Dan;
I would suggest finding a good upholsterer to do you car interiors. The way
that you do that is to get some referrals from the local old car guys as to
who does the best job for the most reasonable price. It wouldn't be a good
idea to only farm out the sewing since the covers really need to be fitted
to the frames, with new padding, to have the proper look and feel. The best
way to save money is to take the seats and door panels to the upholterer and
reinstall them yourself after the work is done.
Your wife may be good with a household sewing machine but a house machine
uses too fine thread for upholstery and wouldn't have enough power to go
through leather and vinyl. Even if you were too find an upholstery machine
to do the job it would take your wife quite a while to get the hang of using
it. Another way to put it is that switching from a house to an industrial
sewing machine is like getting behind the wheel of a Charger with a 426 Hemi
when you are used to driving a Morris Minor. The industrial machines are
literally that much faster and more powerful then the house ones, in fact
they will sew through plywood! The other factor is having access to all of
the special tools and supplies to get the job done.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Melnik, Daniel T (Dan)" <dmelnik@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 11:50 AM
Subject: IML: 1966 Conv.-need tops and?
> Hi All,
> My 2 1966 convertibles, 'Brandy' and 'Cinderella' need some TLC ( and lots
> of work!).
> I am hoping to put new tops on them this summer but wondered if anyone out
> there has had experience as to the best (considering price & quality)
place
> to buy the tops from and also if this is something I should try myself. I
> have one of the books previously mentioned by one of our members
(Restoring
> your Classis Car) and it seems that I can do the top replacement by just
> taking my time ...also, having a second convertible here will probably
help
> me tremendously!
> Any suggestions for new tops (I am in New Jersey) would be appreciated. I
> also may need parts (hydralic, etc) for the tops once I get into the
project
> (Murphy's Law just loves these types of projects!) so any suggestions for
> best places to get them would, again, be appreciated especially from
anyone
> who has gone thru this.
>
> I also wanted to ask if any of you IML members that have replaced your
> convertible's interiors have a reliable, reasonablly priced source here in
> the New Jearsey or NorthEast area. I have seen several in Hemmings (Bill
> Hirsch I believe was one of them) but wonder what suggestions I might get
> from those of you who have already gone through the
> 'replacing-the-leather-interior' trials!!.....is this something I can do
> myself (my wife is really great with the sewing machine, but its NOT a
heavy
> duty one!) or am I better off having a shop sew up the new covers?
>
> Some time back there was a thread regarding changing from drum to disc
> brakes (this is still for my '66 convertibles) and wanted to be sure I had
> the correct info as I lost the email. Was it ANY full size chrysler after
> 1970 or 71 or only certain years? also, is it taking a chance getting the
> parts from the junk yard (my favorite place to hang out in) or better in
the
> long run to try and get everything new from some supplier (I realize this
> may be cost prohibitive but thought I would ask any way!).
>
> By the way, I have not yet given up on the idea of making some kind of
> 'book' with all the IML photos in it and have actually downloaded quite a
> few of the pictures as well as the 'repair' info to my computer. The big
> problem is that the amount of photos is staggering....and keeps on
> increasing!! (a good thing)......and the source for my inexpensive
printing
> of all these photos has 'gone away'. Rest assured that if there is a way
to
> get something done I will give it a try, even if it is initially just a
> booklette with the repair, restoration or maintenace sections in it. It
may
> take a while but I have not yet thrown in the towel ....yet.
> Thanks all,
> Dan Melnik / dmelnik@xxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
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