Upholstery shop in SoCal
05-05-2014, 08:05 PM
#4
Advanced
05-05-2014, 09:40 PM
#5
Team Owner
I guess
Collins in Downey is considered to be the best in our area, but I found him a little on the pricey side, and he was such a perfectionist, that my price also went up because of that!
Over here near Whittier, SFS and such there are quite a few. If I could remember the streets! But for one you turn left at the Jack in the Box, right at the Walmart, another right at the auto parts store, up 5 miles and turn in when you see the blue sign.
Just joking, but I actually am also on the search with a unique project and am checking out a few. It will come down to how I am treated coming in the door and their willingness at the time that happens with showing me some of their work, the estimate on turnover, whether they will work with my materials that I am bringin them, whether they are a sewing shop or a glue the seam shop, etc..!
Thus I will keep this thread in mind if I think I turned up a good one.
But unfortunately, I am one of those types that don't think to much about what I should be looking for, until I turn up the street and see a place that makes me think, darn I should recover my Corvette seats. Then I am usually caught without pen and paper and pride myself with my bad memory to retain the phone number! I just never learn my lesson.
But I am cruising by a small shop down on Woodruff just north of the 91 fwy, another that I think I saw on Whittier Blvd. over in La Habra side, another on Carmenita and Imperial, and a few others.
Thus moral of the story, if it is a straight recover, I think most shops could handle it, but if it is custom, then you have to find the right guy!
PS I just realized that I could probably write a book without giving any definitive answer to your question and quest!
Over here near Whittier, SFS and such there are quite a few. If I could remember the streets! But for one you turn left at the Jack in the Box, right at the Walmart, another right at the auto parts store, up 5 miles and turn in when you see the blue sign.
Just joking, but I actually am also on the search with a unique project and am checking out a few. It will come down to how I am treated coming in the door and their willingness at the time that happens with showing me some of their work, the estimate on turnover, whether they will work with my materials that I am bringin them, whether they are a sewing shop or a glue the seam shop, etc..!
Thus I will keep this thread in mind if I think I turned up a good one.
But unfortunately, I am one of those types that don't think to much about what I should be looking for, until I turn up the street and see a place that makes me think, darn I should recover my Corvette seats. Then I am usually caught without pen and paper and pride myself with my bad memory to retain the phone number! I just never learn my lesson.
But I am cruising by a small shop down on Woodruff just north of the 91 fwy, another that I think I saw on Whittier Blvd. over in La Habra side, another on Carmenita and Imperial, and a few others.
Thus moral of the story, if it is a straight recover, I think most shops could handle it, but if it is custom, then you have to find the right guy!
PS I just realized that I could probably write a book without giving any definitive answer to your question and quest!
05-05-2014, 09:49 PM
#6
Pro
Thread Starter
Collins in Downey is considered to be the best in our area, but I found him a little on the pricey side, and he was such a perfectionist, that my price also went up because of that!
Over here near Whittier, SFS and such there are quite a few. If I could remember the streets! But for one you turn left at the Jack in the Box, right at the Walmart, another right at the auto parts store, up 5 miles and turn in when you see the blue sign.
Just joking, but I actually am also on the search with a unique project and am checking out a few. It will come down to how I am treated coming in the door and their willingness at the time that happens with showing me some of their work, the estimate on turnover, whether they will work with my materials that I am bringin them, whether they are a sewing shop or a glue the seam shop, etc..!
Thus I will keep this thread in mind if I think I turned up a good one.
But unfortunately, I am one of those types that don't think to much about what I should be looking for, until I turn up the street and see a place that makes me think, darn I should recover my Corvette seats. Then I am usually caught without pen and paper and pride myself with my bad memory to retain the phone number! I just never learn my lesson.
But I am cruising by a small shop down on Woodruff just north of the 91 fwy, another that I think I saw on Whittier Blvd. over in La Habra side, another on Carmenita and Imperial, and a few others.
Thus moral of the story, if it is a straight recover, I think most shops could handle it, but if it is custom, then you have to find the right guy!
PS I just realized that I could probably write a book without giving any definitive answer to your question and quest!
Over here near Whittier, SFS and such there are quite a few. If I could remember the streets! But for one you turn left at the Jack in the Box, right at the Walmart, another right at the auto parts store, up 5 miles and turn in when you see the blue sign.
Just joking, but I actually am also on the search with a unique project and am checking out a few. It will come down to how I am treated coming in the door and their willingness at the time that happens with showing me some of their work, the estimate on turnover, whether they will work with my materials that I am bringin them, whether they are a sewing shop or a glue the seam shop, etc..!
Thus I will keep this thread in mind if I think I turned up a good one.
