Write-Up: A-Pillar Re-Upholstery & Guage Pods

I could never find a good match for mine, but I have the medium tan interior. The upholstery shop near me actually had a perfect match material and color on hand. I would think grey would be easier to find.

The material i originally used was stating to discolor due to age, heat, UV and dirt. so today i decided to re-re-upholster the a-pillars.
This time i wrapped them in headliner foam and then a black suede.


Hope it will last, but if not it only set me back $25.
I plan on getting black floor mats and doing the whole headliner and c-pillars too.

thats looks schnaaazy. I like it.

Looks good

Anytime you can add black accents to the interior, I think it works well. It complements the black dash hood, instruments, vents, shifter, etc. Maybe a black head liner is in the future?

Yes i got the material yesterday to do the headliner. Cost me $40 for all the black suede i need to finish the job. It was on sale for half off.

Think a black headliner would be excellent.

Headliner is done.
I really like the look but man was it a PITA to do.
The hardest part was the sun roof. If you dont have one of those you are golden. Because the suede doesnt stretch at all the 90° angles at the corners of the sun room are really hard to lay over. I ended up having about 1mm of tear at each corner and unless you look its not noticeable.
One other piece of advice, make sure you glue down and wires to the board in the same spot they were in. I didnt think much of it and just shoved the wires back when reinstalling it. now the sun roof cover hit a wire when i slide it back. Doesn't do any damage but it make a noise and hangs a little.





I do plan on covering the visors, just as soon as i figure out how to pull them apart without breaking them.

That looks absolutely fabulous !!!

NICE!

ghpcnm wrote:

That looks absolutely fabulous !!!

AA wrote:

NICE!

Thank you.

That does look good.

Excellent! Thanks much for posting pictures. Must have my 'A' pillar reupholstered, now I have new ideas.

Nice work. I just had all kinds of fun pulling down my headliner too because I had to replace the sunroof. My biggest problem was the retardedly shallow torx socket bolts for the seat belts at the top of the B-pillars. I pretty much ruined the heads of the bolts before I got them out. I need to find another set. I could easily tighten them back in but they would never come out again.

Have you thought about doing the whole carpet black? I think that would make a pretty interesting dynamic.

Wow! Nicest touch I've ever seen. What looks and feels more luxurious than suede? Excellent idea.
I think it could work with almost any interior color, too.
Just my 2 cents: I like the contrast between the visors and the headliner. Seems a transition point that brings your attention to the nice work above, while all suede might become just a black hole, with all suede except for the light module. Also wonder what the sun will do to black suede visors.
Again, it's my personal observation. I think it suits the classy side of the Riviera's personality perfectly and it's something GM's best would never dare suggest doing.
Anyway, it's an idea worth own ride after the many more primate needs of my Riv.
So file this under unsolicited advice. I have a jar full at home:)
BTW, is that stock steering wheel? I aim to install a wood kit for the dash and would like a matching wheel.
Thanks for the pics.

I was just shocked at how dirty the headliner was and you can see it in the visors too. If i do decide to leave them grey, then it will most certainly be a grey suede covering them.

Thanks again for all the complements. I really wish you could see it in person, the pictures just dont show all the curves of the roof line.
Black plush floor mats will be here thursday.
Next I will be redoing the wood dash, you can see some of the spots that have discolored over the years

any tips or pics on doing the back pillars? nvm was pretty damn easy.. didn't break anything neither

Funny someone should reactivate this thread today. Just 1/2 hour ago a friend came by and popped off my 1998 'A' Pillars to reupholster. Might take him some time to find a "near" match to the gray fabric upholstery fabric. Would be nice to find a web source for this fabric (hint)!?
He also noticed that the soft, fabric upholstered trim that runs between headliner and windows, down the outside edge of 'A' pillar is...foam is becoming brittle to the touch (best to describe wide trim welting). Fabric covering this interior trim is fine, but the foam/rubber trim part is becoming brittle.
Just thought I would through this info out in case anyone wants to discuss.

Hey Chris, where did you get your pillars reupholstered? how much?

I had mine done by brents upholstery in Sterling, Illinois. I think it was about 85 to have both done. I had already had the gauge pods mounted to the pillar. So all he did was the upholstery.

J. Chris Davis wrote:

I had mine done by brents upholstery in Sterling, Illinois. I think it was about 85 to have both done. I had already had the gauge pods mounted to the pillar. So all he did was the upholstery.

thanks! I'm doing the same thing basically. Starting with a 3 gauge pillar for a regal. If you trim it down to just the gauge area it's fairly close. The only spot that needs serious help is the bottom. The material they used on your looks to be pretty much the same as stock or is it like suede?

It's like stock. I don't know much about it. I got lucky and he had just what I needed in stock.

J. Chris Davis wrote:

It's like stock. I don't know much about it. I got lucky and he had just what I needed in stock.

GM had variations in names for the different colors for interior finishes, but with the exception of the high line cars like the Riv where you'd see a custom color or 2 -- very little actual variation. If you are dealing with someone who's active in the trade - upholstery, paint, what have you - it's not that tough to match things up. If you look hard enough you can find the fabrics on the 'net as well, at this or a number of other sites:

http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/headliners_readymade/order_foamback_material.htm

It goes without saying that many if not most of our cars are at the point where the headliners need replaced rather than cleaned because of embrittlement from sun and weather. My headliner on the roof is in OK shape, but the A and C pillars and rear package shelf are faded somewhat.


Albertj

Good information. with mine I got lucky. He had the correct material in the correct color. As to the name of the color and material he had. That I do not know. He just had it sitting there and we matched it up and it was perfect match. I know before that I had been searching all over with no luck.

J. Chris Davis wrote:

Good information. with mine I got lucky. He had the correct material in the correct color. As to the name of the color and material he had. That I do not know. He just had it sitting there and we matched it up and it was perfect match. I know before that I had been searching all over with no luck.

I have half a mind to send him my A and C pillars to recover if he has the Toreador Red.

Albertj