you find parts like that? Not a lot were built in the first place.
Took them 6 months before it was all back together.
These guys send me a lot of work. This was one of their customer's cars. All the top damages came outa their pockets. None of this had anything to do with me. I told them to buy a top. And beer. With their help, we had the top done in a Sunday afternoon.

 

[sewlow]

You do some very nice work, I wish you where closer to me I would have you doing the interior for my 68 Camaro. Interior guys that know what there doing are actually do quality work are few and far between

Thanks!

 

[sewlow]

'28 Model A RPU. (Roadster Pick-up)
Right top, right car. Wrong top frame! For time I spent modding the top to fit, it woulda been cheaper to have me make one from scratch.

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New straps.

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Pads & Rear window on.

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Outer pieces on. The wrinkle on the right will come out.

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[Chris.G.Jr.]

Nice work! Makes me think about just vinyling my esky console or wrap it in fabric instead of finding colormatch paint or dye!

 

[sewlow]

The hardest part is on the sides of the cupholders. That dropped down notch part. I couldn't get it to fit right with one piece of vinyl for the whole part. Ended up having to do the part in 2 pieces. The join was to be right in the center of the drop on the sides of the cupholder. Didn't work that way. Had to add a 1" wide piece of vinyl right in the bottom of that dropped part. Butted the joins. I see 'em. Others do if I point 'em out.

 

[Chris.G.Jr.]

The hardest part is on the sides of the cupholders. That dropped down notch part. I couldn't get it to fit right with one piece of vinyl for the whole part. Ended up having to do the part in 2 pieces. The join was to be right in the center of the drop on the sides of the cupholder. Didn't work that way. Had to add a 1" wide piece of vinyl right in the bottom of that dropped part. Butted the joins. I see 'em. Others do if I point 'em out.

tbh i noticed it only because my top piece is snapped in half and honestly its hardly noticeable at all, it looks amazing, makes me seriously want to do it. Did you put any typ of foam padding or anything behind the fabric (looks kinda thicker/plush) or did you just spray glue the fabric on? of course after washing the contaminants off the console.

 

[sewlow]

No padding. The vinyl has about a 1/32 thickness. Enough to cause some probs with fit. There's more time spent on the backside, than the top, that can't be seen. When you have parts that fit together fairly snug to begin with, any additional thickness is gonna cause problems. I use a variety of tools to push vinyl in tight to the spots that connect to other parts. Wrinkles are cut so they are flush to the surrounding vinyl. I use razor knives, screwdrivers with the ends rounded, (to prevent cutting the material) plastic glass tools, upholstery needles, even the tips of my scissors. Whatever works. Especially on a console. Virtually every edge contacts another of another part.
Everything gets hit with a roller to ensure the best sticktion of the glue.
And a good contact cement. Mostly I spray that, but when working out wrinkles, sometimes glue has to be re-applied. I find flux brushes work well for that. Or the disposable hobby brushes that are similar. Letting the glue dry before sticking stuff together is really important.
You're right. Prep the plastic really good. But when glueing vinyl to plastic, I'll give the plastic a pretty good run with some 80-120 grit sandpaper. Gives some thing for the glue to bite into.

 

[Chris.G.Jr.]

No padding. The vinyl has about a 1/32 thickness. Enough to cause some probs with fit. There's more time spent on the backside, than the top, that can't be seen. When you have parts that fit together fairly snug to begin with, any additional thickness is gonna cause problems. I use a variety of tools to push vinyl in tight to the spots that connect to other parts. Wrinkles are cut so they are flush to the surrounding vinyl. I use razor knives, screwdrivers with the ends rounded, (to prevent cutting the material) plastic glass tools, upholstery needles, even the tips of my scissors. Whatever works. Especially on a console. Virtually every edge contacts another of another part.
Everything gets hit with a roller to ensure the best sticktion of the glue.
And a good contact cement. Mostly I spray that, but when working out wrinkles, sometimes glue has to be re-applied. I find flux brushes work well for that. Or the disposable hobby brushes that are similar. Letting the glue dry before sticking stuff together is really important.
You're right. Prep the plastic really good. But when glueing vinyl to plastic, I'll give the plastic a pretty good run with some 80-120 grit sandpaper. Gives some thing for the glue to bite into.

i will take all that into mind when i think about doing it. ive never done anything close to that so itd be nerveracking

 

[sewlow]

I'll post some pix in a bit on a O/H console recover. Similar concept.