But unfortunately, I am one of those types that don't think to much about what I should be looking for, until I turn up the street and see a place that makes me think, darn I should recover my Corvette seats. Then I am usually caught without pen and paper and pride myself with my bad memory to retain the phone number! I just never learn my lesson.
But I am cruising by a small shop down on Woodruff just north of the 91 fwy, another that I think I saw on Whittier Blvd. over in La Habra side, another on Carmenita and Imperial, and a few others.
Thus moral of the story, if it is a straight recover, I think most shops could handle it, but if it is custom, then you have to find the right guy!
PS I just realized that I could probably write a book without giving any definitive answer to your question and quest!
05-05-2014, 10:05 PM
#7
Team Owner
I live fairly close to the Whittwood!
I can do a drive by recon mission to see if I think that looks like one of the better ones that I think that I am remembering! There was someone on that street, and I drive it weekly that was sparking my interest. I do know I saw another guy down Whittier to the west also that had been there forever.
But with a guy like that (one man, 72, 50 years in business), I would be concerned as to whether his shop is just filled with undone projects. Thus this week as I am cruising around, I will keep an eye out for you!
I have some Paddy Hopkirk 1960's buckets and I wanted to take stitched together 1964 rolls, tucks, pleats or whatever they are called and do the leather Corvette material in the back and seat inserts and then just plain black for everything else. Thus I was going to ask Al Knoch if I could just buy some of the pleated material (enough) for what I want to do and then get the shop to match it, but then I think their stuff is now glued. Someone would have to answer that one for me!
I will recon in the next day or so!
PS I just hope that I don't forget and get busy, because finding a good guy would benefit me also. I used to have all of my stuff done by a guy on Pico Blvd. near Downtown, north of Exhibition Park somewhere west of the Harbor freeway. Awesome guy, but speaks no English, which is probably why I got along with him so good! But he was very fluent in money! And his prices were to die for (high quality and way less than what anyone would ever think). He did scare me, in that I took one of the Vette Supplier convertible tops in and he took one look at it and threw it in the trash and made one from materials on hand himself! But there was a 300SL Mercedes 1957 sitting there getting a Tartan Seat thing and a Rolls Royce where the Owner wanted to match his just painted Champagne exterior color to the seat material that he was wanting. I just haven't been by to see if he is still alive or not, and I think he said he was leaving the business to his son, thus I may be going out to search that guy down. Except going to the Peterson Museum, I haven't frequented that part of town in the near distant past!
Last edited by TCracingCA; 05-05-2014 at 10:10 PM.
05-06-2014, 01:48 AM
#10
Drifting
I don't have any personal experience with them, but I did check out Erwin's Custom Interiors in Long Beach. On Cherry near Carson St. Small family-owned shop that does a lot of interior restoration work on older classic cars like pre-war Packards and Lincolns. The prices they quoted me for redoing a pair of seats I had wasn't cheap, but reasonable. I'm still deciding what to do with the seats, repair or replace, so I can't give an opinion on their work.
05-06-2014, 08:15 PM
#11
Team Owner
Ok I did a Derek style type mini recon a little bit today!
That process would scare most enthusiasts! Especially the from the right lane U-Turn thru the traffic, because I sailed right by the place on the first pass situations!
Ok here is the product of that adventure!
The old shop near the Whittwood doesn't look like a human is still inhabiting the place. It has been closed on two passes by in the middle of the day! Not a good sign, finding it uninhabited! No sign on the door saying, I'll be back, no on vacation notices, and no sign saying Derek will be shot on sight-- No Trespassing. Thus got out of the car and window shopped! Some stuff that looks like what probably was former customer stuff sitting there looking like either it is available to buy (not a good sign) or he was trying to impress customers with having the stuff in the window, but nothing there was truly special- but it looked like just solid work. I am just naturally paranoid and I have visions of dropping stuff off and then not ever finding the guy to get it all back or something happens where I won't think I should pay for something and they will be the next items for his window display!
Bellflower, I caught the one guy's shop Eddie and Sons on Woodruff just one block north of the 91 Fwy and Eddie and Sons were out to lunch but the worker guy was cool, friendly and it looks like a good solid shop that always has interesting stuff in and out. There wasn't anything being done to really get a measure on there abilities, but the shop has a good vibe. Then I pulled out in about a couple of hundred feet was up to about 95mph, and one block down was a second upholstery shop called Joe's and he had good stuff sitting there, and just as I was going to flip the 95mph u-turn, out from a side street is one of Bellflower's finest, so I didn't spin around and walk in, but I would bet both of these shops probably do lunch with each other being so close, or their offspring are inter-breeding with each other. Two solid looking shops
Then I was back over in La Habra on (Street?) and found one of those hole in the walls like I like to find-- and I can figure out the street and name because the super cool lady gave me her phone number! Well I could turn that into more of a story than what actually happened, the phone number is her shops business card. I like the vibe and she was willing to give a potential customer time and was very relaxed. What impressed me wasn't the shop itself, but that she covers the customer cars when she has them in house!!! Very consciencous! Had a 67/68 Mustang (I will compliment it, without feeling like I am giving up my Corvette manhood!). She was proud of her work, and I am proud for her, it is solid, good quality. I explored by own agenda naturally, and she can sew the stuff, can source everything so as to assist a customers project, she can repair my damaged foam or even raise my racing seat bolsters as no one else seemed to what to do. I haven't done the project because about three years ago, I stopped in two places that won't (to include Collins) deal with anything other than precut foam shapes and stuff. Her shop had foam and upholstery pieces all over, not much for all clean and sanitary, but I like my places a little down and dirty!
