Square Bird upholstery

[Ratboy]

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to pull the trigger on getting new upholstery from one of our suppliers. I was wondering if anybody had any input on product quality. Do they all purchase from the same vendor? Mine's a 60HT. Probably do the headliner at the same time. Any input is appreciated.
Ray

[jopizz]

I believe there are only two manufacturers; Larry's Thunderbird parts and Thunderbird Headquarters. You might want to contact Carl Heller (partsetal). He does a lot of upholstery and would probably know which is the better of the two. I've used Thunderbird Headquarters upholstery a few times and it seems ok.

John

[Ratboy]

After posting, I actually did a search on squarebird. Backwards I know. There's a lot of info. Thought I saw that Birds Nest as being one of two makers of upholstery. And there were complaints about some of the foam being too thick. I'll send a note to Carl. It's a big investment for me. Thanks

[Ratboy]

Partsetal inbox is full. Can't send him a message.

[Eric S]

We don't have a way to send E-mails to members?

[YellowRose]

Yes, you can... IF the user has elected to receive emails from other users or members of the Forum. It is a choice they make when they apply for membership. If they select the option to NOT receive emails from others on the Forum, then we abide by their decision. That leaves you with the option of sending them a Private Message... If they select the option to allow emails to be sent to them, then you can.... Regarding Carl - partetal's inbox being full, he just deleted some messages, and I was able to send him a PM. Apparently, there is a limit on the number of Private Messages one can have in their Inbox and Trash folder (maybe) and I am looking into that. Anyone desiring to contact Carl by PM should be able to do so now, since I JUST did...

[partsetal]

Apparently My PM box is full and won't accept any more messages. The limit seems to be 3 pages. The old system provided an announcement when you reached 90%. I have moved 2-1/2 pages of my messages to trash and I should be able to accept PM's again.

[Ratboy]

Well, i just tried to PM you. Said it's still full.

[Ratboy]

I'm looking for new upholstery for my 60HT. John said you'd be a good source for info. I live close to Birds Nest and I get a 10% discount. I've read the posts on squarebird, but people usually post to complain about the bad not to praise good results. I was looking for some advice on who to go to for quality upholstery- vinyl. I'm having an upholsterer do it.

[Tbird1044]

For what's it worth, I'll share my story. I bought the preformed foam for the front and rear seats and a full set of seat covers from TB Headquarters. I was a lot optimistic and thought I could do the install myself. It didn't take long to realize that was not going to happen. I ended up taking it all to a good upholstery shop that deals with classics and rods and had them do the install including the headliner. They had to do some minor mods on the rear seat cover and do some reshaping of the expensive preformed foam. When all was said and done, it would have been cheaper for me to have just taken the car in and let them do the entire job from scratch. Also, if they cut and formed the foam, it will probably be softer than the preform, which is really firm.

[Ratboy]

Thanks, that helps. Was gonna talk to my upholsterer about the foam. Might even be less expensive too

[jopizz]

Well, i just tried to PM you. Said it's still full.

Try sending Carl a PM again and let me know if it goes through.

John

[Ratboy]

No go. I posted here instead....

[jopizz]

Ok. Thanks.

John

[YellowRose]

Ray, since you are close to the Bird Nest, call them and ask to speak with Don, or one of the brothers regarding the quality of the upholstery, side panels, carpeting, etc.. He should also be able to tell you who is manufacturing it for them to market... When I had the interior of Rose redone, I bought my foam seat cushions from the person who was making them for everyone back then. My seat covers, door panels, carpeting, was all custom made by my interior guy, who told me he could do it cheaper than it would have cost me to just replace it with the OEM stuff. And he could customize it as I wanted it to look instead of OEM. He also told me, after seeing the foam seat cushions and me telling him what they cost me, what it would have cost me for him to make them... A lot cheaper if he had, but I already had bought them. He had to trim them down to get them to fit properly. So, yes, you might be better off having your interior and foam cushions made by your interior guy..