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

sewlow · Apr 13, 2014

polar said:
Not as good in the computer department as you are in the interior department

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Too true! I remember having a 'Commodore 64' & asking my youngest, "Hey Mikey, how do I turn this thing on?"
"Dad! I SHOWED you YESTERDAY!!!" He was 4! At 30 he was making $72,000.00 a year on a computer out of his basement office! Damn smart-ass kid!

polar · Apr 13, 2014

You ever do any gmt400 interiors

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sewlow · Apr 13, 2014

Sure have! Post #2. Along with some other's that I didn't take pix of.
Actually the year, make & model isn't all that important to me.
An original interior requires some research if it's in sad, sad shape. Original interiors are harder to do than the custom ones, 'cause they have specific parameters dictated by the manufacturer. They should look as original & not like they've ever been worked on.
Custom is whatever the customer & myself decide it should be. If I have to put a screw in a certain spot on one panel, as long as the other side is the same, who's to say it's wrong?

crazymater91 · Apr 13, 2014

Am just curious but the seats you did for the 98! How much would something like that cost?

sewlow · Apr 13, 2014

Around the $1200.00- $1500.00 mark depending on what has to be done. Foam, spring work etc, plus the actual recover.
That's in vinyl, which for that price I'll include the vinyl. That is for someone dropping off the seats at the shop.
Leather would be more expensive, & because of that, I can't include it in, but it'll last 3-5X longer. Leather has so many variables, which is reflected in the cost. I can get a passable auto grade leather for around $10.00 per sq./ft. But I can also get the same leathers used in Ferrari's, Porsches & corporate jets. Comes from Scotland. That starts at $18.00 per sq./ft. & can get up to $25.00 or more per sq./ft. (for perforated) with burn certificates.
It takes 18 square feet to equal a linear yard of vinyl. 36"X54". $180.00 a yard for leather @ $10.00 per sq./ft. as compared to vinyl @ $20.00 a yard!. And with leather, there's a fair amount of waste. Especially with hides that are from North America. Brands, & scars from barbed wire. American cowboy stuff. The European hides don't have those probs because they still use the stone fences that the Romans built. The animals that are used in Europe for leather are raised specifically for their hides. Not so In N.A. The hides here are a by-product after Mickey D's uses the rest!
I can get vinyl that has most of the characteristics of leather, but of course it won't breathe like leather does, & it won't have the smell. That smell is manufactured. Without that, it smells like death. Literally. That manufactured smell is actually toned down for aircraft due to the large amount in such a small confined area. Otherwise, it'd be overwhelming after a short period.
When using the higher end vinyls that look & feel like leather, I'll stuff a bunch of scrap leather cuttings into a perforated 'Glad' vegie bag, & attach it to the underside of the seat. With that smell, no-one but you & I would ever know that it's vinyl on the seats!

I've been working with Eric.s.t. on doing his seats. Once we get a design decided on, all he's gonna do is send me the cover off of his passenger seat. From that I'll make up both covers. The passenger seat is always the in the best condition so it's the best for a pattern. I'll walk him through the removal & install of the covers so that he can do that, considering he's 3000 miles away. That'll cut down on that quoted cost, but his are gonna be in leather. The vinyl cost is minimal compared to the labor costs. And the install of leather covers is a bit more of a fussy job, which means more costs there too. This will save him quite a bit in labor.

sewlow · Apr 13, 2014

I'll also keep the cover that Eric is gonna send me. By the time I'm done with it, it'll be nothing but a pile of pieces, but it's a still useable pattern. That'll mean I will have a pattern for the early style GMT400 buckets, which I can re-use if someone else would like a set of covers made up.
I still have the old cover/pattern from seats in my truck. The later style buckets. They're packed away here somewhere! May take a bit to find 'em, though!

skylark · Apr 14, 2014

sewlow said:
A vid of the type of work that I did while working on Corporate jets.

http://youtu.be/__rjPNFgLbE

All of that work and they put the same crappy sheepskin covered seats back in for the pilots???

sewlow · Apr 14, 2014

skylark said:
All of that work and they put the same crappy sheepskin covered seats back in for the pilots???

Yea, that's what I said too when I first started on aircraft!
But, because the pilot & co-pilot spend so many hours in those seats, this is what they prefer. I'll see if I can find a corporate jet cockpit pic. It's not a place that you just get in and out of. It's a tight space. You can't walk into it like a commercial jet. Gotta step over stuff, climb onto the seat & then slide down into it. Once you're in, you're in for the duration. Apparently the sheepskin helps with comfort, lessens sweating, & it's easier on the 'roids. And they're not seat covers like you'd have in a vehicle, either. They are the actual covers.

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Latest project.
'59 Impala. This project #9 for this guy. He owns the '54 Ford with the red & white interior that I previously posted.
This car was bought as a project that needed 'only' to be painted! The frame had been done, & the rest of the drivetrain rebuilt (348/tri-power/auto/full load) when the original owner/restorer passed away. The car was in bare metal. Looked like a Delorean.
The current owner had a bodyman that had worked for him for years, but had decided to retire. Don (the owner) asked if I knew any bodymen that specialized in resto's. Normally, I stay outa that kinda stuff! If the owner & bodyman's relationship goes sideways, I end being the bad guy!
But I do know a bodyman that does nothing but resto's. The guy with the 'Yard Art' that I posted pix of, somewhere on the forum. I explained to both of them before I introduced them, I am NOT responsible for how you guys get along! This is between you guys. All I'm doing is introducing!
I'm no bodyman. When I first saw the car, to me, it looked good! I have pix, but on my old computer. Working on transferring them over to this one. When I find them, I'll post 'em.
But it wasn't good! Far from it! Martin, (the bodyman) discovered that the car had been made outa 3 different others!!! From the back of the doors forward was one, the section from the back of the doors to the middle of the rear wheel openings was another, & from there back was from yet another car. Those fins, those huge fins, were so out of alignment that there was no way that any of the stainless trim was gonna fit!
Add in purchasing a 1/2 done vehicle (actually less than 1/2!) & all the inherent probs that that brings to the project & you've got a recipe for disaster! Or a money pit!
It became the latter! Once you get into it so far, whatyado? Sell it & wash your hands of the whole thing, or carry on & bleed & bleed & bleed, then bleed some more $$$? Don put up a bit of a fuss, complained to me a couple of times about how much this car was costing him, but it was just a show. He's been to this party before & he knows just what a project like this entails. He's extremely happy with what's been done so far!
Even still, the point at which the vehicle is at now represents 4 years in the body shop, & a total investment, including the purchase price, & buying all the parts that the vehicle didn't come with, of (ya ready?) $146,000.00!!! (cough, cough, cough!!!)
But then, when was the last time you saw one? Similar vehicles sold on ebay, & @ Barrett/Jackson in the last year, have gone for anywhere between $180,000.00-$250,000.00!
And I'm just starting on it! I haven't seen one thin dime, yet!

These are just the beginning pix. I'll be working on this for the next 10 days or so. Pix will be added as I progress.
Martin did an amazing job! This will be a 100 point car when it's done! One of the best, if not THE best '59 Impala convertible in North America!