Over the next few weeks I will be doing a recurring blog on a the art of redoing automobile interiors, as I think this is a subject that is rarely covered. As most of you know my Charger is my warhorse. It’s big, brash, in your face and performs better than most muscle cars that are still roaming the streets. I drive this car everywhere, to the track, the store and even sometimes an occasional trip across the country. This car has seen and done it all. But doing all this fun stuff tends to eventually take its toll, and for this reason some refurbishing is required.
Continue reading after the jump!
Mechanically the car is truly solid, but the interior… Well, it’s a bit tired, exhausted actually, so for this reason I decided that it was time for an update. Now doing the interior of a car, especially a custom car, is no easy task. There are a lot of little items to consider as we are not just talking about slipping on a new set of seat covers. A full custom interior takes a plan. Just as you lay out the mechanicals of a car before you build it, you must also do the same for the inside. The first step however, is finding a right interior shop to do the work and this, in and of itself, is no easy task. Questions must be asked. How long have they been in business? Are they a churn and burn shop? Have you seen prior examples of their work? Price, design, turn around, materials… the list of questions just goes on and on. I find that in instances like this recommendations from close friends, family and business associates tend to come in handy, so those are exactly the sources I used.
My first step was research. I googled, I asked and searched for a shop that provided the perfect match for me and my car. Remember, that once you drop your car off, it’s out of your hands, so you’d better be able to trust the hands that you’re leaving your baby with. Big upholstery shops scare me. They generally try to get you in and out in record time, charge a huge amount of money and sometimes forget to pay attention to the little details. These little details are what make or break a great interior, and for this reason you can’t be afraid to ask some questions. Find out what materials they use, where they get them from, and if they reuse such factory items as retaining clips and grommets. When viewing their work, make sure everything such as the stitching, material and patterns used are congruent throughout the entire interior. Stitching should be straight, patterns should match up front to rear, and all the material used, whether cloth, vinyl or leather, should come from the same die lot. Remember this is your baby and you will be paying your hard earned money, so make sure you ask the important stuff up front so you won’t have any surprises later on.
In the next segment, I’ll tell you who I chose, why I chose them and how we began the redo of an otherwise drab interior into something truly fantastic.
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