Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

The mechanical and body restoration of my 110 club coupe is now complete and the car looks better than the day it rolled off the line...all chrome replated, stainless polished, body work smoothed, top-notch paint job ("Packard Blue"). Just stunning.

I have now turned my attention to the interior and the car is in the hands of a well-respected upholsterer here in the Seattle area. After having removed the interior, I am now struggling with figuring out how best to reproduce the original "look and feel". The trouble is finding any consensus on what the original interior was and I can't find any helpful/reliable images online of an original one. Several claim to be "original interior" yet are drastically different and the dealer info handbook specifies that only 2 choices were available for the 110: Grey with blue pinstripe broadcloth and tan.

My car had grey wool seats with some faint blue/grey pinstripes of two different widths. The backs of the seats and door panels were solid grey. But the headliner and visors are tan. One reputable Packard source told me the car originally would have delivered with either all tan or all grey interior. So it is likely the seats were redone at one point. Is this the case?

I want to redo the car in the blue/grey tone so does the headliner indeed have to be grey? If so, what shade? Same as doors or lighter?

Second, there is a question about the headliner material. Bill Hirsch says it was wool but it feels more like some kind of cotton and the same Packard source says the junior cars had cotton headliners. What do you guys think?

Lastly, there is the issue of matching the fabric. Both SMS and Hirsch sent me the "closest match" which doesn't match at all in appearance but feels very similar in thickness and material properties. Is there anywhere else to look or do I have to settle for this one choice?

Any guidance is much appreciated as I'd like to make it as close to original as possible...if I can ever figure out what it really was to start with!

Some pix of the interior before tear-out are attached in the hopes that some Packard guru can tell me if this is an original interior or not. The contrast between the grey seats/sides and the tan headliner does seem jarring but, then again, maybe it's meant to tie in with the dash plastic color?

Thanks!!

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I can't help with the detail questions but another source for interior wool fabrics, though not of the quality of the Bill Hirsch products, is LeBaron-Bonney - they have a fairly wide selection and are reputable.

Although rather tedious to search through, The trim section in the parts list can also provide some clues, particularly for headliners.

For example, Group 31.458 shows the headliner assembly as part number 951289 for 110, 120 and 160 club and business coupes (Bodies 1475-78-85-88-95-98)

The Bulk Trim Stock listing on page 170 shows the bulk material by the yard as "Fabric, Upholstering 61" headlining material napped" with part number 325195 for a wide range of 1938 to 1941 models. An undisturbed original for any of these would help for confirmation of the correct material.

Headliners were usually a tan color for all interiors, regardless of the different color variations on the seats and door panels.

That's very helpful to know that headliners were tan regardless of seat color. That helps solve one of the mysteries...thank you very much for this information!

So, it would seem a lot of restorers miss this point as it seems most cars I have seen have matching headliner and seat color.

Headliner should be brushed cotton. check with Kanter, very good product. he will want to know how many bows are in the headliner. John

I had SMS Fabrics remake the original grey broadcloth with blue pinstripe. Had to order 16 yards but I'm told I only need 8 yards for my 160 coupe. It took SMS 3 years to come up with it!! If you are interested in the 8 yards I do not need, I'm willing to sell it to you. Please PM me.

PM Sent!

Tabletennissport,

Did your car have a tan headliner or was it a matching grey to the seats?

I bought pre-sewn grey headliner from SMS stock. Because I didn't know that it was supposed to be tan. Quality and colour is nice though.

"I bought pre-sewn grey headliner from SMS....I didn't know that it was supposed to be tan" What!