1969 TR/SE Charger interior

[chrint]

I'm about to start on new interior for my 69 RT/SE Charger, can someone tell me who is the best vendors for concourse looking interior.
Seats, door trims console and dash wood grain ,steering  wheel.
As close to original as possible is what I'm after.
Interior is Black

[Lennard]

Legendary auto interiors

[69bfan]

To get the best parts and at the best price, your going to have to shop around and purchase from several different vendors.  I do not know of one single vendor who stocks all of the better quality pieces.  There is considerable differences in many of the interior trim pieces.  If your going to need upper door pads, I personally feel that I had rather pay a premium and find good originals.  Reproductions have very little texture.  Console housings are tough to find that are not broke, but they are out there.  With some care, they can be repaired and most of the repair will never be known.  The reproduction housings will work for most.  On the other hand, the reproduction console trim pieces that I have been exposed to fit very poorly.  They will require hours of cutting and grinding to work.

For the instrument cluster gauges and bezels, I would send them out and have them reconditioned.  It is very expensive, but the final product is much nicer than the reproductions.  Secondly, it seems like many of the reproductions will not hold past a year or two of minimum use.

For the carpet, your only source is now ACC Carpets.  A variety of vendors sells the brand, so you have to shop around for best service and price.  For the sill plates, this is another piece that will give you unnecessary grief.  Some of them are such poor quality, that you will have to redrill the holes in the body to align the screw holes in the plates.  Also, some of them are a bright chrome finish with incorrect details.

For seat belts, I feel for the best bang for your buck, go with Bill Edwards.  He sells them outright or exchange.  All of the seat belt attaching brackets and covers is available from a variety of vendors.  For the weatherstripping, I would try to reuse your door and roof rail seals if possible.  If they are beyond use, Metro, Steele and Soft Seal all make a reproduction.  Quality is pretty much equivalent between all of them, but the Steele piece will be twice the price.  If you need items like U-Jamb seals and door end cap seals, be cautious on the reproductions.  Some of the cheaper ones that you find advertise do not even have the metal insert in them so that they can retain their shape after use.  For window felts, the Top Cat brand is the most correct on the market.

As Lennard suggested, Legendary offers the best quality seat covers and door panels.  On the door panels, if your looking for OE quality, then I would search out good used pieces.  The reproductions are too puffy.  Legendary offers specials occasionally, but you can usually beat their pricing by going through one of their vendors.  No matter which way you go, depending upon the time of the year; expect four to eight weeks for the items to be made.  But I would suggest not ordering items like carpet, seat covers, headliner until the need is actually approaching.  You do not want these items sitting in a box for a couple months or years before use.  Also, remove everything and test fit as much as possible to resolve any issues instead of many months later because items will have some quality control concerns.

For items like the steering wheel, either restore it yourself or send out to be done.  The reproduction wood wheel is far from correct.  Items like arm rest bases are all over the price spectrum.  Arm rest pads are available, but most of them are hard as block of wood.

Hope that this may give you some insight.  The interior is often an overlooked area and can distract from the overall appearance of the vehicle.  It is also one of the most expensive areas to detail correctly.  If you should have any additional questions, just drop me a message. 

[Alaskan_TA]

Legendary does have the best products on the market.

Dante is a dealer for them (and some others, carpet, etc.) & he is a great guy to deal with.

You can visit his site at https://dantesparts.com/

[chrint]

Thank you all for the helpful advice.

[Mike DC]

   

For the instrument cluster gauges and bezels, I would send them out and have them reconditioned.  It is very expensive, but the final product is much nicer than the reproductions.  Secondly, it seems like many of the reproductions will not hold past a year or two of minimum use.

Jesus Christ, the repro industry is frustrating.  It's like they consider functionality to be an extra-cost option on everything.   

 

[Ghoste]

That good old fashioned Chinese quality.