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Prep Work:
Pricing : Estimates in person are only good for six months. The pricing of a job via telephone is only a "ball park" price. Prices can vary from a time to time. Interior pricing is based on labor and cost of materials. Anything you add to the job will take more labor. Every interior job is different even if they're the same body style of automobile. Some jobs may take a week some up to 10 it depends on the job and what you want. When you call, it's best to have in mind the style of interior that your looking for (the kind of seats you would like to use stock seats, bucket, bench or custom built seats, consoles, doorpanels,...). This way the shop can do it's best to give you a "ball park" price for the job. Custom consoles, bar stock trim and full two tone leather interiors can add up the price easily.
Appointment : Please call or get in touch with the shop well ahead of time for scheduling which can range from 3 to 12 months out. Make sure you have an appointment. It's better to cancel than to not have an appointment at all. Also, keep in mind this is when your vehicle should be ready for the interior (see tips page below). In order to keep your time slot, stay in touch with the shop. When it comes time to bring your car to the interior shop be sure to stay in close contact with the shop and If you do cancel, shop will work you in quicker when you are ready. When it comes time to bring your car to the interior shop be sure to stay in close contact with the shop. There's a certain buffer time the car needs to be in the shop before the interior job begins. All materials are ordered after the car arrives at the shop. If you do not make your scheduled appointment, you can lose your place.
- Deposits: Most cases we do take Deposits. It helps keep our appointments on track. Making an appointment and not sending a deposit will not ensure your appointment. Only a received deposit will ensure a place on the appointment list. Some deposits are refundable and some are nonrefundable this depends on vehicle, communications and time involved. If you do not make your scheduled appointment, you can lose your place.
GETTING YOUR CAR READY FOR FULL UPHOLSTERY
Wiring : Your wiring should be completed when you bring your car to the upholstery shop. Always have your fuse box mounted. If your wiring is a mess we will not do the interior until the wiring problems are fixed, or arrangements to be fixed are done, but this could cost you much more on top of the interior price. Things to keep in mind are door locks, door poppers, power locks, power windows, wipers, A/C, heater, radio, speakers, CD changer, amp, third brake light, Dome light, courtesy lights and any stuff that will be placed in the console. Make sure there is a little bit of play within the wires. The wires should have enough slack under the dash to come over the top of the kick panels and fire wall panel at the very bottom of the dash (You can use a ruler or stick to check this). If you can run the wires overhead it will make your floor a lot cleaner and easier to work. If you plan on putting a console in the car you can run your wires down the middle of the car. Make everything neat, and tie up with plastic ties. It's a good idea to have a battery cut off and a remote battery post under the car for easy charging. Note: Some fuel injection cars can not have the battery power cut to the computer. If you have shaved door handles have a hidden switch or some other way to get in the car so if something happens.
Heater Hoses:
Have all heater hoses
installed and checked for leaks. Make sure they have a little slack in
them also. On some cars the heater hoses run parallel under the dash,
run down into the kick panels and come out into the inner fender well.
Then they run up the inner fender well and come out into the engine
compartment where they are needed. You may have to put a spring in the
hose where it makes the turn from the kick panel into the fender well.
This will keep it from folding up. This makes your upholstered kick
panels and fire wall panel fit up nice and clean. It also makes your
exterior fire wall look better. The main thing is to keep your interior
kick panels and fire wall as flat and clutter free as possible.
Air Conditioning: You need to have your A/C and heating unit panel in place wired and working. If you plan on putting the A/C panel in the console you can set it in a small box in the floor with foam wrapped around it for the interior guy. All for the duck work should be fastened on the unit and pulled to where the vents / louvers will go. If the vents / louvers are made into the dash all should be in place.
Windows and garnish moldings:
All side
and quarter windows need to be in and working. Power windows and door
locks purchased, installed, wired and working. You could leave the front
and back glass out in some cases-just ask. If you use ( FISH )
aquarium silicon, the glass will not get that old look around their
edges. Keep Slack in the wires! If power windows, ( have them wired )
put the power window switches where they are best for you (where they do
not run into your leg on the door) The best window switch places are in
the console or in a short drop board under the dash. Make sure that you
discuss this with us. All window felting should be in place. Have all
the window garnish moldings fitting the windows and painted. (If you
plan to paint the moldings the same color of the leather or cloth, have
them in primer and make sure that the felting is fitted for the
upholster to put onto garnish moldings after he or she has painted them.
This will up the cost of the job.
Dash and Garnish Moldings painting, "leather look" : You can go to your local auto paint or upholstery supply store and buy cans of SEM vinyl and plastic coat spray paint. You can buy the color you want to do the interior in and paint the dash and garnish moldings. This way we can better match the leather to the moldings. You can also have this paint custom mixed " It works great". This way the dash and moldings have a look just like the leather clean and neat! Keep in mind not to go to light with your color. Real light interiors look good for about a year. A nice medium color is your best bet!
Dash Pads : Some cars and trucks had Dash Pads from the factory. You can reuse or recover the OEM pad. In a few cases we can make custom Dash Pads. Another good idea is to fill up the holes in a metal dash where the pad bolted down and paint the dash. The painted Dash gives a very clean look!
