Interior
We used the remade seats that came with our car and some original ones as templates for new seats. We were able to conserve some of the original padding, using a layer of new foam on top. For the cockpit trim, we were able to use our originals as templates, and used quilt batting as a substitute for the original cotton material that was inside.
My dad sewed while I traced sewing lines from templates that I had made the day before. Then, my grandma and I clipped on the burgundy trim with ‘alligator clips‘ while he kept sewing. By the end of the day, we had finished all of the interior trim!
We took the completed interior to our shop and installed the snaps in the car body and in the upholstery, ensuring a perfect fit. Then it was time to take the car home and figure out the seats!
Unlike the other interior trim, we did not have perfectly preserved seats, so making templates proved very difficult. It took lots of fiddling, but eventually we ended up with the pieces for two seats.
The ‘alligator clips‘ also came in handy for the seats, sandwiching the edge bead between the faces wile sewing. The original seats used round plastic trim on the edges, but we had to make our own to ensure a color match. We wrapped thin cord with a strip of red fabric, holding it together with contact adhesive.
The interior all came together! The cardboard material for the seat bases and the foam padding proved to be challenging pieces to source locally, but my mom was able to find cardboard and my Aunt Paula was able to find foam, just in time. Making the interior was definitely a family affair!
Our steering wheel had gray paint under the black it was when we got it, so we were removed the black and found a close match to paint it with. Factory photos and other reference showed that the shifter knob was also gray, so we painted it too.
Ready for the show! Wait, something is missing… the top!
The last step - the convertible top! At this point, we only had a day before the Cincinnati Concours d’Elegance, and were very tired, but pushed through to make a top (sans doors). We could not have made the top without the invaluable help of two family friends, who spent the whole day cutting, sewing, and templating the top with us. Thanks a million Matt and Lynn! We finished installing the top around 4 o’clock in the morning the day of the show. After a 1-hour nap, it was show time, and we trailered the Crosley to Ault Park!