• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Forum
  • Design Studio
  • Upholstery Jobs
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsors

The Hog Ring

Auto Upholstery Community

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

When it’s Good to Preserve Bad Car Interiors

September 9, 2014 By Nadeem Muaddi

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Preserve Car Interior

While most auto upholstery shops repair, restore or customize car interiors, some also specialize in preserving them. The customers that these shops attract are a rare breed — more interested in freezing their classic cars in bad state than rehabilitating or enhancing them.

The New York Times recently published an article about this growing trend, focusing specifically on the mother of all car shows: Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance. Vehicles entered into the show’s “preservation” category are often priceless classics that look shoddy not because their owners go out of their way to beat them up, but because they allow them to age gracefully. In other words, these are no rat rods.

Highlighted within the piece is Steve Babinsky of Automotive Restorations, Inc. — a shop in Bernardsville, NJ, that preserves many of the cars featured at Pebble Beach. Below is an excerpt from the article in which Babinsky explains how he preserves their interiors.

In preparing cars for the preservation classes, shops like Automotive Restorations walk a fine line between repair and restoration.

Engines may be disassembled and minor problems fixed, but they are put back together without new paint or plating. Instead of cutting and sewing new upholstery, Mr. Babinsky’s staff has fixed leather seats that were dry and cracked by taking them apart, removing the upholstery piece by piece and gluing a canvas backing to the leather for reinforcement, then reassembling the cover, springs and padding.

“You have to be a little sympathetic to the materials,” Mr. Babinsky said, “and you have to know how to put it back together so that it looks right.”

There are times when the cautious conservator’s approach will not work, as in the case of a 1932 LaSalle that the shop prepared for a previous Pebble Beach concours. The driver’s-side seat bottom could not be saved, so a replacement piece of leather was obtained; the new material was laid out on the driveway and driven over — it was also beaten with chains — before being sewn into the seat.

“It gave the car an even patina,” Mr. Babinsky said, adding that the repair went unchallenged. “If somebody had asked, I would have told them. But nobody asked.” […]

Aging classics become increasingly delicate and difficult to use, as convertible tops become less able to withstand wind without tearing, seat springs collapse and upholstery wears out, said Al McEwan, a veteran Pebble Beach judge from Redmond, Wash., who spoke by cellphone from the side of the road after getting a flat tire in his original 1930 Hispano-Suiza.

“Honestly, it’d be easier to restore this car than to keep it the way it is,” Mr. McEwan said.

To read the full article, check out “To Preserve and Protect” in The New York Times.

Filed Under: Archive, Industry Trends & Reports, Interesting Read Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Automotive Restorations Inc, Car Interior, Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance

Primary Sidebar

anal porno bangbros rus porno yaşlı porno konulu porno olgun porno porno izle sarışın porno bakire sex 69 porno

THR Sponsors

NC Sewing Machines
Miami Corporation - Right Rail Ad 3
  • OEM+ Banner Ad - The Hog Ring
  • Douglass Interior Products
  • Hyde Leather
  • Leather Craft
  • Big Z Fabric
  • Keyston Bros
  • Albright's Supply

THR Favorites

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Volkswagen Multivan Alltrack Concept

VW’s Multivan Alltrack Concept Hinge Seam

If you thought Faurecia’s flat-seam stitch … [more] about VW’s Multivan Alltrack Concept Hinge Seam

The Hog Ring - Heres Where to Find Owners Manuals for Classic Cars

Where to Find the Owner’s Manual for a Classic Car

Are you restoring a classic car and need the … [more] about Where to Find the Owner’s Manual for a Classic Car

The Hog Ring - Meet Cameron Hayward of North Coast Custom Trim

Meet Cameron Hayward of North Coast Custom Trim

Cameron Hayward honed his skills in … [more] about Meet Cameron Hayward of North Coast Custom Trim

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Airbag Tag

Sewing Airbag Seams with Durkopp Adler

For good reason, many auto upholstery shops … [more] about Sewing Airbag Seams with Durkopp Adler

The Hog Ring - Trim Shop Closes after 111 Years in Business

Trim Shop Closes After 111 Years in Business

After 111 years in business, one of the … [more] about Trim Shop Closes After 111 Years in Business

Get the Most Out of Your Business Cards

The business card has stood the test of time … [more] about Get the Most Out of Your Business Cards

Categories

Footer

Recent Articles

  • The Viral Headrest Gun Safe Is Going Nationwide with Tint World
  • TMG and Haartz to Open North Carolina Plant, Creating 125 New Jobs
  • Everything We Covered in June 2025
  • How OEM+ Auto Tops is Redefining Convertible Top Manufacturing with In-House Mold Production
  • From Factory Match to Full Custom: LEATHER CRAFT Has It Covered

Recent Comments

  • Edward Munday on Hidden Mouse Nest? How to Charge for the Extra Dirty Work
  • Jack on Keyston Bros. Acquires DLT Corporation
  • Brodie Smith on Aston Martin Just Introduced a New Convertible DB12
  • THE CAPTAIN on 6 Tips for Turning Callers into Customers
  • Dmei on Star Wars Seat Covers are ‘So Wizard’

Advertise With Us!

We're always looking for companies to collaborate with. Watch this short video about the benefits of sponsorship and then email us to say hi.

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in