Jeff Lilly Restorations, Antique Car Restoration, Classic Car Restoration, Muscle Car Restoration, Street Rod Building, Custom Car Restoration, Custom Car Building And More!

210-695-5151

Upholstery Shop Tour

*Mechanical*	Media Blast	*Body Shop*	*Parts Cleaning*
*Block Sand*	*Wood Work*	*Upholstery*	Paint-Assembly

	Welcome to our upholstery shop! We are ready to build your original and custom seat desires.
	If we are restoring an original vehicle we start by disassembling the existing seats and photographing them extensively. This helps make decisions on foam thickness, wire supports and shape/style. During a StreetRod or Custom project we often purchase new original and custom seat frames from American and Foreign vehicles, if the customer likes a particular style or look. We then recover them to match the vehicle/customer taste.
	A few samples of the many materials we offer. After matching your original materials or selecting the shade range of your choice on a custom project, we can send you appropriate selections for your viewing decisions. Mohair to Leather/Vinlys etc any color fabric you can imagine, welt cords, headliners, vinyl and convertible tops etc. We can design anything your heart desires!
	As seen these springs were blasted white metal clean after wire repairs and/or modifications were done. We then painted them to match the materials to be used!
	On custom seats or factory foam that is not adequate we glue and add foam where it is necessary to support the outer materials for both quality and longevity. Here Ray is custom contouring foam to exact tolerance with an 1800 rpm hand grinder. Like anything the foundation is what really makes the difference.
	Simple tools such as this turkey cutter are easy to use and the results are evident.
	Depending on the type of foams needed different glues are used to adhere them together. We use pressure pot sprayers and aerosol cans with different adhesives to get the job done.
	On multiple curved seats and other challenging pieces we often mock up the covers in vinyl before cutting into $5-600 per hides of leather.
	Final fit of all vinyl templates. We are pleased with the style and our Customer gives us the thumbs up to proceed.
	Senco stapler is used to pull down and hold all materials from the back side such as door panels.
	We always check fit for quality control, Looks good !
	Our vinyl templates have been pre fitted, removed and we are now ready to cut some cow!
	We lay out the templates on top of the new leather and start the cuts. We primarily use Garret leather for all of our hides because they offer some of the best in Italian, German, Asian and American cow hides. Grains will vary depending on what part of the world they are from.
	The JUKI assist us in accomplishing our goal. Quality beyond boundaries.
	The JUKI Motor is the brain of the outfit . It can be electronically programmed to how many stitches per inch you want and the time it takes for those stitch numbers to take place. This allows us to sew at a comfortable pace which enables excellent French seams!
	Ray applies glue to the back of the hides and then attaches a thin 1/4 inch foam to the back side before final trim and stitch.
	Multiple contours and many angles are the hardest thing for a trimmer to overcome. The results are evident on this close up of Rays work, AWESOME is the only way to explain it ! ! !
	The custom seat is looking good as each section is fitted to the highest tolerance.
	The finished product speaks for it's self. Note, the Customers Choice of Stars for his home in The Lone Star State!
	To keep the seats protected before they are installed we completely wrap each seat with plastic and install them into foam supported "no scuff boxes".

Bench Seat From Foam to Finish Leather

	1. To achieve the ultimate results in upholstery there are several steps that must be followed in order to get the prize. The springs are the first step with replacing any broken and or weak springs and then clamping main wires to keep them straight. The bench seat lean backs must match each other from side to side. We have laid down the blue foundation foam. The grey foam is the first layer of foam for our desired deep set seat style that you will see unfold in the next pictures.
	2. We now glue down our own custom cut "yellow shape foam" that defines our deep set style. Keep in mind that this is a custom project so it is imperative that you know how thick each section is to end up with your desired look and support of the cover, be it cloth or leather.
	3. Covered up, glued down and ready to radius cut the corners she is starting to take shape.
	4. Monte checks out the foam base with a straight edge to see where it may need adjusted.
	5. We marked out some low and high spots we were concerned with and we are now ready to shape it to the next level.
	6. Using a board file with 80 grit sandpaper he levels out the "special" foam much like you would a body before paint !
	7. Next comes a seat fit to check the foam clearances in relation to the arm rests and rear package tray. It has been decided that we need to round the outside upper corners to allow for a smoother transition in these areas.
	8. As a note! When doing deep set style seats we attach hook and loop material to ensure the inner seat panels will not move once lined up stitch to stitch with the upper and lower halves of the seats.
	9. With the front and rear seats installed we get a good look with out the glass installed for the ultimate critiquing. While starting to slice and cut down the foam to achieve the look we want our Customer gives us the thumbs up to continue on with this style for his custom interior.
	10. We mocked up the corners with leather to get the pattern and sewing stitch spacing dead on before cutting into the $600 per hide grey leather.
	11. Another view shows the subtle yet stylish transition from the top of the seat to the package tray and qter window side panel.
	12. All the concerns were adjusted and the final covers were cut out, sewn up and stretched out to give the ultimate look for this 57 !
	13. We will now remove the seats and plastic wrap protect them until the body is painted and final assembly takes place.

