Upholstery - As EZ As 1, 2, 3

All of us want to do as much as we can on our own hot rods, and that's a good thing. However, some of us are just blessed with more talent, resourcefulness, stick-to-itness, and stuff like that. And as such, there are some jobs that are best left to the pros. One of these areas is historically the interior; taking on the interior is a big task even for the bravest of heart, and a serious effort is required. No getting around it, the upholstery and paintwork are what the entire world sees and this then determines what you and others think of your ride-right or wrong!

Well, it doesn't have to be that way anymore. EZ Boy Rod Interiors out of Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers an excellent option for the homebuilder who likes doing it all. The interior kit is truly something that can be done by a rodder at home and the list of tools shouldn't be anything you haven't seen, either in your toolbox or stashed away in a buddy's garage.

Several issues ago, we began a series focusing on purchasing an unfinished street rod and finishing it, updating it, and modifying it to your desires. The goal was to do this for less than the cost of building from scratch, buying a finished street rod, or hiring a professional rod shop to build your dream car. Except for a Mexican blanket covering a junkyard seat, there was no interior, no upholstery, no carpet, no insulation-we started with a blank canvas, but we had a plan.

The theme for the '32 highboy roadster was traditional hot rod and the interior plan was in keeping with the theme-red and black vinyl, rolls 'n' pleats, black carpeting with red binding, and some insulation to keep the engine and exhaust heat out and deaden the sound. Also in the plan was a challenge to complete the entire interior for about the cost of a professionally upholstered, aftermarket seat.

Since we were going for the traditional hot rod look, some fellow rodders put us on to EZ Boy Rod Interiors. These guys make reasonably priced upholstery kits and have thousands of factory dimensioned seat patterns. To make it even more fun, the guys at EZ Boy are traditional hot rodders and they talk old-style hot rods.

We worked with Joel Rusnak, and after we e-mailed him some images of the seat, along with some key dimensions, Joel determined that the seat in our car was actually a center seat out of a late-'80s-to-early-'90s Dodge van. The earlier Dodge van center seats were fixed backs, while the later seats, like the one in our ride, had a lever that allowed the seat back to tilt forward. These seats work well in early model cars, and are readily available in salvage yard-and they are also cheap ($50). Knowing the seat origin is important, as the seat covers will be made from patterns designed to fit that specific seat.

With the origin of the seat solved, our next decision was upholstery style. EZ Boy has 12 standard upholstery styles to choose from. We zeroed in on the classic/traditional style. Remember the theme? The classic/traditional style is a combination of rolls 'n' pleats and a bolster, so we went with black rolls 'n' pleats and red bolster with black piping.

The seat covers are shipped as complete units and installation was all that was required. While that sounded easy enough, it turned out to be more of a challenge than we expected, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The matching material for the door panels, kick panels, and the area behind the seat is supplied in pre-sewn lengths that could be cut to fit our panels. Speaking of cutting, the carpet comes in a roll, along with padding and welting. We envisioned a lot of pattern work and a lot of cutting between the carpet and the panels. But to keep the costs down, and have some fun, the do-it-yourself method was the only way for us to go.

We contacted Speedway Motors and discussed various options on insulation. In addition to the old standby foil and jute insulation, there are many new and much more efficient products on the market. We selected a peel-and-stick product known as HushMat. This product is an OEM product (available in black or silver) that acts as a sound deadener and a thermal insulator. In addition to covering the floors, the firewall, and the cowl area, we snaked some pieces into the doors. With the insulation installed, the doors feel more solid and the sound of the doors closing is much more solid. That's why automobile manufacturers stick this stuff in the doors of new cars.