texaswilkins

I was at the Corvette Expo in Houston this weekend and I watched the guys from Al Knoch do some interior work. Looked like real good craftsman ship from a bunch of guys who knew what they were doing. Have any of you guys had problems with their work?
Any body regretted paying the extra money?
Do the parts fit better than what the other guys sell?

Bill

80 Black Vette

Several years ago, at Corvettes at Carlisle, I bought a pair of Oyster seats for my '80. Excellent seats. Would not hesitate to business with them again.

Travis

chevymans 77

I also spent the day at the expo, had to watch those guys doing their work also. They stayed busy all day and looked like they knew what they were doing.

Brother-in-law purchased all new interior for his 74 this year, said it was about half price from last year.

Great show lots of very nice cars and with a gun show next door to boot.

Neal

jakedelrio

Had my seats done last September and couldn't be happier. Al Knoch were the only ones I found that had the original OEM cloth/leather combination I wanted to stay with.
The seats were done flawlessly and they even contacted me a few times when they were running behind by a day during the Labor Day week end.
Definitely worth the price. I shipped my seats from Ann Arbor, Michigan to them and had no problems whatsoever.
Highly recommended!

jr105

I bought seat covers on foam for my 81 from Al Knoch. I did have a problem with one seam splitting about a year after I installed them, but they replaced the cover without a problem. After that amount of time most places wouldn't have done anything for me. I am very happy with the customer service and products.

Ironcross

Al has been in the Corvette interior business for over 50 years....long before any of the others, he ships worldwide and both the quality of his materials and workmanship by his employees are top of the line...occasionally even 'Al puts a few tops on at the shows.......which really does not take very long...they work fast....But that's only a reflection of their skills

vettebuyer6369

The items I've purchased from Al Knoch have been worth every dime.

And the personal customer service he's showed me, has been the best I've ever seen, and positively buries some other popular choices. I've been buying Corvette parts since the 70s.

exposingtime

I stopped by his booth in Kissimmee with my 69 to see if they could do some adjustments to the fit of my soft top before getting flight judged.

It was installed in 86 when the car was painted...I had never used it before and had let it sit out in the sun to stretch out, but couldnt get it to snap closed. The top is not the original manufacturer and they did not do the original install.

They worked on it for about 20 minutes, got it to properly snap and release. I went to Al and asked him how much I owed him and he said it was on him. I bought the two installer guys lunch.

I wouldn't think twice about purchasing anything from them in the future.

Gary

BBCorv70

Interesting. VERY different experiences from what I've had. I bought a complete interior package at Carlisle, early 90's. When I got it home I discovered the bright trim on one door panel was tarnished, poor plating. Had to exchange a panel.

A few years later I had the seat covers installed. Seam on the backside near the seat release was wrong, upholstery shop made a small brushed aluminum plate to cover the gap. At the time, annoying but NBD, the car is a driver.

A local shop had a rough time getting the carpets to fit around the wheel wells. Poorly formed?

I didn't get to trying out the door panels until a year or two ago. No way they will fit as shipped. They sit too high on the door for the lock shaft to line up with the hole. I contacted Al Knoch, sent photos of the problem per their request. The top contour of the panel as about 1/2" shallower than the originals, a problem with the way the plate was formed. Shows up in the photos when comparing. After a few weeks I was told it has been too long since I bought them, on my own. $800 or so wasted? I do admit, it had been a very long time, wasn't surprised they declined to help. Logically, a badly made panel is still a badly made panel no matter how old. Guess they figure they get enough business elsewhere?

After concluding the panels may be scrap, I tried bending the top plates to match the profile of the originals. Nothing to lose. Got one side to fit reasonably well. I'm waiting until I decide whether I'll ever convert to power windows before doing a final install. I've seen at least one other posting on the NCRS web site where a fellow had a similar experience.

I gather Al Knoch's quality took a dive for a while back in the 90's? Seems that way. Anybody know the history of this company? They may be top of the line now but I'd need a bit of convincing and a guarantee before I'd buy from them again. My experience.

Domer

They're the best! I'm in Canada and their timing was only two weeks! Quality, the best. They did a two tone for me in leather with the correct "77 colours (blue/buckskin centers). They installed the wires and all I had to do was fit the new foam (from them), Install the leather and done. I would definately recommend them.
Domer

L82shark

He is usually a little pricey, I bought a new dash pad from them a couple of years ago, fit perfectly and looks better than new. They have sales every so often and thats when I got it. Really happy with it. Customer service is not so great on the email end, sent them a couple of emails with questions about seats but never got an answer. But the phone still works!

texaswilkins

Thanks guys. I was busy adding up the the things on the brochure and after I fell over from sticker shock I decided I have a year to save. Looks like Al is probably doing my interior next year at the expo.

Bill