If your interior looks like this, dropping the top on your 'Cuda convertible can be humbling.
Open the door on your classic Mopar musclecar and survey that interior. Unless we've paid attention to the vintage vinyl inside, the 30-plus years that have passed-since skilled craftsmen sewed the upholstery together-have taken their toll. Fortunately for us, aftermarket reproduction suppliers such as Legendary Auto Interiors sew together new skins to make old and tired vinyl look new again.
Our vintage '70 'Cuda ragtop was no exception to the ravages of time. Far from being a time capsule survivor, our 'Cuda was reassembled 10 years ago with a rag-tag combination of boneyard and swap meet parts. Seat upholstery from a Gran Coupe was part of the first poverty-rebuild effort. With a blast of white Marhyde and some Pep Boys seat covers up front, the 'Cuda made due in street duty with shabby old skins. After being on the back burner for a decade, it was time to face the music and do the interior right.
A complete seat upholstery kit and bucket-seat foam were the first items on our interior shopping list. Upon receiving the Legendary set, we were immediately intoxicated with the look, feel, and smell of the fresh threads. True to the company's reputation in the restoration industry, the new skins are faithful reproductions of the originals, with the correct, factory-original grain on the material, the factory pattern smoothly stitched in true form, and the correct density backing sewn in. Unlike the cheap pieced-and-glued replacements sometimes found in reproduction foam, the Legendary front seat foam (rear bench foam is not currently available) is a true molded reproduction, in the correct durable, high-density material.
The rear seat bottom was the roughest of the bunch. Jute padding was used between the upper and lower front springs across the front and across the center.
Having never graduated from upholstery trade tech, we were faced with the decision of whether to attempt the installation ourselves, or pay a hired gun to do the dirty work for us. Although we have had some experience in reupholstering simpler bucket seats, the highly sculptured form of musclecar-era Mopar seats places them among the more difficult reconstruction jobs. True to Mopar Muscle's hands-on reporting style, we went for the deadline-crunching, do-it-yourself approach.
With most of our prized Mopars pushing the 30-year mark, it's not uncommon for the seats to require major surgery instead of a simple cosmetic facelift. Our 'Cuda seats were no exception-they required a complete frame-up rebuild. While any reputable upholstery shop will install the new seat covers, the process of refurbishing the frames, burlap, support wires, and jute padding can be an entirely different matter. We went the whole nine yards on our dilapidated saddles, bringing all the inner workings up to the level of the gorgeous skins above. If you are looking for professional installation of your new repop upholstery, carefully assess the condition of the seats below the tired old skin. If extensive rebuilding is part of the requirement, take the time to shop for an establishment in tune with restoration-oriented work, to get the job done right. As well as providing reproduction interiors for a wide range of classic Mopars, Legendary has a complete installation and repair facility which allows you to go to the source for your seat salvation.