Unlike other places where you support the jet ski purchases and such, and you are paying prices to support the super extended cab raised with chrome everywhere pick up trucks and their other high end toys, thus I look for that kind of stuff. If I see it, then I know price wise, I probably better have a bank robbery plan!
Thus to be fair to the lady (and I had her name), but that slipped the memory because it didn't go in my black book, but to be fair, I didn't ask prices and turn around without having my stuff with me to show her. Thus I definitely one day will go back to her shop Roddie's Auto Upholstery on 511 E. La Habra Blvd. La Habra. They aren't open on weekends and that shop has been there forever also. I didn't get into the history, but for me it is worth a consideration! (562)690-4202 and just tell her the guy with the mini cooper seats sent you down, so I can get credit points toward my potential job!
But do feel comfortable to your own standard of interview for making you ultimate selection and make sure it is truly good for you if you take a recommendation!
Recon number #2-- time unknown!
Ok here is the product of that adventure!
The old shop near the Whittwood doesn't look like a human is still inhabiting the place. It has been closed on two passes by in the middle of the day! Not a good sign, finding it uninhabited! No sign on the door saying, I'll be back, no on vacation notices, and no sign saying Derek will be shot on sight-- No Trespassing. Thus got out of the car and window shopped! Some stuff that looks like what probably was former customer stuff sitting there looking like either it is available to buy (not a good sign) or he was trying to impress customers with having the stuff in the window, but nothing there was truly special- but it looked like just solid work. I am just naturally paranoid and I have visions of dropping stuff off and then not ever finding the guy to get it all back or something happens where I won't think I should pay for something and they will be the next items for his window display!
Bellflower, I caught the one guy's shop Eddie and Sons on Woodruff just one block north of the 91 Fwy and Eddie and Sons were out to lunch but the worker guy was cool, friendly and it looks like a good solid shop that always has interesting stuff in and out. There wasn't anything being done to really get a measure on there abilities, but the shop has a good vibe. Then I pulled out in about a couple of hundred feet was up to about 95mph, and one block down was a second upholstery shop called Joe's and he had good stuff sitting there, and just as I was going to flip the 95mph u-turn, out from a side street is one of Bellflower's finest, so I didn't spin around and walk in, but I would bet both of these shops probably do lunch with each other being so close, or their offspring are inter-breeding with each other. Two solid looking shops
Then I was back over in La Habra on (Street?) and found one of those hole in the walls like I like to find-- and I can figure out the street and name because the super cool lady gave me her phone number! Well I could turn that into more of a story than what actually happened, the phone number is her shops business card. I like the vibe and she was willing to give a potential customer time and was very relaxed. What impressed me wasn't the shop itself, but that she covers the customer cars when she has them in house!!! Very consciencous! Had a 67/68 Mustang (I will compliment it, without feeling like I am giving up my Corvette manhood!). She was proud of her work, and I am proud for her, it is solid, good quality. I explored by own agenda naturally, and she can sew the stuff, can source everything so as to assist a customers project, she can repair my damaged foam or even raise my racing seat bolsters as no one else seemed to what to do. I haven't done the project because about three years ago, I stopped in two places that won't (to include Collins) deal with anything other than precut foam shapes and stuff. Her shop had foam and upholstery pieces all over, not much for all clean and sanitary, but I like my places a little down and dirty!
Unlike other places where you support the jet ski purchases and such, and you are paying prices to support the super extended cab raised with chrome everywhere pick up trucks and their other high end toys, thus I look for that kind of stuff. If I see it, then I know price wise, I probably better have a bank robbery plan!
Thus to be fair to the lady (and I had her name), but that slipped the memory because it didn't go in my black book, but to be fair, I didn't ask prices and turn around without having my stuff with me to show her. Thus I definitely one day will go back to her shop Roddie's Auto Upholstery on 511 E. La Habra Blvd. La Habra. They aren't open on weekends and that shop has been there forever also. I didn't get into the history, but for me it is worth a consideration! (562)690-4202 and just tell her the guy with the mini cooper seats sent you down, so I can get credit points toward my potential job!
