Upholstery Estimate

[Lisa P]

Hello All, I am back at the Kaiser after a brief hiatus working on my '59 Firedome.  The Kaiser's owner would like to continue refurbishing the car (1948 4 door base model) and it needs new upholstery- headliner, door panels, seat covers, etc.  He would like to know what the approximate cost of these materials would be if ordered in closely matched factory colors/materials versus something generic.  If anyone has any input, it would be appreciated, thanks!

[dusty]

Thr crew at SMS will give you the best information, please listen to them. when i got done with the last two cars i only had enough material left over to bind the edges of the Dragon Carpet

[Lisa P]

Thanks Dusty, I have heard good and bad about SMS.  I've heard that their products are very nice and match OEM but I've also heard that just receiving samples sometimes will take weeks or months.  I have been in contact with SMS and need to send them samples of the vehicle's factory fabric.  I thought that with the many restorations that have been undertaken here, someone might have an approximate estimate of cost.  The current owner nor myself have any idea what these materials might run-are we talking about $200 or $2000?  Any more input would be great.

[pnw_oldmags]

We used SMS for our materials and were very pleased.  Our 53K Manhattan with Bambu in two colors, Boucle in two colors and the soft insert material they custom dyed for us was around $2000.  This was headliner, seats, dash, door panels ... the works.  If your is a 48 I would think it would be much less.

[Lisa P]

Thanks for the reply Jim, I saw your photos and must say that the upholstery sewn up is breathtaking!  The fellow that owns the Kaiser I'm working on is trying to decide what the cost differences are as he has realized that the value of the car is not very great.  Thanks again.

[pnw_oldmags]

Kaisers are not cars that normally get flipped.  (Buy cheap ... invest time and money and sell for a profit).  Kaisers are fixed up, driven and talked about with everyone you meet.  I remember, my dad had one of these or yeah these cars were way before their time.

[Lisa P]

Yep, he isn't in it to make money.  This car was purchased by him and his college buddy back in the late '60's when they attended the local university.  I believe they intended to share the car but from what he's told me, the car was driven only a couple of times by them then parked.  I begged him to bring it to my shop as the critters were slowly but surely destroying it.  I personally love the car and have tried to get him to sell it to me but to no avail.  I at least got it running and drive it up and down the road and our driveway  He does want it fixed up and driveable, but given that he's a dairy farmer, his budget is not very large.  I'll send the sample to SMS and see what they have to say.  Thanks again, I sure hope he lets me drive it so I can hear some of the stories-I love talking about cars.

[pnw_oldmags]

Sounds like you better get ready to see a bunch of thumbs up when you drive the freeway. 

[Henry's HenryJs]

Hello, would you post the contact info for SMS? Thank you, Henry.

[pnw_oldmags]

Here is their web address.  Contacts are within.
http://www.smsautofabrics.com/

[DaveF]

Dear Lisa P.

I recently had my interior completely reupholstered......... I could not afford to go the complete 'original' route........ I selected some nice materials from my upholsterer trying to stay as close to as a 1952 Kaiser.......... The results were very pleasing.........
The dash and door panel 'Dino' vinyl is original........

Dave F. #10113

[Fid]

Not really on topic but I have to say, I like your '52! A '52 Manhattan is a sharp car and your's looks very nice inside.

[cplne]

Hi Jim

When you replaced your Bamboo was it pretty much the color it left the factory with.  I received two samples from SMS one a Tan the other is bright white.  My wife insist that the Bamboo was an off white.  Its hard to tell what color it was, it has been sitting outside.  Also wondering if you did the dash yourself or have an upholstery shop do it (did they have to pull the windshield?) 

Thank for the advice

Mark

[pnw_oldmags]

The bambu I used was not bleached white it was called natural as I remember. and it did match my bambu color that was hidden in my seams almost exactly for color.  The fake embossed stitches vertically through the material are about 1/8 of an inch narrower. But other than that it was exact. 

I considered doing the dash myself but did have the upholstery shop do it.  The windshield did not come out.  When you remove the trim at the base of the windshield you will see little screws in the canvas sewn along the top of the dash covering - screwed into the top of the dash.  We used a little screw driver to remove these screws.  It was a screw ratched from Snapon ... 1 inch bit up with a handle 6 inches perpendicular to the  bit.  The covering is then just stretched over the dash and punched onto little hooks at the bottom of the dash.  The sewn little ends on both sides of the dash covering is why I had them do it.  If it puckered after the stretching and hooking I wanted to be able to insist it be redone.  They had no puckers... I probably would have.  Love the way it looks and feels to the touch! They did a fantastic job.

[cplne]

Hi Jim

Is your bamboo an off white in color?  The samples that SMS sent me are a bright white and an dirty beige color.  My wife insist the bamboo was off white when she had the car in college.  I am not an NOS kind of guy but am trying to keep it looking original as possible.  Dang the interior cost as much as the car did new!

THX

Mark