• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Quality upholstery kit - AH 3000

Share this page

C

CASCADEWILLY

Member
Offline
Greetings,

What issues ( good or bad ) have you had with different manufacturers upholstery kits, carpets, seats ect. I need to buy a complete interior for my car. I would like a quality fit. I am doing this once. Any honest input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Willy
 
Hi Cascade Willy, I think all the kits from the usual suspects are of good quality. There are a couple of what might be termed custom vendors ; Heritage and Phoenix. HIMO, the quality of the finished product lies primarily with the trimmer. Others will chime in with their experiences I am sure.--Fwiw--Keoke
 
Hi Keoke,

Thanks for the response. I just a Moss, Heritage & Hemphill catalogs today. I have not looked to see what the pricing or quality is from each vendor. I know one thing I want something that fits and looks good. Hopefully I can get someone that has used these three vendors and can share their experiences.

Willy
 
Willy -

I think you will find that almost anyone who has used Heritage gives them extremely high marks.

I have a Moss kit in my BJ8. It is adequate but the quality is commensurate with an early 1970's BMC interior... which is to say it's probably close to original, but not really anything special, and some would argue it's kinda crappy.
 
I think Heritage & Phoenix have the best materials, quality, & installation knowledge. The proprietor of Phoenix is an ex long time employee of Heritage. Both are relatively close to you. As Keoke said, a good deal of the quality comes from the installer. Healey seats are especially hard to get fitted perfectly. There are several under foam/cushion combinations that could be used. Only one will be just right. Lots of vendors don't get the combinations right.

I would send your bare seats to the supplier & let them install the covers & pads. Even the average trim shop is likely to screw up the installation. If you compare one of Heritage installations to a DIY or local "expert" the difference in fit & looks will be obvious.

Lots of people have DIY installed kits on Healeys, & 90% of them are inferior to the first mentioned shops. Painfully & obviously so.

It does cost considerably more this way, but as you say, you only do it once. If you're going to do a DIY installation, don't waste your money on a top quality kit. Just go with the Moss kits.
D
 
Hi, Cascade Willy, I went through all of the indecision of where to go and what to do last fall. If you look at my post of 9/20/06, titled "seat upholstery, am I kidding myself", you'll see a lot of opinions and help from the members. My final choice was Dave Gallagher of Phoenix Upholstery, and you will see some pictures of the seats that he did for me on the thread. I agree with what Dave Russell said earlier, if you are doing it uourself, buy from Moss or a similiar vendor. If you want a great finished product, go with Dave Gallagher at Phoenix, or Heritage. My choice, obviously, was Dave, and I couldn't be happier. Good Luck!!

Larry
 
In the spirit of being helpful (not hurtful) by providing considerable personal experience, some of which is less than stellar, I would ask you to send me a PM and I would be pleased to provide my experience with a few of the above mentioned vendors.

Randy
'66 BJ8
 
From my perspective, of having viewed DIY installations and professionally done, and after hearing how comparatively little was paid for the professional installation, the pros win every time, IMHO.

I have not purchased, but have examined the quality of materials from Moss and Heritage, (My car currently has a Moss carpet from the PO), the Heritage quality is better, but this is just my opinion.
 
CASCADEWILLY

Nothing beats a satisfied customer. That said I put my faith in the hands of Dave from Phoenix and he didn't disappoint. He went beyond the call of duty and if you'd like some pictures pm me your email address and I'd be more than happy to send you photo's showing the quality of his product and work.

DT
 
for the folks on the east coast considering having their interior done by a pro - i had the pleasure this past summer to witness in stages of course the installation of a bj7 interior, when id first seen the car in this shop the new interior had been "pro" installed and look very good however it was there because the dealer that sent it was not happy with the previous work, over several days i visited to watch the progress of the re-installation the difference was stunning, lots of us love to do our own work but it has been proven to me in the area of upholstery/interior trim were not able to beat a good pro, at least i now know im not,the work they do here is amazing everything is so straight neat,clean and tight the interior pops and seems to glow, very high end and not inexpensive. - vantage upholstery, stamford ct. nice folks - p.s. i have no business arrangement nor affiliation with this shop.
 
"Secret Service" Syracuse, NY. I saw their work this summer on an XK Jag, very nice.
 
Just curious, can anyone share average costs of a high quality pro job versus a cheaper variation? Also, does the same hold true for the carpet as well as the upholstery?
 
Not only that, but what about us po' folks down here in the Southeastern U.S.? Shipping a car west of the Mississippi or north of the Mason Dixon line is pretty steep.
 
BrandonBJ8 said:
Just curious, can anyone share average costs of a high quality pro job versus a cheaper variation? Also, does the same hold true for the carpet as well as the upholstery?
Click to expand...

IMOP Brandon, the cost differential rest solely with the initial kit differential cost. There might be a slight difference if the trimmer is not familiar with the kit you purchase or the kit has to be adjusted to fit properly which might take a couple of hours longer to install. But in the long run the labor costs are pretty much fixed.-Fwiw--Keoke
 
How much do the higher end kits usually cost (carpet or upholstery)? I've seen Moss' so I'm familiar with that but could not find pricing on the previously mentioned companies' websites.
 
Hi Brandon,
I'd rather not say what my seats cost from Heritage. It did include new metal backs, bases, padding, & covers & on my BN2, some rather complex built up plywood under bases. Probably more than the average cost.

The seats are the really difficult part to get right on a Big Healey. Carpets & panels are within the possibility for a careful worker to do. Heritage furnishes completely upholstered new panels that you could install fairly easily. As do Phoenix, & Moss. You can also buy quality carpet kits from all.

Some folks send the seats out & have a local shop do the rest & finish up the job. Or finish it themselves.

The soft tops are another job that is very hard to do correctly on a Big Healey.
D
 
cutlass,thats why i gave the name and town of the people i know so you can call and ask about pricing im sure if you went to certain parts of florida or mexico you may get even less expensive pricing for the same quality or better work, and oh you" po' folk dont forget i know what ya do for a livin your probably working in some capacity on the anna nichole case! oh po po me! dont forget i lived in sunny savn. for a couple ah years. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif
 
BrandonBJ8 said:
How much do the higher end kits usually cost (carpet or upholstery)? I've seen Moss' so I'm familiar with that but could not find pricing on the previously mentioned companies' websites.
Click to expand...


Brandon off the top of my head; higher end kits can cost ~30%-to-40% more?--Keoke
 
Just kidding about being po. All is relative, though. With one child in private college and another in private high school, sometimes it just seems that way. Anna Nicole? Naw. Most of us do have some principles. I'm happy to make a moderate living in relative obscurity, and always feel very grateful to have the opportunity.
 
Back
Top