69 Camaro, 69 Firebird, and a 68 Barracuda interiors

February 10, 2009

Hey all,

I'm embarking on a project (actually 3) that includes replacing the full interiors of a 69 Firebird, 69 Camaro and a 68 Barracuda. By full interior I mean the carpet, dash pad, door and 1/4 panels, front / rear seat upholstery including the foam, package shelf and headliner. Just about all the soft goods on the inside of these cars. I intend to use the kit type of interior packages available from companies like Classic Industries.

Can anyone describe their experience with these types of kits and the companies that offer them? What I'm most interested in is the quality of the materials and workmanship, along the service quality of the supplier. So far I've only found a couple suppliers for the GM cars and nobody for the Barracuda. Any recommendations for suppliers?

Thanks for any info offered.

Bruno

February 11, 2009

Legendary Auto Interiors might have Barracuda pieces. If not, just make your own. As for door panels, watch the chrome pieces. Sometimes it is cheap. Otherwise, that's the way to go to get the heat seamed look rather than having to sew the pleats. I'm never thrilled with pre-made seat covers. Flimsy and cheap compared to what I build, but it is a way to save some money.

February 12, 2009

Thanks for the reply. I can agree that the custom work quality would be far superior to the kits. The interesting thing about these cars is that all three are being restored for daily driver duty. More like refurbished actually. They all are undergoing repairs and repaints but not at a show level quality. They need to be done quickly (!?) as they're graduation gifts. Basically the owner wants "good", not "great". This is a guy that we've done work for in the past and he's actually pretty reasonable in his expectations.

My thoughts were that the kits would be suitable for this project but I'm concerned that they're... well... junk.

Thanks again,

Bruno

February 13, 2009

With the kits, it's definitely a case of "you get what you pay for." Deals on the internet are not the way to go. They usually are seconds, or ill-fitting knockoffs. What I've always found with places like Year One and other suppliers, the kits are usually PUI or Legendary, just resold by the other companies.

One of my aggravations with the kits is that if you do anything to them, it voids warranties. I had one Legendary kit that one of the pleats was angled. For me to go into the cover and resew it so things looked right, there would be no returning it later on. But, also, if a customer comes to me to put them on, if there is a problem later, they'll come to me to fix it rather than calling the company anyway.

No matter the kit that you end up choosing, even if you don't replace the foam buns, add at least 1/2" scrim foam to the top of the existing foam to give it some extra boost. It makes the covers fit tighter. And on the listings that run alongside the center panels from front to back, if it's using the poly welt down in the listing, replace it with a piece of wire. Holds the listing straight down in the groove and doesn't allow the wavy seam.

Geesh, I got a camera for graduation to take pictures of neat cars. Lucky kids.