Stop in for a cup of coffee

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Ddaddy said:
I still have most of the tools. That Caddy was one of the last other than a few personal projects or ones for friends. I still know all the tricks though and have applied them on my GTS a bit. My SRT too.

I did this bit of custom red piping on my SRT 2 years ago...

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Like very much. I have a friend that does custom upholstery. I don't know how it's done but I very much respect what he does. Nice work!
 
In another piece of my upholstery history, I was taught how to install vinyl tops by a guy who was installing vinyl tops at the Chrysler plant in Newark Delaware back then.

When he taught me, he was doing the vinyl tops on the K-cars at the plant as his full-time job. It's part of how I learned to be so fast and efficient. Chrysler had it down to a science and he was trained in their optimized technique. I adapted it for all makes and models since the principles were the same. I had to teach myself the Caddy and Lincoln tops though since they were more complex with very tightly sewn and fitted tops on top of partial fiberglass shells and thick padding.
 
LOL
crash.jpg
 
Ddaddy said:
Thanks guys. Back in the day, I was considered one of the best Auto Upholstery guys in the Philly Tri-state area. I did thousands of vinyl tops, convertible tops, Roadster tops, seat covers, carpets, door panels...the works. I also did a bunch of high-end custom limos and a dozens of custom cars that won awards at the Philly area car shows. That '56 Caddy pulled $60k at the Atlantic City Classic Car Auction in 1993.

I ran the business from '82-'89 before I shut it down and went to work at DuPont Engineering. The Carpal Tunnel damage to my hands had gotten to be too much and the feast-or-famine cycle of the business was killing me. Too much work in the nice weather and nearly nothing during the cold months. It was just eating up too much of my life with no time to enjoy doing much of anything when the weather was nice. I knew I would never last physically doing it all myself and good talent to do the work was nearly impossible to find.

I look back without regret and feel pride in what I did then...and I'm very glad I moved on when I did.

I do however still have dreams of installing vinyl tops. I used to be able to strip one off and replace it in under an hour out the door...all for around $75.
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I think if I had a clue where to start (and equipment to do it) I would try to make seat cover. I did put my vinyl top on, but it's just a canopy.
 
Chrysler products are built like tanks. Here's what happened to a POS '80s Caddy that rear ended my SRT back in Memphis in 2009.

My car and his car...

Rear ended by Caddy.jpg
 
zkx14 said:
I think if I had a clue where to start (and equipment to do it) I would try to make seat cover. I did put my vinyl top on, but it's just a canopy.
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You just need someone to sew the cover for you. I can show you the rest (I just don't have my industrial sewing machine anymore). I have the tools and all the tricks.
 
zkx14 said:
I think if I had a clue where to start (and equipment to do it) I would try to make seat cover. I did put my vinyl top on, but it's just a canopy.
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Having a heavy duty,.walking foot sewing machine is ths key. Aftsr that, duplicating an existing pattern is pretty basic.. got to drop about a grand to get a real good machine tho..
 
Ddaddy said:
You just need someone to sew the cover for you. I can show you the rest (I just don't have my industrial sewing machine anymore). I have the tools and all the tricks.
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Thanks Dave. Lets see what I end up with for a cover, but I will likey take you up on that. I had every intention of installing the cover. Seams kinda pointless to muddle through on my own when I can get expert help. :thumbsup:
 
Ben Drinkin said:
Having a heavy duty,.walking foot sewing machine is ths key. Aftsr that, duplicating an existing pattern is pretty basic.. got to drop about a grand to get a real good machine tho..
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Yep. My industrial Singer machine cost $900 back in '86...but it could sew an inch of stacked leather panels like it was going through butter. The thread was like piano wire and if you didn't have the tension right, it would pull tight and slice right through the panels.
 
Ben Drinkin said:
Having a heavy duty,.walking foot sewing machine is ths key. Aftsr that, duplicating an existing pattern is pretty basic.. got to drop about a grand to get a real good machine tho..
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Uhm...OK. I could not pick a walking foot sewing machine out of a line up. Lol
 
zkx14 said:
Thanks Dave. Lets see what I end up with for a cover, but I will likey take you up on that. I had every intention of installing the cover. Seams kinda pointless to muddle through on my own when I can get expert help. :thumbsup:
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Cool! let me know where you end up and we can do the work either at your place or mine. Whatever works best. :)
 
jaws said:
wonder why she didn't get a south paw AR if she shoots south paw?
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I shoot south paw, you do not need to pay extra for a south paw AR. It's nothing but a sales gimick
 
I was going to help the man from Kansas, gave him a full day of info, brought in a dozen buyer's I got on the phone and sent 20 pictures to a friend and sold a $20.000.00 Super Bee and when (at the end of the day) asked about a set of manifoulds I could use he shoots me a full blown ebay price :wtf::wtf: I don't help ungrateful ***** !! Lord I thought he would have thrown me a bone !! He is on his own, I have to many good memories of my friend to be treated like a grunt all day with out a thank you :BangHead::BangHead:

Hippie 22.jpg
 
memike said:
I was going to help the man from Kansas, gave him a full day of info, brought in a dozen buyer's I got on the phone and sent 20 pictures to a friend and sold a $20.000.00 Super Bee and when (at the end of the day) asked about a set of manifoulds I could use he shoots me a full blown ebay price :wtf::wtf: I don't help ungrateful ***** !! Lord I thought he would have thrown me a bone !! He is on his own, I have to many good memories of my friend to be treated like a grunt all day with out a thank you :BangHead::BangHead:

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People suck!
 
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