Art & Inspiration Help with some traditional interior ideas.

Don,
The original type tan mohair is really nice and being a neutral color it would go good with black. Those 40s interiors looked nice and are very comfortable.
Tuck and roll black, white black and white, vinyl or leather is more of 60s performance look and it does not have the comfort of the stock style material in my opinion. I do like the look of tuck and roll.

One thing to consider. it gets dang hot in Maryland. Leather is different but vinyl, especially black vinyl, can burn you in the summer time. Being a black car only compounds that. I have seen black cars so hot that the paint turns "heat" purple. Old black cars actually have the paint burned off of them. That interior gets dang hot. There have been folks burned by vinyl seats. Second degree burns or "blistered" used to be quite common. Sit down in one in shorts, you can't get off of it quick enough. I used to have towel in my 70 Chevelle just for that. Leather does not get as hot but it's still pretty warm. White....is much more forgiving as it's a cool color. You could literally fry an egg on a black car here in the summer, a white car you'll just make a mess. White seats do not heat up as much.

 

I found with white interiors, people just HAD to comment on how hard it is to keep clean..the "look" far out ways the upkeep.
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Top 3 are from Austin Speed Shop

This is from Ryan's coupe.

I wish I could find some pictures of @stanlow69 interior in his 69. Similar to Ryan's but a really nice inner fabric. Seemed very durable too.

 

I saw this at the Sacto Autorama and thought the owner did a good job choosing a simple yet elegant interior. Sorry I couldn't get a better picture.

 

I haven't seen that many interior treatments that I have lusted over, there's almost always something that I would do different it seems. But, years ago I went to the Gilmore car show in L.A. and saw a shoebox Ford custom with license plates that said El Blob. It was mint green outside and the most amazing cream colored tuck-n-roll inside. It made my GF and I want to rip off our clothes and roll around naked in there. Never felt that way about a car interior before or since!

 

I am completely obsessed with this head liner and have been planning something similar for my 39 Tudor. If any one out there knows can some one explain how this headliner is suspended. I have ideas but nothing concrete. And it certainly doesn’t look like it uses the bows.

 

This one to be clear.

 

I would guess that the center part of the headliner has a solid wood/metal/plastic backing installed in the car that the headliner is glued to and then the pieces from the welting out are pulled to a tack strip on the sides and either glued or stapled in place.

If you're on Instagram look at FatLucky's page he shows one he did on Jeff Myers '41 Ford. You have to go back quite a ways like 2013 but it shows the inner structure and the headliner out of the car and then installed.

This is how I did my pick up. I used panel clip in the middle rather than glue but same basic concept.

 

Don, it doesn’t get better than this. Simple and timeless.jmho. Snowman

 

I've always liked oxblood, too.
Red, but not eye-searing.
Off-white rather than plain stark refrigerator white... for the same reason.

 

What about ox blood red leather ?


I owned a clapped out 70’s Mercedes with ox blood red interior and it felt like I was driving the most high end car ever when I was in that thing

 

A 40 Ford coupe seat I did.

 

I tend to like less flashy colors---off white, tan, light grays, light to medium browns. There is still enough of a contrast to be seen, but not overload the senses like a bright white or red would do. I had an OT pickup that had a seat so red it would give me a headache on bright sunny days, and I'm red-green deficient color blind, could never drive it without sunglasses on!

I don't have any pics on this computer, but my car's interior is medium gray and black, with buttons on the seats. Not so overpowering to hurt your eyes, but different enough to be noticed.

 

Here is what I did on "The Judge"...
https://49fordcoupe.smugmug.com/The-Interior/

 

Yeah, John, that right there is NOT me^^^^^^

 

I was thinking about the Oxblood and then when I saw the Chestnut, I'd go with either one of them. I think they both look classy and as it has been said the black make seem like a cave. I have an all black interior in the Stude (it's black on the outside now) and I suspect I will hate it this summer.

 

Here's a few shots of mine

 

the old school interior in my 40 2dr sedan done in 2015

 

How wide are those pleats, Steve?

 

All I want to add is that vinyl is hot and sweaty and gray is just 80's and 90's interior color of modern boring cars. And my Chevy has that two tone gray interior, yuck, yes, I just live with it.

 

I also love the vintage look of Oxblood in a Black '40 Coupe ... timeless beauty.

 

Killer

 

Out of one of Bobby Hilton’s. IMHO, this is my favorite style, love your 40 coupe, always wanted one of those

 

Yeah, that's absolutely the look. Dead on.

The OP's coupe is killer but has a subdued style. I feel like a busy interior wouldn't jive with the aesthetic theme of the car. I also don't love all black on black in an old car, but I also think bright red adds a cheese factor that is unwanted. You want class not kitsch. With the red wheels, an oxblood leather ties in the "red" family without trying to color match the accent color. For this era car I feel like real leather is the right look, and Relicate really has some nice stuff.

I'd also echo @Moriarity 's sentiments that with the interior, you get one crack at it, and you need to make it count. Having a nice gut really adds tremendously to the overall experience of the car. It's more comfortable, your passengers enjoy the ride more, not to mention you're literally surrounded by it while you're driving. Some extra dough spent for a really high quality interior job is quickly forgotten when you see how nice it is having a legit interior.

 

Mine was already done when I got the car, but it's anything but boring to me. It will go with just about any color I wish to paint my car, so I think it was a wise decision on whoever had it done originally.

 

I always like what Tom McMullen did with his '32 roadster

So I kinda imitated that with my Nomad

 

I used distressed leather and copied the original seam designs of the 37 original interior.

Simple and understated.