My 68' interior needs Black leather

[Jfarns03]

What would it cost to have an original bench seat refurbished with new foam and real black leather? Just a ball park number, im not familiar with the costs it takes to have these bench seats freshened up. Thanks ! I think around $30 a hide** (if thats the correct way to put it)

[bpatrol]

I think a hide is a alot more then that. probably hundreds per. and you would need probably 3 maybe
not sure though
bpatrol

[leftybass209]

Around 800-1000 for a quality product including foam repair. There's probably shops in the 500 range but it's anyone's guess as to quality.

[cdowns]

look into goin to mexico to have it done

[Jfarns03]

I dont mind spending money for quality, Sorry i meant to say $130** a pelt. Hell, the budget was blown out the window the day i brought it home haha

[Grumpy old man]

You can find black leather hides on e-bay for about $99.00 each and they are measured by the square foot average is 35-50 square feet ,I would buy 2 and take them to any local auto trim/upholstery shop to have them recovered and you should have enough left over to have the metal door panels covered also .You may want to look at a material called Allante it looks and feels the same as leather with little maintenance. Leather requires frequent moisturizing (it's skin and dries out just like ours does) and shrinks becomes hard and cracks when not maintained correctly .Most new car interiors that are called leather have only the material that touches your body "real" leather the sides and backs are color matched VINYL .Be aware that leather comes with barb wire scratches and scars and that is considered NORMAL , and expensive replacement foam is not needed any auto upholstery shop can replace/repair the foam for a lot less $

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Jfarns03

What would it cost to have an original bench seat refurbished with new foam and real black leather? Just a ball park number, im not familiar with the costs it takes to have these bench seats freshened up. Thanks ! I think around $30 a hide** (if thats the correct way to put it)

You are way off on your cost estimate. Hides will run between $450.00 and $900.00 each depending on color and finish. Most fall between 48 and 52 square feet for a full hide so 1.5 to 2 hides depending on how much cutting waste and seam overlap your design has. Sewing leather will take a special machine. Your wife's dressmaker's machine isn't going to cut it and even an inexpensive leather machine will be $1200.00 minimum. I just finished Door panels, package shelf and seats for a corvette powered Miata I'm building. It's a small car but took 1.25 hides to do two buckets, door panels and carpet trim. Door panels, center console and headliner for my 67 stepside was one 52 sq ft hide.

[Grumpy old man]

The average retail cost of leather hides runs about $5.00 a square foot any more than that and your just paying some middle man ,I've been building custom interiors for 35+ years and just rebuilt this set of seats for a friend using real leather for his 1971 big block SS El camino .Brand new commercial walking foot sewing machines can be bought for less than a thousand dollars and used about $500.00 they last 30 + years also using the correct foam makes all the difference in how your seats look and the comfort level you get out of them also how long they will last ! You can not use 1/2 the hide you buy to build seats the best leather comes from the back of the cow the lower sections of leather (think cows armpits to the stomach) the leather is weaker and the grain is different and will not last as seats they will crack and split ,You can use the sides for door panels or a consol .Nothing beats the leather smell when you get into your truck .Also as you can see from these pictures internal foam damage can be repaired WITHOUT replacing the foam seat buns !

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[67 chevelle]

Wow Grumpy , those seats look awesome

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 67 chevelle

Wow Grumpy , those seats look awesome

Thanks ,Here are a few more I've done lately for a 1976 Chevy Monza ,My C-4 Vette seats ,and the buckets I'm making from 2 '67 bench seats .Always check with your local auto trim/upholstery shop before spending tons of cash on kit seats !


http://http://http://http://http:///vette001_zpsfdc03784.jpg[/IMG]http://