Legendary Interiors NEW comfort weave 70+

[JLHarper]

I have been waiting patiently for the NEW Legendary Interior seat covers to hit marketfor 70 GTO.

I had been looking hard for OEM NOS (never used) Comfort Weave material in DK GRN and BLACK for four 70 GTOs. Plan was to have shop make the covers with NOS material. Madrid vinyl can be found.
Dont know if you all saw it but...I read in PONTIAC mag this week that the old CW factory burned down some time back and assume no one stepped up to fund new equip/mfg. Article said CHEVY, AMC and others used same material.

Wasnt happy with the "look" that the other co was producing for CW, a stamped looking material with raised litle triangles that were supposed to "look" like OEM CW.

Well, I just got my samples in yesterday from Legendary (in black) and they look (to me) THE SAME as the other mfg.....Man, was I disappointed..I had been waiting for months and months even passing on some NOS CW material as what I can remember from call two weeks ago...I was personally told this would be "CORRECT" and "really nice" & "not like others" when I talked with sales at co.

The CW sample looks like it is stamped vinyl (like other co).

Anyone else get samples in and found same thing? I am really disappointed.

[pillman]

Ya. I just received my sample yesterday and it is not like the actual "see-through" CW at all.

I even called Legendary back yesterday, and the girl actually told me it was stamped vinyl.

Nice to know after waiting for so long for what we were being told would be like the real thing.

I did get some true CW from SMS but now the problem is that the madrid they(SMS) sent with it is way darker. Ironically the Legendary madrid matches my SMS CW great, BUT Legendary will not sell me any of this in straight yardage. Nice,real nice.

So I guess it's either fake CW or two tone seats!!!!

[JLHarper]

Couple of us waiting are not impresesed with how this was handled.

Its the same as PUI so it comes down to who sews the best covers with non correct material.

I would think some off shore co could step into this market? Sure they own same machines in MEXICO. Got to be large market with all these restos being done.
Or....is there enough out there in small shops and we just have to call hundreds to find the CW in colors we need?

What color do you need piilman? Lets tip each other if you find some and I will also.

[pillman]

Sounds good. I need code 253 dark brown. I guess if I can find some Madrid that matches the CW I got from SMS, then find a good shop(probably another set of headaches) to make up the covers I'll be ok.

[Dar]

JLharper have you looked at the Green 1970 seat covers offered py PUI or the samples from the vendors. I think the green is way off, way too much gold in it. I have decided I can live with the comfort weave not being correct (most people won't even notice), but I can't live with the color being wrong.

I recently visited with legendary and they said this will not be an issue with their product. The green is not being released until its the correct color/shade etc. They told me sometime this summer they should have it ready. Another thing wrong with the PUI I believe is that the 3/4" vertical ribs sewn in are not a plastic material like the originals, I think they just sewed in more vinyl. Anyway I believe Legendary have also corrected that problem by using an actual plastic rib. I personally looked at a legendary display sample seat with this cover on (in black) and aside from the CW not being correct they looked really good, I was impressed.

[JLHarper]

PUI and LEGENDARY are only two (I know about) and both are non correct imitations of the original. PUI is not good for a 70. I have a set.... for sale DK GRN fronts... back seat was done .... I told shop to rip off frame and throw in trash. I have two sets of my original Green covers plus BLK to guage colors.

Since found 12 yards of CW DK GRN OEM material. Looking for BLACK, more DK GREEN and DK BRWN for above poster.

I have spent considerable amount of time finding correct materials. Two JUDGES, maybe three with another two GTOs needing this material.

The vertical piping (hard plastic) is no longer made I have been told. PUI stitches down the vinyl at 3/4 width to make it look like the hard rib its there.

Vinyl wears out to fast in the CW area, plus it just doesnt look good with these little pressed in triangles, IMO (and few other friends).

I have really good shop who can duplicate the OEM covers custom sewn and glady pay three times the amount for these OEM lookalike covers vrs these on market at $300.
thanks for info.....

[pillman]

JL, did you call SMS about the black CW?

