1953 Rover P4 75
July 2019 - Upholstery!
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Headliner
The ceiling of the P4 had approx 2" thick insulation and most of it deteriorated. New R6.7 recycled denim insulation was installed using contact adhesive to attach to the steel ceiling of the P4 before the headliner fabric was installed.
New headliner fabric was sewed and installed on the original bow suspension frame.
The headliner frame originally was removed by going through the front windshield opening. I could not figure out how the heck the headliner went back in the car through the door opening since the front windshield was installed so I cut the frame down the middle and welded on small hinges so the whole thing can fold in the middle to slide through a door opening and then unfold for installation.
Carpet
A roll of dark brown unbacked cut pile carpet was cut to size for the various pieces. Edge binding was sewed on before the carpet was glued to the padding during installation.
Seat upholstery
A close family friend volunteered to help sew the seat coverings. Sienna Brown vinyl was selected and sewed on 1/2" sew (scrim) foam for the tuck and roll style using all blind stitches. I did not have much confidence in the sewing machine or our abilities to make pretty stitches so all stitches were hidden.
Marking and folding the vinyl material for a new blind stitch line.
Spray adhesive is used between the foam and the vinyl.
Our first ever tuck and roll seat covering! The bottom edges of the cover was sewed in a long continuous pocket loop to hold a single strand of steel wire to be tied to the seat frame using hog ties.
We used mastic fabric to figure out the cuts and sew lines for the upper half of the front seat.
Front bench seat all done and with new lap belts installed.
All seats installed! The same process was repeated for the rear seat covering except the upper half wasn't as difficult because no backing is required.
We approve of the seats and their comfort.
New door panel cards were cut out of 0.06" black ABS plastic and covered with the same Sienna Brown vinyl sewed on 1/4" sew foam. The armrests were also re-covered.