Mark;
Vinyl compared to leather is cheap. Good vinyl costs $20.00 a yard, you can
get cheap leather for as little as $130 a hide (Averaging about 48 square
feet but part of that includes legs) Factory pattern automotive fabric can
start at $60 per yard and cost as much as $300 per yard, the more expensive
stuff is usually either mohair or N.O.S. In the case of our cars usually it
was only the faces of the seats and arm rests that were trimmed in leather;
anything that you didn't rest on, like the dash pad, was either vinyl or
cloth.
Unless you can do the interior yourself the biggest cost is going to be
the labour. That being said you can save quite a few dollars by taking the
seats and door panels out yourself and, in turn, reinstalling them.
Headliners are a little more tricky but some shadetree folks can do it.
Carpets are another thing that you can put in yourself as long as you can
find a ready made one.
Cheap materials are a false economy, they cost the same to put in but
devalue the car, not just monetarily, and, in some cases, fail quicker. This
is not to say that one shouldn't take advantage of a bargain, I did with my
leather, just so long as it is with acquiring the appropriate materials and
not cheap substitutes. My opinion is if you want to use vinyl, fix up a
lesser marque like a chebby. Remember that old axiom,"Only the rich can
afford to buy cheap".
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A left Side taillight Bezel and other trim parts
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark McDonald" <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: IML: Another Imp Cvt on Ebay-57
> Arran,
>
> I guess you have hit on the real distinction, or the critical difference,
> between cheap and expensive-- and not many people realize it. I certainly
> hadn't thought about what you said until you said it. Almost everyone
I've
> talked to, or heard talking, about redoing their interior frames it in
terms of
> what material they will use, and will it be correct? Given that approach,
the
> cost of leather is prohibitive (is it really that much more?), so you wind
up
> with vinyl interiors in cars that, in my opinion, should never have vinyl
> interiors. But as you point out, it's really the labor, not the material.
>
> So, anyway, thanks for pointing that out!
>
> MM
>
> "A. Foster" wrote:
>
> > Phillipe;
> > That's what I will never understand is why anyone would go to all of
that
> > trouble in having seats redone in a car like this and cheap out on the
> > materials. By far the biggest expense is the labor involved in having
them
> > reupholstered, the most influential factors, on which, being the style
and
> > construction.
> > I have seen such absurdities as Lincoln Continental mrk. IIs
reupholstered
> > in vinyl, and this was a car that used Connelly leather like a Rolls.
> > Granted redoing one in Connelly leather is impractical and likely out of
the
> > question; but it makes no sense paying a shop $40 dollars an hour to
redo
> > one in vinyl when you can always find some affordable hides. Often the
> > original pattern fabric ends up being more expensive then the leather. I
> > find that in a car like an Imperial your back sticking to the seats is a
> > real turn off.
>
>
>
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