You know those passages in the Bible where Japeth, begat Magog, Magog begat Gomer, Gomer begat Tagorh…and so on and so forth. Restoring a vintage car seems a little like that. One problem begats another one, which begats another and another. They do, however, eventually reach a conclusion. My conclusion is that this conclusion is eventually reached through the use of glue, filler, and perhaps gold plating.
Here’s a set of magnificent red leather seats for the TC. Picked up at a bargain price. Of course it is a modern kit, upholstered over the original cushions and squabs. (Squabs are the backrests. There you go, you learn something new every day.) The leather seat kit usually costs $1600-$1800, so to pick it up for around a third of that, with the seat frames included, is a bargain.
Unfortunately, here’s the problem. The squabs have been upholstered directly over the old vinyl, which is cracked and decaying underneath. Well it’s just not a professional way of going about it. The underpinnings of a project are more important than the surface finish. You can always add a lick of paint or some gold plating later. The upholstering is a trickier job than it sounds. This will require removing the covers, lots of careful and laborious unstitching. Removing the old vinyl. Resurfacing the backrests with a new foam rubber padding or lining. This will probably be held in place best with glue. Then the covers back on. Perfect. And it should last another 60 years.
Here’s the original wood laminate dash. Fancy and luxurious looking in its day. Now looking, what we may politely call, antique. The cracks have been filled with ebony wood filler, and it’s now ready for spraying with a UV resistant 2 pack semi gloss lacquer. It should come up very nicely, shiny but with lots of character.
Glue and filler. Yes they will solve most of life’s problems. As long as the underpinnings are correct.
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