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One of the front seats, after almost 60 years of use and
neglect. |
I packed The Alfatross' interior elements off to Derrick Dunbar at Paul Russell and Co. back in December. Shortly thereafter he called to let me know that he examined the different materials used and is looking for matching materials to replace those that are no longer serviceable. This, he said, is really the hardest part of the job. The fact that the upholstery is spartan and all the materials are vinyl instead of leather or something more exotic doesn't make it any easier (or less expensive!).
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| The driver's door panel. |
The blue vinyl used on the door panels, quarter panels, and parts of the front seats probably won't be hard to match. Nor will the black vinyl fiberglass-filled firewall insulation pads. But the unusual blue "faux suede" used on the front seat backs and seat is unlike anything he has seen before. He thinks it is a kind of rubber material rather than vinyl, and that it may be of German manufacture. My biggest concern was finding a source for the "fluted" and "filled" blue vinyl used for the headliner and deck behind the rear seat. Derrick said he thought it might be in good enough shape to re-install, but that is a decision we will make later. Even if the headliner and deck cover are in good shape the color might be inconsistent with the new vinyl. I sure hope we can match it because I don't think anyone has made material like that in half a century!
The carpeting is going to be one of the easiest decisions because there is nothing to match--it had already been replaced with recycled household carpet when I bought the car, so I have no idea what the original was like.
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| A cross-section of one of the front seats reveals the use of several different kinds of "stuffing." |
If decisions about upholstery weren't enough to worry about, there's details like the type of "stuffing" to use inside the seats, the stitching patterns, the types of thread and adhesives that hold things together, the snaps that hold the carpet down, and the locations of holes for the attachment of interior panels--it's complicated.
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| This swatch of the blue "faux rubber suede," taken from a protected location shows how vibrant it was when new. |
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| In this case, restoring the seats means restoring the innards as well. |
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| Anatomy of a Zagato sport seat (viewed from the back, lying on its side). Derrick digs deeper . . . and it looked so simple on the outside! It has to get worse before it can get better. |
At this point Derrick is still sourcing materials. Research is one of the most time-consuming (and expensive!) elements in the restoration of an interior. Derrick says that as more restorations are being performed, original materials are getting harder to find. If a shop has the last known cache of a certain kind of original material, they won't sell it to a competitor--you have to bring the car to them! The good news is Derrick has done other Zagato-bodied Italian cars from this period so he's not starting from scratch . . . and THAT'S why he's the go-to guy for The Alfatross!
