[1965gp]

I appreciate the help on the interior paint, I have a couple questions on interior pieces. Since we are going black correct color shades really aren’t an issue.

1) my car has standard interior, same as my 69. If I wanted a change and wanted to upgrade to deluxe interior can I use the same seat frames and just get new foam?

2) I assume deluxe door panels will fit into a door that did not originally have deluxe interior- does anything need to be moved or does it all line up?

3) Looking at buying reproduction items is there a difference between PUI, distinctive interior, Legendary, etc.? I used classic industries in my 69 and it was pretty cheap feeling compared to the cars I’ve used Legendary in. I used PUI in my 79 TA and they fit and feel pretty good. Is it worth the lead time and $$$ to wait on Legendary or is there another brand any of you have had success with?

The car is a numbers matching low mileage 400 4-speed so I want to make sure it comes out nice. It’s not something I plan on selling in the next 10-20 years so if it cost a little more to get a better product I’m okay with it.

Thanks for your help,

Jeremy

[JimFB400HO]

1. Don't know for sure. Can't think of any difference, although the seat foam is specific to standard or custom

2. I recall from discussions long ago that the thicker custom panels need a different regulator with a longer shaft, the Custom panels have a door pull and they have different door latch handles. Other than that, someone who has done it needs to comment.

3. Unless the repro upholstery material has changed in the past few years, none have the original "breathable" Comfortweave of the '68 Custom Interior. Some repros have a close look pressed solid material pattern that resembles Comfortweave. I don't know which repro is best. Several years ago you could still find the original Comfortweave material at https://smsautofabrics.com/ and have upholstery made to match the original.

[East]

When I changed the standard seat covers to deluxe, I found that the standard foam did not have the same shape that was needed to hog ring the deluxe covers to seat frame.

I also wanted to change standard door panels to deluxe but the inner door handle would require a change as well.

I wasn't sure about the deluxe handles being the only change as they are extended out and then up to open the doors.

While the seat frame was bare, I took the opportunity to fix the springs that are broken. The locations are on the rear corners. The springs are shown in vendor's catalogs in the interiors section. It must be a common practice to repair.

[1965gp]

Sounds like it probably isn’t worth making the change to deluxe interior. I appreciate the insight.

[East]

It's been a while since I installed new covers on my seats for the second time. I chose the deluxe interior covers without doing any research, or thinking about doing the job.

I did not think about the differences with the shape of the seat until I was hog ringing cover to the spring frame. I did not take into account that there was a bolster on the deluxe, and the standard was flat.

I had already had new standard seat foam, so I modified the seat cushion foam to allow the use of the deluxe cover.

I preferred making it work as opposed to shipping the seat foam back. I figured it out and could not tell the difference with the covers on. I used new burlap and added extra batting/wadding. The seats are semi firm with the extras added.

The door panels are probably not that hard or much different. I just mentioned the the inside handle looks like it may need different components due to the one piece molded arm rest.

You probably have way more patience than I have to complete the job. As I said previously, I was too lazy to send the standard seat foam back for the correct deluxe foam.

[JimFB400HO]

Are you considering the other upgrades, both interior and exterior, that were part of the Custom trim option?

[1965gp]

No I don’t think so, I’m fine with the standard interior; I was just looking at pricing and lead times and thought it might be a nice change from my 69. I want to keep the rest of the car as it was originally.

[JimFB400HO]

Hope all goes well with your work on that '68.

[HoovDaddy]

Al Knoch is the only manufacturer of the custom interior door trims and are available everywhere as the basic panel is identical to Camaro. They look very good, but the foam thickness varies a lot, so all the attaching parts (bird emblems and lock ferrule) might fit differently and need some modifications. The custom interior door handles are different and repops are available, the handle bezels might need modifications to fit depending on the foam thickness, however the panel looks good without them. The window crank handles are different as well as the regulator. Amazon sells regulator handle extensions. Real Comfortweave is long gone, SMS fabrics still has some, but I would not trust sewing it due to age. All repop Comfortweave is a pressed vinyl patern that simulates Comfortweave but doesn't breathe. I prefer perforated vinyl on seats I make, it breathes, no sweating. As far as quality between Legendary and PUI, in my opinion Legendary is not worth the extra cost. I've used both brands and have destitched both brands to make patterns. Legendary vinyls tend to be shinier than PUI. Classic Industries owns PUI now, so things might change. From my experience, neither brand uses oem/marine grade vinyl and both could use better and thicker thread. The last Legendary cust trims I did were missing a listing in one of the bottoms, so I had to repair it. I attached a pic of the different Comfortweave fabrics so you can compare the 2 repop brands to original.

[gtobird]

I bought the last of the red comfortweave from SMS about 20 years ago (unless they somehow sourced some more). Anyway it sewed up just fine and I still have a small amount left in case anything gets damaged along the way. Prior to getting that, I purchased a complete deluxe set of seat covers from PUI. While they were nicely made, the color match of the comfortweave and madrid grain vinyl looked a bit off to me and as already pointed out, the repop comfortweave has a slightly different look to it. If I had a black interior, I would have stayed with the PUI seatcovers as I've seen those and because they are black it's much closer looking to the factory set.

Originally Posted by HoovDaddy

Al Knoch is the only manufacturer of the custom interior door trims and are available everywhere as the basic panel is identical to Camaro. They look very good, but the foam thickness varies a lot, so all the attaching parts (bird emblems and lock ferrule) might fit differently and need some modifications. The custom interior door handles are different and repops are available, the handle bezels might need modifications to fit depending on the foam thickness, however the panel looks good without them. The window crank handles are different as well as the regulator. Amazon sells regulator handle extensions. Real Comfortweave is long gone, SMS fabrics still has some, but I would not trust sewing it due to age. All repop Comfortweave is a pressed vinyl patern that simulates Comfortweave but doesn't breathe. I prefer perforated vinyl on seats I make, it breathes, no sweating. As far as quality between Legendary and PUI, in my opinion Legendary is not worth the extra cost. I've used both brands and have destitched both brands to make patterns. Legendary vinyls tend to be shinier than PUI. Classic Industries owns PUI now, so things might change. From my experience, neither brand uses oem/marine grade vinyl and both could use better and thicker thread. The last Legendary cust trims I did were missing a listing in one of the bottoms, so I had to repair it. I attached a pic of the different Comfortweave fabrics so you can compare the 2 repop brands to original.