Trim Shop In The Southeast USA

[PhaseShift]

Not that kind of trim- But if you are in southeast Asia...

Seriously- Does anyone have a good recommendation for a trim shop in the southeast? My car is going to need to have the interior completed and I can only see two options...

#1- Get a trim shop to do the thing turn key. The thing there is that I have never had really positive experiences with trim shops on anything but covering seats. I can not say that they are all hacks, but I can say that a lo of them are. The shop would have to be one that is equipped to take care of the car, plus do a good job that is managed by e-mail and phone calls. I can not afford the time to fly over for a week to fiddle fart around with it. The car is in central Tennessee, but the distance is not so big of a deal.

#2- Get good templates made and have them, plus the dash sent to me and we will fabricate & complete the parts here. The problem there is getting the stuff out and a temporary jig welded up to hold the dash in the correct shape while it is being shipped.
I am not at all afraid to work based on option 2- in fact I would like to be able to work on the thing here so I have a greater degree of control over the outcome.

With option #2, there will still have to be some trim work done in the USA, but in general, it would be the easier parts.

The pic shows the interior as it stands now. Maybe less plastic wrap on the tubes. ;)

Any ideas?

P.S.- I posted this completely forgetting that I will be out of town and very likely out of internet range for the next 10 days. My wife and I are going to Malaysia for vacation- diving, drinking and dining. Ideally in that order.

[ryans67deuce]

I have no first-hand experience with this guy - but have heard lots of good things about him on the web thru varioous message boards. He's located in Alexander City, Alabama.

http://www.interiorsbyshannon.com/cruise.htm

Ryan

[jyeager]

It looks like that guy does a high quality of work. I'll drop him a line, thanks.

[Ricochet]

There is guy named Paul Atkins located in Cullman Alabama. He does alot of high end cars. You can get a hold of him @ 256-352-9608.

[PhaseShift]

Thanks for the leads. I will follow up on both and also have a few others in mind before making a final decision.

[RussMS]

Paul Atkins interiors website:

http://www.paulatkinsinteriors.com/

Not an endorsement, I just happened to come up on it while researching some stuff.

[TravisB]

Hey, guys this is Shannon. The on ryans67deuce was talking about ( Thanks for the nice comments ).

I sure did not know paul had a wesite. :hail: He does grate work and truns out more cars a year. Me I'm a one man show.


It's hard to get in with Paul.....he is usually over a year out! He has a group of builders that he cators too usually!

I have seen some of shannons stuff, he is very good!

[PhaseShift]

Not done yet and not made a decision on who will do it.
Probably going to make that decision this winter when I am in the US for Christmas holidays.

[Steve Chryssos]

Atkins is a genius. However, as you will not be present, I recommend that you deliver the car to Prodigy Customs in Orlando. Have Frank Serafine contract the job to his preferred upholstery shop. I've seen the Top Secret pix of the interior in Bill Howell's GTO. ...And I've seen the craftsmanship on Kevin's 69 Firebird in person. Both cars are first rate. More than just quality, creative workmanship, you'll get the peace of mind knowing that Frank is overseeing the work. Plus he'll make sure that the car is not abused in any way.

http://www.prodigycustoms.com

[PhaseShift]

I am still considering what I want to do, but have not been very impressed so far with any of the offerings. Not that the folks are not skilled at trim work- I am sure that all are craftsmen indeed. The issue has been the approach and overall lack of professionalism; it is always like this: "I can do the job for you, it will cost $XXXX and I take this sort of payment and you better have the car ready for me and you better make your decisions clear and yap yap yap...". Nobody really even asked what I want the interior to look like, be constructed like or even if I had any specific goals in mind. I even had one tell me in advance that all other trim shops were unqualified (Not anyone form this forum)
To me, this is just like someone asking you for a job and telling you what you will pay, what the benefits will be, what the hours will be and what you are going to do for them without telling you the first thing about what they can do for you or the company. I do not work that way; never have, never will. If someone approached me with a reasonable attitude and asked what I was looking for, gave options on how to accomplish and so on, I would be more likely to go that route.

Odd thing is everyone wants an arm and a leg to do the project, but there is very little to do- cover the dash, do a cut and sew carpet job, cover the door panels and back deck. It is not $6K worth of work (which is about the average price that I have been quoted)

What will likely happen is use a local trimmer in Tennessee for some of the work and for the rest of the stuff, we will do it in house (SZX) and just ship it to the states. If I do it here, I can bring considerable resources to bear that most can not and frankly, feel more comfortable about doing it that way.

[PhaseShift]

Actually, none of that stuff I saw is what I am looking for. The car needs a light weight interior that is functional and promotes safety in the event of a crash.
I do like the leather for fire resistance actually... It may not be fire proof, but it is a lot more so than suede or untreated cloth.
The cars I am seeing on the web and in most magazines are really well done- to a far higher level of detail than I am looking for in this case. I will go for the well trimmed race car look as opposed to the luxury hot-rodder look.

[XcYZ]

Yep, Phil's car is a race car with a Camaro skin. :thumbsup:

http://www.lateral-g.net/bunch/102.jpg

[PhaseShift]

Forgive me- I am not a trimmer by trade and far from an expert; can you point out some of the specific issues that separate the two trim jobs in the pictures you posted and give me some insight as to the strengths and weaknesses of both?

Thanks! :)

[XcYZ]

I knew you would not like the pics I posted of the 55 and 56. I just wanted to show you the difference between two shops. Post a pic of an interiror that you like. You can get leather, suede and untreated cloth made to be fire resistance. Do you want your seats recovered?

http://www.interiorsbyshannon.com/large_poorstreet4.JPG

No head rest?

[PhaseShift]

Thanks for the advice there.

Oh, do you happen to know the name of the shops that did the two different cars? I would sure like to know for comparison sake.

[TravisB]

No head rest?


very common with that style of interior......! Those seats are very common, and very comfortable!

[PhaseShift]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinion. I will consider this when I get more serious about the design of the interior. Right now I just do not have the time to mess with it.