Technical Upolstery question - Am I THAT out of touch?

No boats, no furniture, no shit work, just old cars, that's all it's about. Providing a service to people like us. Hot Rodders do one thing, and do it the best you can. Never tell a hot rod owner that we'll get him done as soon as we get this boat done

 

I can see what you are trying to say, but these guy's also do warranty seat cover replacement for all the local car dealer's in the area, with dealer supplied covers, so I don't think that's it. I could be wrong though, I have been plenty of times before. It's not like they are shoddy quality piece's, It's all from a Cars, inc. kit.

 

Sticker Shock,well ya, That's what happened to my Son also.
As we got close to completing his T-bucket,an looked into getting the upolstery done in it.
He knew how he wanted it to look. I had made him a drawing of his ideas,to take around ,too get pricing with.
After he had 3 estamits from local shops< All seemed very high* to both of us. Well;Above $3000++. That's likely about right,but we had not looked before n that still seems very high to me.

I told him,lets give it a try,the most bad that can happen,is we blow some times and maybe $200 bucks.
I got asked,if I know anything about it !!
Dad's always a old smartass" I play a Upolstery Designer on TV" but did swipe out Nuwt's Upolstery Shop a few times, in the early 1960s. LOL
So that lead to my HAMB tech for at home"Do it Your Self"
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-sew-at-home-upholsrety-hot-rod.604077/

 

That's one beautiful stitch job Dana!

 

Thanks, 427 sleeper,,took some practice an playing around,hind site would of got a better then old Sears Kenmore. But in away,making that work anyhow was fun !!! It did cost a lot of time,but best was just working with my son. Total cost was about $400 in things we did buy,some of that was wasted in mistakes we learned from.

 

How many reproduction anything have you guys seen that fits or doesn't need reworked in some way . And let's face it I am sure the Landlord didnt lower the rent , and heating bill still comes in !!! Might be high but a sign of the times ...

 

I bought my own sewing machine for this very reason .
Hell I learned to do most everything I didnt want to pay for, or thought was too much .
Better grinder than welder
Better wet sander and polisher than painter
So what if it takes me 6 yds of material for a 3yd job .

 

Sounds like me. I'm a cheap bastige, if I think I can do something, I'll give it a try. Doesn't always work out, but most time you figure stuff out pretty quickly, or at least I do.

 

Where did you get the seat covers? I know a few guys that have got Ciadella covers and they fit great, done at home.

 

OK,this was a few years back, maybe 6 or so, but I had a set of seat covers mail ordered for my 56 Chevy in my album and took them to a guy who works for a local auto upholstery shop and he put them on as a side job. The front seat was made wrong and he had to re-sew it some. If I recall he charged me right around 200 bucks. I actually did the rear seat myself as it fit well so he only did the front seat. I say they are tying to gouge the shit outta you.

 

Rumor has it, when Lloyd retires, Wicked Stitch Upholstery is going to offer FREE pick-up and delivery...anywhere.
Don't know if Ashley has mentioned this to Lloyd yet, but expect to see the El Camino racking up a shit-load of miles

 

And people in 1968 were telling me that .25 was too much to mow their lawns...
People are price gouging like crazy today.

 

Hey @427 sleeper ...
I'll do it for $1,000 and lunch.
I should probably watch a couple YouTube videos first.

 

" I would send it ALL to Ashley at Wicked Stitch but the freight there and back would probably put me back at square one! LOL!!! "

It's a nice time of year to cruise to Kentucky. The red bud is coming out and spring has sprung. Saving a couple grand sounds like a good excuse for a road trip. Besides, you'd have a chance to meet the famous Lloyd.

 

1000 miles. $200 for gas 18 hrs behind the wheel , $300 for motel & food ....

 

I got the whole interior kit from Cars, Inc.

