Sprint Seat Kits vs. Custom Upholstery??

[phila3885]

I'll be needing new upholstery on my 62 Sprint project soon. I know some of the major Alfa parts sources have seat upholstery kits available. Can anyone comment on the fit of these kits and overall quality? I'm leaning toward a custom job for two reasons: I like the two-tone vinyl look I've seen on some restorations vs. vinyl/cloth combos which most kits seem to come in. Also, I need to reconstruct the missing door panels too and want the materials to match seats. Any recommendations?

P.S. I need a left side 101 door panel, any condition! Thanks.

[Alfajay]

Phil:

I'd say that your instincts are correct - go with the custom-sewn. A good restoration upholstery shop shouldn't have any trouble dupicating a Sprint inteior. When I had my 105 Sprint done, I took a lot of photos of original and well-restored cars at various shows, and gave these to my upholsterer. He could copy them in vinyl and carpet pretty well.

As for your left door panel - why not just trace the right panel (I assume it's just the board that you need, and you would want to re-make that from new material - or is there some chrome/stainless trim on the door upholstery that you're after?).

[phila3885]

Thanks. Yes, what I really need are the chrome strip and the chrome pull tabs from the panel (very hard to get) to complete the look. I will copy the right panel though if I have to. I'll keep searching..

[6alfas]

Phil,

Interesting timing on your question. I agonized over having a local upholstery guy do my Sprint seats or if I should order a kit. I wanted them to look good but didn't want to spend a fortune. A local guy quoted $350 to rebuild the foam and sew new seats if I bought the material. The material was going to run about $250 and has been on backorder since February so about two weeks ago I contacted Elvezio Esposito in Italy http://www.elvezio.com/cgi-bin/estor...i#Alfa%20Romeo . Not sure if they were an original supplier for Alfa or what, but they have seat kits and door panel kits. I wanted red and gray vinyl, two tone, to match my existing door panels which are in very usable condition. I paid for the seat kit last week (you can do a bank draft or pay by paypal) and they were arrived today. Absolutely beautiful! The shipping is a little high but they express ship them. Now I just need to have them fitted. Even with the rebuilding of the foam and fitting charge it won't be much more expensive than what I was originally quoted, maybe $100 more, and they will be factory correct. The upholstery guy won't have to work off of small pictures I've pulled from the internet. I'll try and post pictures here of the kit and once they are fitted.

Chuck
59 Sprint

[phila3885]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6alfas Phil, Interesting timing on your question. I agonized over having a local upholstery guy do my Sprint seats or if I should order a kit. I wanted them to look good but didn't want to spend a fortune. A local guy quoted $350 to rebuild the foam and sew new seats if I bought the material. The material was going to run about $250 and has been on backorder since February so about two weeks ago I contacted Elvezio Esposito in Italy http://www.elvezio.com/cgi-bin/estor...i#Alfa%20Romeo . Not sure if they were an original supplier for Alfa or what, but they have seat kits and door panel kits. I wanted red and gray vinyl, two tone, to match my existing door panels which are in very usable condition. I paid for the seat kit last week (you can do a bank draft or pay by paypal) and they were arrived today. Absolutely beautiful! The shipping is a little high but they express ship them. Now I just need to have them fitted. Even with the rebuilding of the foam and fitting charge it won't be much more expensive than what I was originally quoted, maybe $100 more, and they will be factory correct. The upholstery guy won't have to work off of small pictures I've pulled from the internet. I'll try and post pictures here of the kit and once they are fitted. Chuck 59 Sprint

[6alfas]

Sounds good Phil. They didn't show the combination I wanted on their website so ask them for a quote if you can't find it listed.

Chuck

[Andrew Schank]

World Upholstery has really good patterns for these cars. the problem with the local shops is if all you have are stretched out/shrunk torn up patterns to go from, sometimes they can't do such a good job. I found they often overstuff the seats and they end up looking like pillow cases.