[JLHarper]

Yes, They sent sample.... I have to look at it again.
I put everything on hold waiting for LEGENDARY to hit market as I was told it was CORRECT with CW/MADRID for 70 GTOS.

I will post later today. There is other co that have many colors of CW I found
Original Auto Interiors BUT no BLACK. He (KEVIN ) said they look weekly for it and its hard to find. he said NOT MADE anymore. They are material supply co like SMS.
Good people...very responsive....professional and considerate: http://www.originalauto.com/

I dont know where exactly SMS is getting their CW from. Never asked and he prob wouldnt tell me. I called and asked for samples which I have. I recall it looks MOST CORRECT more than stamped triangles, but may not be OEM...doesnt look as WOVEN as OEM....but I need to look again. I got half dozen samples, plus old samples in file folder and cant remember.

[JLHarper]

I pulled file and looked at CW sample from SMS.

Its pretty close looking to OEM CW in BLACK anyway. Feels like more of a "vinyl" feel but you can see through it and its not stamped. Best yet if repro.

My OEM samples are old and stiff. Not sure if this was new or because of age but much stiffer than SMS sample of CW. You could almost crease the sample if folded and it wouldnt bounce back if you folded it...that stiff.

Sample will go back to flat once folded. Still looks best yet and havent found black OEM NOS CW. Have some green coming, though.

[pillman]

Thanks JL. I also contacted Original Auto Interiors. He told me a few weeks ago they did not have any code 253 1970 Dark Brown. He is supposed to be sending me a sample of 1973(?) CW Brown, but it obviously is not going to be the right brown. I will probably have to use the SMS stuff I have. You are right, it does seem quite "soft". I think I'd be happy with it if I could find a match with the madrid though and a good upholstery shop. Colorwise it looks real good compared to the original seats in my car.

Cheers Martie

[JLHarper]

Ill be looking this week for all ours colors we need.

[quicksilver97ta]

70+ ?

Are you referring to the year, IOW CW is different for a 69 or 68?

[LAIL1985]

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to update the industry's concerns with original 70-71 GTO/LeMans comfortweave (CW). We (Legendary) are still in the process of trying to remanufacture authentic CW vinyl. It was our intention early on after meeting with a vendor that they could reproduce the correct cut and style weave. This vendor did in fact produce a woven vinyl sample that we ultimately rejected due to the material being too lightweight and not flat enough in construction. Subsequent sampling has not produced the results we are looking for because the type of equipment that was used to produce CW is no longer available and/or to be found. There were a total of 18 of these machines built approximately 35-40 years ago. The vast majority of these machines were overseas and have all since been destroyed. The new-age current technology machines used in the industry to produce woven vinyls are not capable of making such a fine cut material used to produce TRUE comfortweave. In addition, any woven vinyl that is produced using new technology equipment is set up for high volume, high speed, extremely low rejection rate and is essentially much to lightweight for this type of seating application (70-71). We at Legendary Auto Interiors, Ltd. as most of you are aware, pride ourselves on the fact that we produce the highest quality, most authentic, original reproductions ever offered to the industry. We had to make the decision to offer what we currently have, due to the many 70-71 owners awaiting our high quality products. We believe 100% and guarantee our CW to be a much higher quality vinyl in grain definition and weight than what has been traditionally available to this date. We are still to this day working on a solution however it is difficult and unfortunately we can not give any information as to when and/or if we will ever be able to reproduce it.
The current solution that we have available to the industry is our in-house simulated CW. We do have a FREE sample program available for customers such as yourselves to see before committing to a purchase. Our sales team understands the differences between our in-house CW and original style CW. If anyone feels they have been misled please feel free to contact me M-F 8am-4pm EST. We sincerely apologize for any miscommunication. As we previously stated, it was our intention early on to have the "correct" CW available. Unfortunately our vendor could not duplicate our needs. We hope this will help educate you, the customer, on our current CW development and dilemmas.


Brian

www.legendaryautointeriors.com 1-800-363-8804 ext.210