Is this original seat leather?

[Westy Steve]

I've always assumed my interior was re-done, but now I'm not completely sure. Take a look at the seats and door cards. Do these look like originals? How can I/you tell? Is there anywhere I can look to know for sure?

Thanks!

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[Westy Steve]

I found this on-line. My door cards seem identical. I find subtle differences in the front seats (this car has an extra seam that mine does not) and vice versa. But the back seat looks identical.

http://www.oldbug.com/epic55.htm
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[ZENVWDRIVER]

... original or not, the seat covers look great... not leather though... "pleather" at best.
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All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[janerick3]

Is the piping smooth black plastic, or something else?
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Thanks,
Jan K.

[Westy Steve]

Yes, it is smooth black plastic. It looks good, and the rest of the interior looks good enough to where this could be original, or may not be. Hard to tell. I'm guessing the only real way to tell is from the stitching, but how do you know what to look for?

Thanks for any advice.
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Have nice 914, want nice Bug

[Mr. OGPaint]

At first glance your interior does look original, but a couple things look a little "off" to me

A couple things I notice that are different that my original upholstery 55
-armrest has no black piping
- door panels look puffy and the stitching Looks a little odd in the photos
- the connecting arm of the "h-pattern" in the lower cushions is missing

Other things I would look at
-what does the underneath of the seats look like? I.e padding and covering over springs
- does it have cardboard on the back of the rear seat
- look very carefully at the piping, og is all black vinyl and is smooth. Aftermarket is either all black and textured, or black vinyl stitched around a vinyl cord (usually a clear cord)
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Patrick Hall

[splitjunkie]

It doesn't look original to me. The color is wrong and the texture is wrong. I have a piece of red vinyl from my old '54 kicking around somewhere. If I can find it I will post a picture.

The carpet is also not original so that is another indicator that the seats would have been redone.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[Westy Steve]

The piping is smooth for sure. I'd love it if you could post a picture of the seat texture. I did suspect my seats weren't original...but they are such good repros that I wasn't sure. There are parts of this car that are in surprisingly highly original and well preserved, so it makes it hard to know for sure. I have zero history on the car.

I'm somewhat happy to hear that the carpet isn't original, because I was wondering how I was going to restore it....it is somewhat knappy. If it isn't original, that gives me license to replace it with something in much better shape.

Sometimes, keeping these cars as original as possible is restraining. If you all have any photos of the correct original carpeting, or can recommend a color from a vendor, I'd appreciate it.

Steve
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[Keith]

Your '55 and down "H" seats are missing the stitch to make them an "H". Door cards are stitched thicker. That is a repro interior. Looks nice though, just minor details that hurt it.
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Formerly known in the forums as "OVALTEEN"

"I firmly believe that some villagers from Botswana could probably build a better road than PennDot."- Splitty

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[Keith]

This is BulliBill's original '55 interior, you can see the stitch in the bottom seat that makes '55 and down seats "H" seats and other details.

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Formerly known in the forums as "OVALTEEN"

"I firmly believe that some villagers from Botswana could probably build a better road than PennDot."- Splitty

"If you do anything to your car someone will hate on you for it. People absolutely love to complain and find fault with others. Don't let it bother you. Just live and have fun."- Lind

[Westy Steve]

Fantastic info....thank you! I love this forum.
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Have nice 914, want nice Bug

[splitjunkie]