Project “Arm-rest”oration: Upholstering a 1972 Scout’s Interior, One Pun at a Time

I really do hope you appreciate the work that went into the title of this blog. Yes, most others are stupid, but this one is pretty good!! One of the most frustrating parts about re-doing this ’72 Scout has been finding the people to do the work. I don’t have any relationships. I ask friends and family, and most of them don’t know anyone. If they do, the person is retired or doesn’t do small work anymore.

Here is my plan. I have a few things that need to be refurbished as well as rehupolstered. That includes the dashboard, armrest, TUFFY center console top, back seat, and potentially the doors. More to come on the doors later.

I am planning on starting small with this guy to see if he is worth a crap. Again, I did an internet search. This guy could be the David Copperfield of Interiors, or he could be Steve Wyrick. I think I will challenge him to earn all the business. I don’t want to spend more than a few hundred dollars on these things (not including material). I will meet with the guy and drop it off next week. I plan on starting with 1 handle and 1 sunvisor.

UPDATE:

I have been known to say. “Every time I try to save money, it costs me a lot.” Against my better judgment, I decided to follow the directions for installing the rear seat cover I bought from Anything Scout. I am not going to lie! It felt good to do something on my own. Project Hog Ring 101 –

Updates:

My guy got back with me. Here is the work. I haven’t seen them in person yet, but Friday is the day! I will update you when I see them.

UPDATE: The upholstery guy did a solid job working on these visors. He replaced the cardboard and recovered them. They look good and match the seats with the same upholstery color.

UPDATE:

My upholstery guy got my dashboard complete and returned, as well as my Tuffy Box. I have some updated pictures below.

UPDATE:

Here is the TUFFY Console redo.

I bought the Scout II Tuffy box with the Mounting kit, and they only had black for the armrest. The left is the stock, and the right has the matching seats. My upholstery guy did a 1 and 1/4 stitch diamond pattern on the top. I think it looks pretty slick! I have a matching pattern on the bottom of my door panels. I bought the inserts from Anything Scout, and one matched perfectly, but the other did not match so much. Check out the pictures below.

The one on the left is perfect and will be upholstered this week. The boys at Anything Scout had to send out another to replace the piece on the right. As you can see in the top right corner, the cutter got off a little. Again, when working with Anything Scout, you know they stand behind their products. I sent an email with pictures, and they sent me a replacement, which I should get this week. I emailed them Thursday, and they shipped out Friday. Great responsiveness. They charge a little more, but the customer service is excellent!

I will update you when I get the panels back. – August 26th. I got them back, and I think they look great!!

The upholstery guy left the handle, window crank, and door handle unaltered so my body guy could cut the hole as small as possible. He did a 2-inch diamond pattern to match the smaller 1 and 1/4-inch diamond patterns on the center console redo.

Right now, I am “finished” with the upholstery. Everything is all done and ready to go. The next step will be the carpet selection and installation.

Next: