Need ideas for interior kit, who to call?

P

Pmshindy

New member
Looking for contacts for an interior kit for my 31 Model A p/u.
Either the companies are out of business or to busy to call me back.
Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Pmshindy
Paul Shindelar
 
Since there are only two companies making up kits, they are likely all inundated with work. If a person gets in line for a kit, then they may have to wait for a number of months to get their order processed. There have also been problems in getting materials. Classtique has only recently been receiving some of the wool materials common to the model A.

Classtique and Dixie up in Kitchener Ontario are the only two I know of.
 
I'm looking for a Tudor right now,and I am not interested in cars without an interior.A few years ago that wouldn't have been a consideration for buying it.I live just a few miles from LB,and I would always just run over to put in my order.It is what it is,but I'm no longer interested in long range projects.I do have a pickup that needs to be done,but any local shop can handle the cushions for that.
 
If enough of the original upholstery is there for a pattern, and you can find an upholstery guy, that may be the best route. Here in North Carolina there were a lot of furniture companies that went out of business. There are lots of old upholstery guys who know what they are doing, but they are dying out so fewer each year.
 
More than one car that I have owned were not supported like the early Fords were during the time that LB and Cartouche were in business. I consider myself fortunate to have acquired an old Consew 206 walking foot sewing machine from a furniture company that was going out of business. I even got some welting feet with it. I had to convert it to an electronic motor since the learning curve on the old clutch motor was a bit too fast paced for me. A person can make patterns from the spring boxes and other areas where measurements can be taken for door and kick panels. A bit has to be added to fit for padding but not much overall.

A good trim and upholstery person can do this stuff. It took me a while and some off topic cushion projects to get the hang of it but if I can do it then anybody can with practice and enough information to start out with. I can't afford the big jobs so I had no choice in the matter. The machine was an investment that I'll never regret. If I can purchase finished upholstery products for close to what I can do it for myself then I do that but on these older cars that is rare.
 
Rotorwrench, I am glad to hear that you are doing your own sewing. It is a satisfying labor. I bought a clutch type sewing machine back in the 1980's but soon gave it up as it was too hard to control. I bought a machine from SailRite in the mid 1980's and have used it on many projects including cars, boats, my RV, and household furniture. Lots of upholstery, canvas covers, sails, leather projects and convertible tops. I took my machine on the boat while I was cruising for 5 years. I kept it oiled to keep the salt air from rusting it. They are easy to work on. I do all the maintenance and adjustment to the machine myself. It will sew through an amazing number of layers of sail cloth or leather.

The SailRite machine is a heavy duty cast iron machine with a walking foot and a variable speed AC motor. See https://www.sailrite.com/Sewing-Machines
 
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Keith True said:
I'm looking for a Tudor right now,and I am not interested in cars without an interior.A few years ago that wouldn't have been a consideration for buying it.I live just a few miles from LB,and I would always just run over to put in my order.It is what it is,but I'm no longer interested in long range projects.I do have a pickup that needs to be done,but any local shop can handle the cushions for that.
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Keith, around your parts, what are people says as to what happened at LB? I mean really what happened...
 
The original owners wanted to retire so the business was sold. The new owner/s likely overextended their credit when they expanded into the antique car parts business and the economy fell out from under them. The slump in 2008 killed a lot of companies. The business was auctioned off for bankruptcy but it turned out there wasn't much left. Eckler's won the bid but then they fell on hard times as well.
 
