Preparing for Upholstery
1.Appointments : Call or get in touch with the upholstery
shop well ahead of time to " get on the list". Most of the shops (
Street Rod Upholstery Shops
) will have a back log 6 - 9 months or more. " I do "! ( Also keep in mind
this is when
your Street Rod will be ready
for the upholstery shop, plan well ahead. ) " The best thing to do is when
you think you'll
be ready add about 3 months
to it ". Be sure to make an appointment It's better to cancel than to not
have an
appointment at all. If you do
cancel, the shop will keep you in mind and work you in much quicker when
you are ready.
2.Wiring : Make sure there is a little
bit of play within the wires, that the wires will 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 to check
this). If you can run
the wires overhead it will make its floor alot cleaner and better to work
with. Make everything neat
and tie up with plastic ties.
"Keep Slack & Make Net"..
3.Heater Hoses : Also make sure that they
have a little slack in them too ( Just like the wiring ). On my car the
heater
hoses run parallel under the
dash and then 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 to 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. "
4.Windows and garnish moldings : All windows
need to be in and working. 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 ) or make sure that
you discuss this with the upholster. All window felting should be in place.
Have all the
window garnish moldings
fitting the windows right 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 you have the felting for the upholster
to put onto them
after he or she has painted
them, this will up the cost of the job ).
5.Dash and garnish painting, ( leather
look ) : You can go to your local auto paint or upholstery supply
store and get
the cans of SEM vinyl and plastic
spray paint ( The color you want to do the interior with ) and paint the
dash and
garnish moldings with this (
you can also have it mixed ). " It works great." Then the upholster
can match the leather to
the dash and garnish moldings.
This way the dash and moldings look just like the leather, clean
and neat!
6.Carpet : Make sure that you have the carpet
sill plate garnishes ( Where the carpet meets the door-jam ). If you are
planning for your master cylinder
to be under the car, please spend a little more money and put a remote
fill on the
exterior fire wall. This way
you won't have to have a hole cut in your high dollar carpet!
7.Radio and Speakers : Radio : If your radio
is in our dash have it wired and working. If you plan to put your radio
in
the headliner or a center console,
make sure if you wire it that there is enough wire ( Slack ). " I
will wire the radio if you
want me to." Make sure
you have the three wires needed red, yellow and Black. Speakers :, You
can just lay your
speakers wired where you would
like them to go ( make sure there is enough speaker wire slack ). If you
do put the
speakers in, make sure that
they are flush for the panel to go over them.
8.Seats : Make sure that your seats are square
in every way and that the seat tracks are also square to each other before
install them. ( Check
for: side to side, the backs, across, and.... ) Also make sure
that they fit the car and that they
aren't too tight. ( You can
check this the best way when the seats are as far up as they'll go in the
car ). If you are using
the original seat and its in
bad, bad shape and will need to be refoamed, go ahead and take all of the
old stuff off ( old
nails ). You may want to pant
the frames. If so stack them on top of one another this will save paint.
9.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.
10.Coping This Page: You are welcome to copy or
print this page. All I ask is for you to e-mail or sign my
Guestbook with some-kind of
thank you! I Love to Hear from ya!!
Many thanks to Interiors
by Shannon for the tips.
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