BigT-65

I just bought new carpets and pad, new seat covers, foam and installation kit and a pair of door panels for my 65 convertible. I need a reputable and reasonable installer in the Tampa Bay area. Does anyone reading this know an installer they would recommend?
Thanks for your replies.

GUSTO14

Contact Dan at Vansteel, (a Forum sponsor) 727-561-9199. They're in your neighborhood and I promise they will know a safe and reputable shop to deal with.

Good luck... GUSTO

BigT-65

Thanks for your reply. I had some work done on my 72 by Vansteel back in the 90's. Didn't have any problems with their work. They are over in Clearwater, not too far away. I hope to get a reply from someone who has experience with an installer.

BigT-65

Does anyone have any idea what it will cost the install carpet and pad front to back, seat covers with new foam ( I have an installation kit) and door panels. I would like to have some idea of what this work goes for these days before I go out to get it done.
Thank you for any input on this.

BigT-65

Help!

Tampa Jerry

Usually, I am right on top of recommending a shop for work, but lately good quality workmanship is hard to find. I used a shop in north Tampa to do the seats on both my Chevelle and my 66 coupe. I supplied sandblasted painted frames with new foam, springs, burlap and leather covers. The cost was about $125 per seat. This was a few years ago. I did the install of the dash pads, carpet door panels etc. myself. I did this on both cars. I don't know your circumstances, but much of the work can be accomplished with time and patience. PM me and I will give you the name of the shop I used. Jerry

GUSTO14

Tom, Al Knoch and his crew will be at the Lakeland Airport Show in January 2016. If you can catch up with them at a show (they travel all over the country throughout the year) you can schedule an install by one of their professionals.

I have made arrangements to have them do installation work on my cars at a few shows and I can assure you that their work is top notch. His folks do this daily and there aren't many shops around that can say that. As others have mentioned it isn't easy to find shops that have recent experience installing tops, carpeting, and doing other interior work on our 50 year old Corvettes. If they do, chances are they're hundreds of miles away.

The only problem is you need to contact them early to book a slot at one of the shows they will be at. I would recommend you call them regardless and get an estimate of what they charge for installation. At least you'll have an idea of what it should cost. Many local shops will give a wild and crazy estimate just to get you to go away because they know experience is what it takes to do this correctly and efficiently. Recent experience counts most of all. If you accept their bid they generally know they'll make money 'cause they built it in to cover their learning/catching up curve.

If you do decide to go that route, be sure to schedule early and you won't be disappointed. Now would be a good time to contact them for the January show. (Talk to Melanie...915-886-5800)

Good luck... GUSTO

BigT-65

Thanks guys for the info. The Al Knoch installers sound like the way to go but I would have to drive my car to Lakeland then back home after the work is done. I suppose I could take the seats out and just bring them in my HHR. I will definitely see if I can get a price from them. I probably could do the carpets myself. I would need to see some videos or something on the subject. Door panels would be easy, I have taken them off and put them back on before.

Tampa Jerry

Sounds like a plan. If you are going to have them done at the NCRS Lakeland show, consider stripping them down and having the frames sand blasted, primed and painted. There will be no surprises with rust and missing parts. If you did not buy the covers from Al Knoch, they may be unwilling to install another vendor's covers on your frames. PM me if you need a shop to blast your frames. I use a shop that does sand blasting and powder coating. Jerry

BigT-65

Has anyone heard of Magic Mike in Tampa. He is suppose to be a good Corvette interior guy.

rfn026

I took the seats out of my '58 last year and sent them to Al Knoch in TX. They brought the finished seats to the Lakeland show. I saved the shipping costs and they gave me the show discount. I loved it.





Richard Newton
Is Your Car Really Original?

BigT-65

Those seats look really nice. I have had to rethink Al Knoch. He wants $550 for the seats plus the hassle of getting them to the show in Lakeland. And he might not like the fact that I bought the Seat covers from Wilcox and they came from Corvette America. I am going to try to find a local installer who will do a good job for a little less money. As many Corvettes and hot rods as there are around here there has to be some good interior guys. I contacted Corvette Shop and Supply in Tampa and it sounded like they were trying to scare me away. They wanted $85 an hour and seamed to be quoting some long hours for experienced installers. There is a guy in Tampa known as Magic Mike who has been recommended to me buy members of my club. I haven't contacted him yet. I was hoping someone on the forum knew of him.

Dale002

I've hear from a respectful Corvette expert that these seats are the hardest to do out of any automotive seats, so.... I would expect to pay a bit more.
You got to find an old timer that know coil sprigs and clips. Or you will end up with a few hundred extra clip holes on you cover.
Now a day most seat covers custom or not are snap on type and foam with few clips and no coils. I would guess $200 per seat for someone that knows these seats would be appropriate.

Dale002

If he can't give you a flat rate and a guarantee, then you need to keep looking.

Ironcross

You seem to be apprehensive of Al Knoch`s prices....But this is what some installers do, they use Al's prices....However if experience is important, Al has done thousands of Vette interiors...Not just one or two.....And American Power Coating in Tampa can handle blasting and repair of your seats if necessary.....

And they install all there own interiors

Check him on the internet....Al Knoch`s Corvette interiors


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