1956 replacement arm rests

[Haz567]

If I could shift gears a little bit, I need to replace the arm rest covering on my 57. I have the arm rest off as I am doing some other work on the door. Is replacing the cover a DIY job, or should I bring it to an upholstery shop? Thanks

Definitely a DIY if you have a little covering experience! The only issues are:
1) make sure you keep seam in the right line
2) gluing on the ends (I just use contact cement) is a little hard where you have to pull & tug as you place and make tight bends
3) Replacement foam is self stick, just be careful you trim correctly so you don't have a big gap of "un-foamed" area
4) Use, or don't, the replacement cardboard. My choice is to glue top & bottom to rest w/o the cardboard, watch seam as you do it
5) Stretch & pull the whole time.

Good luck!

[cscolastico]

Thank you. I guess I can give it a try and if I mess it up, bring it to a professional.

[Hiedi]

We’ve decided to work with what we’ve got. Got some JB Weld and a fibreglass repair kit and have been taking the steps to clean up the old ones for repair. Happy with the results so far. Should be able to get them covered and reinstalled over the weekend, barring any set backs.

[Haz567]

Well done; that is one of my favorite things in bringing stuff back from the near dead, plus I'm cheap!

One other caution, especially where you have the repaired area at the "skinny" part, be careful as you pull and tug material so to not over stress the repaired part.

[Hiedi]

We have finished off the repairs on the arm rests, with some minor setbacks. Even ended up using the original cardboard. Very pleased with the results. Now to assemble the door panels for install. Thanks for all the feedback.

[BuddyP]

Very nice job!

[eboose7]

Looks like a professional job. You should be proud. After all, we don't actually own these old cars--we are just stewards preserving the past for future generations to enjoy.

[Hiedi]

Got the door panels assembled and installed.

[ICON 1956]

Nice, well done !

[GeeWhat57?]

Great Job! We are starting the same repair on our 57 as you recently finished. We had to purchase new door panels, though. Page 7-3109 from the Trim Manual (Front Door Panel...) shows some sort of foundation material under the aluminum panel. Anybody know the purpose and material of Item 3, Foundation? It is Pn 23738. Is it to bring the sub-strait surface even with the vinyl so the aluminum panel is fully supported? That's our theory. The item is not listed in the parts manual. We are thinking of using cork gasket material.
Thank you!