But do feel comfortable to your own standard of interview for making you ultimate selection and make sure it is truly good for you if you take a recommendation!
Recon number #2-- time unknown!
Last edited by TCracingCA; 05-06-2014 at 08:18 PM.
05-07-2014, 12:32 AM
#13
Racer
Member Since: Feb 2003
Location: Rancho Palos Verdes CA
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The best corvette guy in Socal (IMO) is Little John in Fountain Valley. He is a member of our SoCal Solid Axle Club and has done many of the clubs cars - always superior work. He personally drives a 57 and a 63 (yes he knows mid-years). One thing that sets him apart is that when Toyota or Honda do concept cars - he is the guy that does the upholstery. We once had a event at the Toyota museum and it was a kick walking around listening to his stories about the cars. He can do pricey or reasonable - the best thing about him is he is really good at shaping the seats for the driver. And to boot - he is a really nice guy and a class act.
Interior Concepts & Design
Little John Engelhardt
17391 Mt. Cliffwood Cir.
Fountain Valley, CA
(714) 435-9448 Shop
(714) 267-9996 Cell
littlejohns@sbcglobal.net
Interior Concepts & Design
Little John Engelhardt
17391 Mt. Cliffwood Cir.
Fountain Valley, CA
(714) 435-9448 Shop
(714) 267-9996 Cell
littlejohns@sbcglobal.net
05-07-2014, 02:34 AM
#15
Team Owner
No problem!
No clowning, I am looking for that hungry shop that has talent and isn't working constantly on high end cars where they are charging wallet busting rates. I find that the ones that get you for the most money, usually do it to people with a great personality and can be quite entertaining.
For just taking existing materials and installing, I don't see that a high end shop is needed, but then there are outfits that can mess that up.
Since you have 1963 seats, you should be able to get a price/time frame and turnaround over the phone on a basic job unless there is something I missed.
The really pretty car in the pictures above is fantastic, but since the topic was on quality of seat installation, I actually didn't like the set in butt crack impression that shows in the picture to be honest. I have had a number of cars upholstered and I haven't got up to have to look at a butt crack impression??? Not trying to be insulting, but that is what I think I see!
Thus I don't think they were stretched quite enough. The material is just a little bit loose and an impression is left.
My project is a little different, where I want the bucket bolsters cut off. Then a block of foam of the same density layed where the cut was made and then the original shaped piece that was cut off, laid back down to raise them. Thus I want the seat to retain the original curve to the sides, but higher to give a slightly better hold. The guy that designed those seats back in the 1960's was a famous Rally Mini cooper guy who developed/engineered his own product line. The seats have no springs, and are completely aluminum internal frame and solely shaped foam.
Thus if I had springs, that might need rewelding or even replacement, then that would have been a factor in evaluating a shop. Thus at that La Habra shop, I saw no welding equipment. Thus why I chose Collins in Downey for my El Camino Bench, because he was real confident in dealing with spring issues and gave me assurances. I brought in some reinforcement springs for the sides to strengthen that for when you are getting in and out of the Camino. Thus if you have springs, that is something to not ignore!
Because there would be nothing more upsetting than to spend the money, and have a spring pop/break!
For just taking existing materials and installing, I don't see that a high end shop is needed, but then there are outfits that can mess that up.
Since you have 1963 seats, you should be able to get a price/time frame and turnaround over the phone on a basic job unless there is something I missed.
The really pretty car in the pictures above is fantastic, but since the topic was on quality of seat installation, I actually didn't like the set in butt crack impression that shows in the picture to be honest. I have had a number of cars upholstered and I haven't got up to have to look at a butt crack impression??? Not trying to be insulting, but that is what I think I see!
Thus I don't think they were stretched quite enough. The material is just a little bit loose and an impression is left.
My project is a little different, where I want the bucket bolsters cut off. Then a block of foam of the same density layed where the cut was made and then the original shaped piece that was cut off, laid back down to raise them. Thus I want the seat to retain the original curve to the sides, but higher to give a slightly better hold. The guy that designed those seats back in the 1960's was a famous Rally Mini cooper guy who developed/engineered his own product line. The seats have no springs, and are completely aluminum internal frame and solely shaped foam.
Thus if I had springs, that might need rewelding or even replacement, then that would have been a factor in evaluating a shop. Thus at that La Habra shop, I saw no welding equipment. Thus why I chose Collins in Downey for my El Camino Bench, because he was real confident in dealing with spring issues and gave me assurances. I brought in some reinforcement springs for the sides to strengthen that for when you are getting in and out of the Camino. Thus if you have springs, that is something to not ignore!
Because there would be nothing more upsetting than to spend the money, and have a spring pop/break!