 

As K13 stated, there can be a major pissing match if you supply the covers and they don't fit well. The vendor for the covers can blame the shop and the shop will blame the vendor and you are stuck in the middle with a crappy looking job because no one is responsible. If you have the shop provide the materials they will have to deal with it themselves. It may cost more initially but maybe not in the long run. I hate seat covers with wrinkles and have seen some that really look like crap. I would rather take the seats to the shop and just say "fix it". If I can't afford it at the time it won't get done. That's why we have those colorful Mexican blankets.

 

Wife did my OT Vette for free, but I'm lucky that way.

 

I'm thinking that warranty work on modern cars is done using OEM parts. I think there can be a lot of difference between the quality and fit of OEM upholstery and copies made by some yeehaw 50 years after the original manufacturer stopped making the part. Not saying all copies are bad, just that there will be many that are, while you can be fairly sure OEM versions actually will fit.

 

I'm half hour from you, in Oswego. I can't find any decent upholstery shops around here.
Was looking for 1 side bolster to be replaced in a late model seat, I pull the cover and bring it to them. $800 and 1 month was the BEST response.

 

Glad I found a newly recovered seat for my truck on Facebook Marketplace, $100.

 

Been married 39 years...and I ain't got no free upholstery.
And that other "fringe benefit" is becoming just a distant memory. SIGH

 

Our world has temporarily gone crazy, Sounds out of line to me, but I'm a senior citizen now. The price of a paint job, upholstery, chrome work, stainless trim, you name it and all of it has become Very Pricey. IF (probably never, just taik now) I would do a car again, it would be like in my youth, I did it all, not a lot money, lots of ambition, learn as you go, check my albums, some pretty nice stuff for a kid, Later years I had some services done for me, not cheap but not crazy like today, but even back then their was body work, upholstery, and paint jail. The problem of quality machine work for building an engine is a problem also, I just bought crate engines for my later rides, no problems. I think we all tend to remember back in the day, that ship has sailed, sunk and not coming back. It Is What It Is, As it's always been, put on your BigBoy pants, open your wallet, do it yourself, sit down and shut up, these are your choices IMO. The Best advice I received as a kid from my parents,"There are No Excuses, Make it Happen"

 

I sent Cars multiple emails asking about current availability for my 56 interior and they never replied once. Hear lots of good about Ciadella so I'll probably go with them. I agree with what lots of guys have said. Try it once yourself. If you're not happy with it then take it to a shop hat in hand. I'm lucky enough to again have a friend that owns one of the best shops in town so he'll do my seats and headliner. I will do everything else in the interior as I've done the other work before. His challenge like most is no staff, delays in supply and too much work. He doesn't hose people though, he just turns folks away that he can't do with time restraints. Says he hates to do it but has no other choice.

Isn't building hot rods fun??!!

 

You have the material, and as mentioned it's not that bad of a job since you are doing covers. If you don't think you have the tolerance to do the job, perhaps you have a buddy, or your buddies have a buddy that might help you out?

 

They got pills for that !

 

Yeah, you're out of touch. How much would YOU charge a stranger to do that job? Keep in mind your rent, tools, and training. But you can't do it... even though you think it's a simple job. How much do you expect to pay someone to rebuild the engine in that car, even if you brought the parts? Most shops won't install customer parts because they can't guarantee them. Upholstery is hard work. American labor is not cheap.
If you think this shop is out of line, call around to the many shops within 100 miles of you and compare prices and quality before you start complaining.

 

I have been watch the threads about Ashley's work and she is doing a fantastic job and offering reasonable prices for her work, she is constantly learning and getting better with every job.

If I needed a affordable upholstery job I wouldn't hesitate to call on Ashley. HRP

 

I never was fond of the Gas Monkey show except when the owner of the rod shop took seats into Sue the upholsterer and tried to talk her down to $100 for the job and wanted it done last week. She called him Ass Monkey. Don't know if that show is still on TV or not but she was a natural comedian. And a great upholsterer if that was really her work.