Seat Side

	1. 50s seats tend to be large and plush. These side "clam shell" covers for a 57 Chevy are first lined with tack strip to allow the materials to be stapled and held in place.
	2. Riveted and glued down in place they are ready to be wrapped and leather stretched.
	3. Grey leather that is wrinkle free and beautiful will compliment the seats nicely.

Door Panels

	1. To lay out and build door panels takes a bit of time when building the best. Here we have luan wood panel 1/8 thick that has been cut out to fit the very outer edge of the door frame less 1/6 of an inch to compensate for foam and upholstery material such as the leather we are using. We have laid out 3/16 th thick pad strips for spacers to allow the pleated look on this 59 Caddy.
	2. As per the factory, carpet was installed at the bottom section of each door panel. It is hemmed with material on the exposed bottom edge and is then glued in place.
	3. After marking with a straight edge and sewing the leather pleats exactly on those lines we have perfect pleats on the bottom half section. At this point we now glue it in place.
	4. The same shim, sew and glue system was repeated on the upper section to give this look. Stainless steel panels are then attached in the arrow shape seen to finish off the panels.

Convertible Arm Rest

	1. Convertible arm rest covers hide all the hydraulic top lifting cylinders and have been made in metal and plastic with a vinyl grain. Our covers are from a 50s Caddy and are steel covered with upholstery. As seen we have covered them with a pad on the top section first to allow a comfy arm rest base.
	2. Metal covers usually have a lot of irregular shapes and are in need of heavy padding. We often need to have water proof 1/8th thick cardboard sewn to the back sides before installing. The pleats are traced with a straight edge and sewn right through the board for strength.
	3. The ash tray was fitted with relief cuts sliced on the leather to allow a tight fit. Carpet was then glued down on the bottom as per the factory style. This cover is ready to go.

Head Liner

	1. We will make our own headliner if none is available and/or we have fabricated a custom roof then a custom drop down headliner needs to be made. We start with water resistant card board and cut a few section and fold it in place. Using masking tape we get roughed out.
	2. As seen a few specific areas are marked to get us some references points and we are ready to do our first fit inside the vehicle.
	3. Using the Jiffy steamer we can pretty much tell the cardboard what to do with little manipulation by hand. After about an hour it has taken shape and is ready to trim and start the foam work.
	4. Special headliner foam that will tolerate the gravity of a constant pull when installed in the vehicle is used. 1/2 thick is what we use. It is now ready to be covered and attached with special fasteners to finish it out.
	5. We went on to the door panel and fitted arm rest to the truck

Trunk Panels

	1. On Custom Cars and Street Rods we often upholster the Trunk panels, floor and rear seat area. Here we have built metal panels to cover the original grooved panels. We then wrapped material the same thickness as our leather around the edges to show us where trimming and or tweaking was needed in order to achieve an exact fit.
	2. After gluing down 1/4 inch foam we stretched grey leather around the newly fabricated panels and they look great.

Old Style Seat Coils

1. Starting in the early 1900s automotive seats were built using individual coils as supports. On concours original vehicles we build seats of this vintage the same way. As seen on this 28 INT project we started with a 5/8 plywood base and attached coils in rows held down by clamps and screwed to the wood. We also attach burlap straps to pull all the coils in tight toward one another to keep them firm.

2. As seen we have completely covered the top of the seat with burlap before building the cover. We will now add 1.5 inches of top foam.

Dash Board Covers

1. Often we can purchase NOS vinyl covers and adhere them to their perspective dash board. As seen Jeff is working the cover around and over all the shapes and contours on this 57 T-Bird dash. After final fit it will be vinyl dyed white as is the chosen interior color. 10 Photos

Vinyl Top Install

1. We can Mfg our own tops or install pre-made covers. This pre-made has been stored in a box from the supplier and has numerous wrinkles down the center. Monte is steaming out all the wrinkles with our Jiffy commercial steamer using distilled water to avoid any residue during the procedure. 9 Photos

Chest Restraint Power Seats

1. The Hot Ticket is looks with safety. When you have a classic especially a convertible having a chest restraint is a life saving decision. Take a look at this Big block Torino we are building. Just another way we let you have your cake and eat it too with 6 way power.

Three headed resting

1. We have built many unusual items in the past and this three headed rest is certainly one of them. Getting it all to match and line up is the key including fabricating the internal slide mechanisms to make it function properly. This one goes in a 502 big block 71 Wagon middle seat.

Convertible Tops

	Convertible tops can be custom made or reproductions installed.
	Everything you always wanted to know about the process of leather manufacturing. Complete info on how it is made including natural imperfections and their removal!