Upholstery Tips from the Pros: Part 2

Hudsons Rod and Custom
(865) 933-9478
PRO: WILL HUDSON

Will and Homer Hudson are the father and son team that form Hudson's Rod and Custom. The shop, located in Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, has been building complete cars, including interiors since 2004. Not only have they built some tremendous cars and trucks including the interior for the Goodguy's G/RS Camaro and the 2016 ’32 Ford roadster giveaway car, but they also work with other top builders when it comes time to finish the interior.

TRENDS AND STYLES 
“There are a lot of different things going on with interior styles these days,” explained Will Hudson. “Take for instance the door panels. They used to just simply be flat, clean and simple, but now we’re seeing a more 3D effect with detailed map pockets or arm rests being added.”

“We’re also starting to see more metal work and sheet metal come into the cabin. We recently did a ’69 C/10 pickup and built a sheet metal headliner that was full of punched and flared holes. We tied that design into the rockers as well,” he added.

“We’ve also seen several builds that do away with carpet altogether. We did a delivery sedan recently with a hardwood floor throughout. It looked great and was just different”

DIY 
For those brave enough to take on the task of making interior panels, Will stressed the importance of planning ahead. “You need to make sure that your panels fit well and have a uniform gap or space that still fits correctly once the pieces are wrapped. Remember, you might be adding a 1/8 inch of leather which could add up to a one-quarter inch difference when you to go install the final parts. It could throw off the entire fit and finish!”

MODERN COMPONENTS 
“Just about everything we build includes Bluetooth and hookups for phones and iPads.” But it’s not just the audio side of things getting modern touches. “Trim pieces are starting to be machined or designed to match modern pieces as well,” Will said.

Another custom area that shops are doing more work on is machining their own interior trim and accessories. Hudson's crafted the door panel and shifter trim in this example.

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Sid Chavers Company
www.sidchaverscompany.com
PRO: SID CHAVERS

Sid Chavers is known as a traditional innovator. Sure that may sound a bit like an oxymoron, but it couldn’t be truer as for style and influence on hot rod interiors. With over three and a half decades creating custom interiors, Sid has been there with the extreme customizers, through restorations and the old-school stylings of hot rods.

By studying the past, Sid and his company have been able to refine hot rod interiors by blending modern components, materials, and style with the favorite aspects of the past. He has also shared a number of this techniques and build tips with enthusiasts and do-it-yourself rodders in his instructional videos.

Paul and Erik Hansens’ “Sedeuced” ’32 Ford roadster that won Goodguy's Most Beautiful Street Rod over 10 years ago still holds up as a timeless blend of modern and traditional style. Creating an interior with a time-less quality is important in the overall build and future of the car.

STEPS 
“Always fab the seat and get it placed in the mounting position before installing the steering column,” Sid warned. “Otherwise, you are just guessing at how you will sit in the car.”

DIY 
Sid has developed a series how-to videos for folks thinking about tackling their door panels, seats or headliners. “Even if you decide to go to a professional shop, you’ll have a better understanding of explaining what you want and how it’s done.” (How helpful are the DVDs you ask? Even Ron Mangus gives the how-to videos a thumbs up!)

MATERIAL 
“Leather is by far the best and most popular,” Sid said, but for my own cars, I actually use vinyl. I don’t care for the look leather gets after a few years of use, the vinyl seems to stay looking new longer.”

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Recovery Room Hot Rod Interiors
www.recoveryroominteriors.com
PRO: TRACY WEAVER

Tracy Weaver of Recovery Room Hot Rod Interiors

When in doubt, there’s always the Recovery Room. In this case, we’re talking about Tracy Weaver’s Recovery Room for hot rod interiors. Tracy, Jacob Nash, and Jarrod Firkins have been cranking out high-end custom interiors for 25 years racking up an impressive collection of credentials with a Ridler, Custom and Street Rod of the Year awards, Concours d‘ Elegance winners and more.

The team has their shop in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, (just south of Omaha) and they make it a priority to work very close with the owners and builders to understand their thoughts on style, form, function and design. From there they work with metals, composites, and fiberglass to develop the form before wrapping the pieces in a material.

PREP 
Tracy explained the importance of planning ahead during the build process. “You really need to plan ahead on the wiring,” he stated. “Customers could easily save 10-20 hours of labor by making sure their wiring is tidy and in place. Don’t run a wiring harness diagonally across the floor! Or if you’re going to have a center console, there’s a perfect place for the wires to be routed.

“Also, be sure to have all of your interior components and accessories selected and bring them to the interior shop. For instance, have your window cranks or switches, door handles, lighting, AC ducts and such so they know what they’re working with.

“Another important thing is to ensure the painter sprays at least one inch into the door. That will provide room for windlace. It also helps when the door panel needs to be cut back for the doors to shut properly.”

Note the stock styled dash and single gauge cluster keeping the interior austere and clean on this example from Tracy Weaver at the Recovery Room.

STYLE AND TRENDS 
When it comes to the style of the interior design, Tracy stressed how important it is to match the interior with the car. “The interior needs to belong in the car. Don’t try to put a ’55 Chevy interior into a ’69 Camaro!

One area that does allow for blending the old and new is with muscle cars. With so many classic muscle cars being updated with modern LS, Coyote and Hemi engines, brakes, and drivelines, builders are putting a modern touch on the interiors as well. “Blending modern muscle car styling cues works with the classic muscle car builds that are taking place today. When I look at a new car interior there are definitely things I can see in a vintage muscle car.

AUDIO 
Speaking of modern technology, Tracy explained that nearly every build they’re doing these days has a USB connection, Bluetooth and even docking stations for mini-iPads.

Original article from the Goodguys: https://www.good-guys.com/hotnews/?p=12753