Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I was looking at the 53 conv. In the for sale forum that needs interior. Honestly there is little chance I can buy it but thought I would at least research it. Does that kind of interior need to be redone only by a antique restoration shop or can a good auto upolstery shop do it? What would I expect to pay for that? Thanks

If you want a good quality job you need to find a skillful upholstery man and it doesn't matter if he works for himself or an upholstery shop, or if he works for a restoration shop - it's the man's skills that are important and not his employment circumstances. Work at a full time restoration shop would probably cost more than the same job at an upholstery shop as there will probably be more overhead to carry.

Others may have more current information; when I had the interior and top done on my 56 Caribbean in 1998 the cost for an very good (but not Pebble quality) interior including labor and materials was about $8000 and take into consideration the fact that the reversible seats on a 56 are considerably more complex and expensive to do than the relatively simple seats of the car in question. It was done by an old-time upholstery shop owned by a PAC member.

Correctly stated above and it depends where you are located and what your time frame is. Could be 8-10 or 15 k. I did not see the post for a 53 conv or pix in for sale. How far down the list is is?


Btw I am trying to sell my 55 Clipper on ebay one last time . It has the 222XXX body number( thief proof number) as discussed here before. It is numbers matching and would like to see it go to a Packard enthusiast to preserve it for the future. If there is no interest and no reasonable offers i guess any fate , even a sbc and hod rod community would welcome it
See att link

Agree with the quality of upholsterer and price comments. I'm in the process now with the 47 and am thinking prices are going to work out in the 12k range just for the labor. Probably more if it is leather and you are thinking of redoing with the same.

I had a 54 Pacific done several years ago and the upholsterer commented that it had one of the most complex underlayment structures he had seen. Under the outer show fabric there were several layers of different weight fabrics sewn at the bias and at various angles which kept the outer upholstery from bunching, moving or pulling in any direction. I would expect the 53 to be made in a similar fashion so whether the average shop would understand or take the time to duplicate that hidden stuff is a question.