Heat Shields And Sound Deadeners: It's always a good idea to use insulation in your Vehicle. The floor and firewall should be sealed. Only use the bobble type insulation in you roof, sides panels or trunk. If you use the bobble type in the floor it will bust or pop. It's best to use spray-on insulation in you doors because water can get behind the glue / stick on type insulation and sweat.
Dynamat is a very good product but, when placed in the doors it can make them very heavy (very much so on fiberglass cars). I've also found when placing Dynamat in the floor tape off the seams with clear or aluminum tape. This helps keep the black sticky stuff on the back from using out and getting all over you. It is ok you go ahead and put the Dynamat in the floor before you take our car to the upholstery shop. Do not put Dynamat on top of the package tray or on the door where the door panel clips on to the car. It's not best to put any other insulation in the floor because it will just get messed up as they get in and out of the car. You can just bring the roll of insulation you wish to use in the car and let the shop put it in.
Carpet: Make sure that you
have the carpet sill plate garnishes moldings. You can buy custom or
sock molding. This is where the carpet meets the door-jam. If you are
planning for your master cylinder to be under the car. Please consider
putting a remote fill on the exterior fire wall or hidden behind an
interior trunk panel. This way you won't have to cut a cheesy hole in
your high dollar carpet for a trap door!
Radio
and Speakers:
Radio : If your radio is in your dash have it wired and working. If you
plan on having your radio mounted in the headliner or a center console
make sure when you pull the wires there's enough slack wire. We will
wire the radio if you would like us to. Make sure you have the three
wires needed red ACC, yellow HOT all the time and Black GROUND. The
speakers can just lay where you would like them to go. We can make them
blend in with the upholstery we build the custom interior ( make sure
there is enough speaker wire slack ). If you do put the speakers in
yourself make sure that they are flush. This way the panel or package
shelf will fit nicely.
Steering Wheel: If you have not bought a steering wheel consider buying a half wrap steering wheel. This we can cover it with the same leather you picked out for the interior. It can also be recovered years down the road when it may show a little ware.
Door Handles and Window Cranks:
It's best to have them when you take your car into the shop. If not this may add a few hundred dollars to your bill. Street Rod parts suppliers should sale them.
Running Boards: Some older cars have Running Boards. It's best if you have the running boards off your car so they will not get scratched. Shop may cover them and tape up the boards, but stuff happens.
Trunk: Have your trunk working. Make sure you have a way to make the truck stay open. If your trunk uses some kind of electric opener, make sure it does not stick out past where the panel should be flush.
Dome and Interior Lights
: It's a good idea to have all of the power wires run for your dome and interior lights. You can also go ahead and buy theses lights before or during you job.
Weather Striping: Have all weather striping in place in door and trunk jams. Make sure the stripping keeps the weather out!
Convertible Tops: With a convertible top make sure the tacking strips are in good shape. If they are not make sure they are replaced. On some of the 1930's and 1940's cars they are attached around the lip of the body so, it's best to replace the tacking strips before paint. Buy not doing so you take a bigger risk of your paint getting scratched or chipped. Also make sure the top is adjusted to the windows and working right. Make sure to have all working parts and anything you may see painted. Call us for more details
Chopping Your Rod: If you cut or chop your street rod top, please try not to take out the wind lace tacking strip channels that are around the doors. If you decide to, don't use thick metal stock.
GAS, Oil, Antifreeze Leaks: Gas tank and filler neck needs to be sealed to prevented from leaking fumes in the shop. Have as little gas in your car as you can. Most of the time a 1/4 tank or less is fine. A full car or truck of gas can smell up a shop. Please try to have all oil leaks, antifreeze leaks and other fluid leaks stopped before you take it to the interior shop. If you can not do so please inform us about your leaks. If your vehicle leaks we will inform you, in some case we may have to charge you for clean up and disposal- WV DEP watches all shops that work on vehicles (paint, upholstery, or mechanic) for these hazards.
Brakes & Wheels: Have you brakes in good working order. A full pedal is best for moving the car around in close places. A bad set of brakes could cause a car to end up running into a wall, table or another car in the shop. Be sure that all lug nuts are tight.
Engine & Running Gear: It's a very good idea to have the car running and everything checked out. Put 20 to 100 miles on the car or truck before you take it to the interior shop. Make sure the transmission is shifting right at all speeds. Pushing a car off and on a trailer is dangerous. I'm sure you would not like to take your brand new interior out to fix a wire or some kind gauge problems.
Deadlines:
It's best to not push a custom interior shop to make a deadline for a car show. By doing this you force the shop to work harder, sloppier, make mistakes and cut corners just to make a three day show. Things turn out better when time is taken with in the design of an interior.
Relax : Don’t worry about all the details of upholstery. Experienced upholsterers will be happy to guide you thru the details and styles available for your car. Just remember to contact the shop early in the interior process so there will be plenty of time to plan and prepare. Be patient, All things worth while takes time.