I have a 1921 touring that I am installing a upholstery kit along with door, kit panels and top kit. I purchased the kits from Classtique UPHOLSTERY here in MN. They are fitting pretty well and looks really nice.Does anybody have detailed pictures of installing the beaded welt trim on the panels and arm rests. They did not use hidemwelt till about 1923. Welt is installed with black thumb tacks. How far are they apart and pictures of fitting the welt over the end of the arm rests next to the metal end caps. The model t was a basket case when I received it all the wood was rotted out. Did complete rebuild on the engine replaced all wood and installed a lot of patch panels. Any pictures would greatly help. THANKS
Charlie -- Call Classtiques and talk with Mike in their shop. That's what I did when I had some questions, and he was very helpful.
There is a thread from earlier this year (March 2014) called "Classtique Upholstery Trim" that has some good pics, check it out.
To my eye (personal opinion), the panels look pretty good with just the tacks on them, no welt. But, since the welting came with the kit and is "original", I suppose I'll eventually install it on mine.
I should have been more specific, March 22.
Tacks are about three inches apart
The tack spacing originally was around 2 1/2" to 3". Or so I've seen on supposedly original cars.
Some restored cars are closer than that.
I think no closer than 2" would be fine. But that's me. I didn't lose sleep about it.
I also used the Classtique kit for my 21 Touring.
Mine turned out around 2 1/2"
Mike at Classtique told me to shoot for about 2-1/2".
Charles, I have an original un-restored 1922 touring and have some pics of the trim as from the factory.
I will post them when I get some time.
Regards,
Steve
As promised Charles, here are some pics of the original upholstery as built in Detroit; engine assembled May 26, 1922.
The spacing of the upholstery tacks is very close to 3 inches for most of the tacks on the doors and sides of the body, but are about 2 1/2 inches where the rear seat turns up toward the back.
The strip at the arm rest cap is cut on a 45 degree to the bead, then turned 90 degrees and taken up and over the end cap, and tacked where the two overlap.
Hope this helps.
about
Regards,
Steve B
Charlie,
I installed a Classtique interior over the winter in my 1920 Touring and was very pleased with results. Mike was very helpful if I had any questions. The only wood I replaced was the seat tack strips. The original upholstery was in the front seat so I had something to go by. Also used their top kit and I think it turned out fine. I did replace bow wood to eliminate the warping.
Forgot to show finished product
John -- It appears that the upholstery panels for your Classtiques seatbacks have the sewn pleats at 3" o.c. Is this correct?
It also appears to me that the original upholstery in Steve B's car and the Classtiques upholstery in John's car have the sewn pleats of the seat backs and the seat bottoms pretty much aligned with each other. All appear to be on 3" centers. Is this correct? Thanks for any info.
Ah one more thing to mention then I go. There is a plastic strip with bead to go under the welt trim on the seat backs and along the arm rests. I did not use this plastic strip w/ welt trim on end caps, door and kick panels (your choice). I believe this plastic strip is used to replicate the original welting with the paper cord in it.
Mike, The seat pleats vary from about 3 1/4" at center to 4 1/4" at ends before the corners on the backrests ...had to go measure on my car. The backrest pleats and seat pleats line up somewhat at center but then fall out of alignment as the seats have a constant pleat spacing. Not sure if original was like this but I suspect it was.
I pitched the original as the mice had fun with it in my yard shed.
Steve B. -- Would you mind measuring the spacing of the sewn seams on your original seat backs? I understand that they are wider at the top than at the bottom, so the bottom measurement would be fine. I think they should be about 3" o.c. Thanks.
No problem Mike;I will try to post sometime this weekend.
Regards,
Steve
Steve: Thankyou for posting those photos of your original upholstery. I assume your car is a Canadian model?
Yes Steve, thanks for posting those pics. I didn't like the 3/4" wide trim tape which came with my kit, so I bought some 9/16" material from Lang's. I asked and was told that it is being reproduced by none other than our own Larry Smith. Good going, Larry; mine arrived yesterday and it looks just like the original tape in Steve's pics of the "real deal." And thanks to Steve's pics, I now know how to treat it at the corners!
Thanks , glad I could help.
My T is an un-restored US built 1922 touring with the two man top.
I completed the install of the top from Clastique, and it fits and looks great; I highly recommend them for tops and upholstery.
The interior is all original and in really good condition.
As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I will get som pics of the rear back seat for you as soon as I can.
Regards,
Steve B
I took these pics this afternoon,and you can see that the rear top pleats are somewhat wider than at the bottom.
I included a few with the tape measure for measurements.
Hope this helps.
Steve -- Thanks for the pics. A known original car such as yours is an invaluable source of information for us these days. I see that the seat bottom channels are also 3-1/4" o.c., which matches the bottom measurement of the seat backs.
One thing which surprises me is that Ford would run a strip of trim tape at the bottom edge of the seat backs. Since every cent of car-building expense was important, it seems that trim would have been eliminated.
Thanks again; good stuff!
Steve-
I did not realize there is a line of stitching just up from the bottom of the backrest, neat the top of the cushion. What is the distance from the buttons, down to the sticking? What is the distance from the stitching to the bottom?
Fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing.
-Keith
That line of stitching was a new one on me as well. All I could figure is that it must have been intended to keep padding from settling down into that area, which would make it difficult to fit the seat bottom into place.
I'll have a quick look later tonight and get back with the measurements.
Regards,
Steve
Keith, I measured 15 inches from the buttons to the stitching .The stuffing protrudes quite a bit and tapers off quickly at the stitches; if that makes any sense.
The stitching keeps the stuffing from moving downward and makes room for the rear seat cushion, as Mike alluded to.
The distance from the stitching to the bottom is 4 1/4 inches.
Hope this is of use.
Regards,
Steve