Out of the shop

Terry Lange

PCS Member
Finally got the '59 Comet Olds out of the restoration shop a couple of weeks ago, and managed to take some shots of it yesterday. There are still a few little things to tinker around with (and probably always will be), but for now it's ready to do some cruising. I still haven't decided whether to re-do the interior in a non-correct fabric, or leave it as is and keep searching for the original design and color.
 

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LOOKS GREAT!!!
In my silly opinion, wait to find the correct fabric on the interior. You have come this far, don't cut corners now.
 
Terry, as I have already told you, that is one gorgeous coach! Stunning is probably more like it!

I too, think you should keep the interior original, if you possibly can. Have you tried SMS? SMS is out of Washington state, if memory serves me and they specialize in original interior fabrics.

Good luck and enjoy it!
 
Beautiful Coach Terry !!!!!!!:applause:

As long as opinions are being given.....I think you should try to keep it ORIGINAL !!!:thumbsup:

Good Luck and ENJOY !!!!!:)

Jim
 
Yeah wait to find the right material. A good friend of mine who thinks he paid way to much for leather in his coach could have saved a few bucks but he knew it would be wrong.:applause::applause:
 
What a great looking rare car, Terry! I agree w/ the others you should keep it original. I feel a connection to '59 Oldsmobiles as my mother had a '59 Super 88 "Scenicoupe" when I was a kid (it was two-tone purple and white :D ) When my dad was driving it my brother and I used to encourage him to "make the speedometer turn red!"
 
Terry: Incredibly beautiful car Terry, although I really wouldn't expect anything less than perfection from one of the Lange Twins! MM
 
Terry and I have had several discussions on what to do with the interior. I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask how long do you wait to find the original material? I know he's tried all of the major available sources for close to two years to no avail. It's much the same as trying to find original flooring material for the M-M ambulances. Do you drive a half completed car for who knows how long and maybe never find what you need, or do you settle for something "close" and have a complete car you can show with pride? I'd venture a guess that 99.9% of the viewing public wouldn't know what was original and what wasn't for a fifty four year old Oldsmobile funeral coach. I'm all for originality, but I think he's looking for a needle in a haystack. Just my humble opinion.
 
Terry and I have had several discussions on what to do with the interior. I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask how long do you wait to find the original material? I know he's tried all of the major available sources for close to two years to no avail. It's much the same as trying to find original flooring material for the M-M ambulances. Do you drive a half completed car for who knows how long and maybe never find what you need, or do you settle for something "close" and have a complete car you can show with pride? I'd venture a guess that 99.9% of the viewing public wouldn't know what was original and what wasn't for a fifty four year old Oldsmobile funeral coach. I'm all for originality, but I think he's looking for a needle in a haystack. Just my humble opinion.

I agree with what you said, in spite of my earlier statement. The only person who might know the difference would be you, or an expert, close is probably the key word here. I thought you were talking a "custom" interior, such as Tuck N Roll.
 
Many thanks to those who enjoyed the photos, and especially to the individuals who offered suggestions and encouragement. I have been leaning towards either leaving the interior "as is" (original), or holding out for the correct material before getting it done over. It would be nice to give the old check book a rest for a while! It appears that most here are in agreement with this, although Kerry has raised a point worth considering.

Bill, I have been dealing with SMS for quite a while now. At best, they are difficult to work with. I had read this on other message boards unrelated to professional cars, and experienced it myself. Many requests go unanswered, and promises of samples take weeks or months, or having to remind them a second or third time.

I am attaching a photo of the casket compartment of the car, as it appears at present. If I stick with a two-tone interior, I would need about 14 yards of the ivory, and 4 yards of whatever the contrasting color might be (I am pretty flexible on that.)

Photo #2 shows the correct material that I have 1 1/3 yards of presently. The blue material in the same photo is of the correct pattern, and a source in MI has an adequate quantity of it, but I would have to do the whole car in that shade of blue, including the headliner. I have seen funeral coaches with single color interiors, including blue, burgundy and black, and while it would be a radical change from my current color combination, it would technically have been available from Comet Coach in '59, as the pattern matches.

Photo #3 shows what SMS has available at present in the quantities I require. I'm not crazy about it.

All suggestions or thoughts are welcome!
 

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I would say that, if you've gotten to the point where other things are done and you've tried everything, and you can't find the exactly-right material, then close-enough material may be as good as you can get.

That's what I ended up doing on my Studebaker sedan. The correct NOS material was available in all colors except blue (and of course, my car is blue), and all the Studebaker material suppliers told me there's none left, it's gone. My interior was done by a very good shop with very similar material, it looks nice and feels good on my......well.......anyway, it's nice stuff. Best I can do.
 
In my opinion, any decision you make will be correct and you will be pleased. You have such a rare and beautiful coach, it will be admired everywhere it goes.
 
Have you thought about sending pictures of the car to the funeral home that owned it before you? They might appeciate seeing that shes been restored to her original dignified glory.
 
Have you thought about sending pictures of the car to the funeral home that owned it before you? They might appeciate seeing that shes been restored to her original dignified glory.

Yes, Rick, I had planned on doing so, just as a courtesy. Having said that, the previous funeral home owner in Oregon had no interest in the car or its history, and just wanted it out of his garage. I have also twice contacted the owner of the car prior to that, who apparently operated it at funeral homes in Dixon and Vacaville, CA. I offered her photos of the completed project in return for whatever history she could provide, but never received a reply to either inquiry.
 
What a beauty - WELL DONE!

Leave the interior as is until you can find all of the correct material you need.

I guess that's my question, Steve. I have located more than enough of the correct material to do the whole car, front and rear (assuming the supplier still has it.) The thing is, it is 20 yards of the blue pictured in my earlier post. Given the option of doing the whole interior in solid blue, top to bottom, or doing nothing until a roll of the ivory shows up somewhere, what would you be doing if this was your car?
 
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