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hey guys,
Im working on redoing the interior on my dads 48 blue desoto.
I'm really lost as to what fabrics and materials to use.
He wants it restored to original but I think reproduction fabrics are expensive, so even if its something 'close enough' it would do.
The problem is I have no idea where to start or what to get a match too. His interiror is in pretty bad shape and really faded, so i cant compare to that. not to mention, I have no idea if its original or if its been redone.
Hopefully you guys can point me in the rigth direction.
SMS Auto Fabrics, listed under the vendor section would be your best bet for upholstery material. They are the ones I used when I redid my 51.
Chris
Tina, even though the interior may be in bad shape and really faded, often there are places to find unfaded materials. Some places to look are under the front seats or back seats and the door thresholds. You might even find some up against the firewall under the dashboard. It is always best to find some good materials as you obviously know.
If the car was originally blue, it would have had a blue pile fabric if it is a Deluxe model or a blue broadcloth fabric if it is a Custom model. As Paul suggested you may be able to find a sample from an area not exposed to the sunlight. More than likely you will need to replace the foam rubber in the seats when replacing the fabric. SMS will probably ask for a sample if one is available.
Mac
I got the original seat material for my 52 from SMS. Around $400 for just the seat material. If you have even a small piece they can tell you if they have it.
Also,
Check up on:
http://www.lebaronbonney.com/
I have not dealt with them yet but they are the only people so far, who have replied and said they are sending samples. I'll try to post updates to this topic as I learn more.
Ralph
Most Sincerely,
Ralph M Bohm
'50 Desoto CarryAll
Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies. This will work great to replace the seat material but the rest of the interior such as the door panels have already been redone recently. So without knowing how close to the original color/material they got, I cant rely on matching that material.
Tina, I didn't have any material samples either but SMS matched it from a picture. The interior in my car had been redone before I bought it and I didn't have any material samples. I did have some pictures of 1952 interiors that I knew were original. I e-mailed them to SMS and they matched it. For the door panels and headliner, we used a modern material that we matched as close as we could from the pics. If you are going to have the car judged at a DeSoto convention or try for AACA awards the judges may know the door panels aren't 100% original. No one else will.
does anyone have any pictures of a 48 interior? I've been doing some searches and I've found alot of beige ones.
do you guys know if the interior was color matched to the car (blue car/blue interior) or if they were all beige?
There were several color fabrics available for the S-11 DeSotos. All fabric colors were not available on all body colors. Does your father's car have a data plate showing the paint code and trim code? Did you decide if it is a Custom or Deluxe model? Attached is some order information on the fabric availability on the S-11 models.
Mac
Hey, thanks for the data sheet, I'm not exactly sure what to do with it but it will be good to have. I think my best bet at this point is to get some good interior shots of a similar car.
I asked, and his is a custom.
I asked about the data plate, we'll see what he says about it.
I sent a request to SMS for some samples.