Keith, around your parts, what are people says as to what happened at LB? I mean really what happened...

high labor rates and not enough demand, makes it pretty simple to see how difficult it is to stay in business today and actually turn a profit. Yes there is now demand, but again, very limited niche mkt. Also, who are you going to hire when your workforce is old?
 
ronn said:
high labor rates and not enough demand, makes it pretty simple to see how difficult it is to stay in business today and actually turn a profit. Yes there is now demand, but again, very limited niche mkt. Also, who are you going to hire when your workforce is old?
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So LeBaron Bonney (-who arguably had the market in their own pockets for YEARS) suddenly found themselves with not enough demand for their products?? They were the manufacturers of the specialized fabrics, they were the ONLY source for Early V8 kits, and they were the leaders in manufacturing Model-A and GM upholstery kits when Paul sold the business to a group of investors. Mike with Classtique has stepped up and added personnel to fill the market void, ...and he is still over a year out on filling orders. Sure seems like the demand for his product is definitely there no matter what the labor rates are. What am I missing?? :o
 
Yeah, my understanding (just that, with talking with respected sources) was that LB tanked because of simultaneous factors. Lack of craftsmen, over extended with added lines, supply chain issues and …….poor management and business savvy.
Quality, reliability and trust tanked.
 
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My neighbor worked there for many years,she said she was told a dozen different stories about what was going on.LB was really just a small part of that enterprise.Many years ago Lee Atherton bought Hampton Coach from his friend,Stan Brown,and years after that they bought ABC auto interiors.At some point Paul Case bought it,then sold it.I have no idea when he sold it or who bought it.That automotive part of the whole furniture and fabric business was just a tiny part of things.25 years ago they were having trouble getting trimmers.They would get old trimmers to work some,but not for long.Old fingers can't do that kind of work for long.Furniture upholsterers are NOT the same as automotive trimmers.It's like asking the guy that changes your engine to paint your car.For many years they would refer customers to trimmers they trusted.We have a couple aronnd here,they're excellent.
 
Keith True said:
My neighbor worked there for many years,she said she was told a dozen different stories about what was going on.LB was really just a small part of that enterprise. Many years ago Lee Atherton bought Hampton Coach from his friend, Stan Brown, and years after that they bought ABC auto interiors. At some point Paul Case bought it, then sold it. I have no idea when he sold it or who bought it. That automotive part of the whole furniture and fabric business was just a tiny part of things. 25 years ago they were having trouble getting trimmers. They would get old trimmers to work some, but not for long. Old fingers can't do that kind of work for long. Furniture upholsterers are NOT the same as automotive trimmers. It's like asking the guy that changes your engine to paint your car. For many years they would refer customers to trimmers they trusted. We have a couple around here, they're excellent.
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Keith, I was one of those 'authorized installers' that L/B used to refer people to.

From the people that worked at L/B, Lee set-up L/B to fail when the biz was sold to Paul Case. I understand the books were not as accurate when Paul sold to the investors as they should have been, and many employees found a reason to retire or move on when Paul took over the reigns.

Funny thing about furniture trimmers & automotive trimmers. Elizabeth Estepp who purchased Classtique Upholstery from Colleen came out of the furniture side of the business. I would want to hear from Mike too, but for some reason I want to believe his background was also household. Based on my own employees, if someone has good patterns to work from, then they can manufacture automotive kits IMHO.
 
I was referring to the installers when I differentiated between upholsterers and car trimmers.Lee,(LeBaron) himself was a furniture upholsterer when he started the A upholstery business.After their trimmers died off they tried getting upholstery guys to work there,but while the people they tried to hire were great furniture people,their interior panel,headliner,carpet and convertible top experience was almost non existant.They could have easily learned,but you have to want to do car work to learn it.The last in-shop work I saw being done there was a complete interior for a Tudor,and a late 40's Merc convertible.There was a woman doing both,all by herself.Doug told me that the problem in getting trimmers was that anybody that could do the quality of work they required could do it themselves in a one car garage at their own home.And that's just what they did.My friend Davewas a trimmer,but he gave up automotive work about 35 years ago.He would still do seats,but no more crawling around in the cars.I'm thinking Lee died in the early 90's,and I'm not sure if Paul Case was in the picture back then or not.I first walked in there in the early 70's,and I was used well by everybody there until the doors closed.
 
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