Leather vs. Vinyl reupholstery
 

I am considering the pros/cons of leather vs. vinyl for redoing my interior. Obviously leather would be ideal but I am wondering if anyone has had experience with vinyl, either for the seats or the panels. I am considering going with leather for the seats and door panels and then vinyl for the rear quarter panels to save money.

considering the work involved to fit it. I would just pay the higher material cost for leather.

Not all leather is created equally though!

be very selective

Hey Orest,

I redid the tops of my door panels in vinyl when I did the new carpets for the interior since it was vinyl originally (only my seats and steering wheel were leather, the rest was all vinyl from the factory). They came out looking fine and much better than the originals. The rear quarters might be tricky to do yourself because there are seams you'd have to cut and sew unless you get a shop to do it. I guess if you took the old ones out you could use them as a pattern like I did for the doors.

Good luck whichever way you go! (You've got a PM)

I had my seats redone in pleather due to the cost of leather. I like them fine but of coarse they won't win any awards. the cost for me was 50.00 for material and a 40 gallon fish tank for labor. For what it cost they look excellent. With all that said I would have preferred leather.

Got pics of your interior Jason??

Just looked and guess I don't. I've got the pod torn out right now so the interior is trashed. I'll take some pics of the seats if that's what your looking for but like I said the interior is trashed right now. I'm still working out the charging issue. Jason

Leather it all. No sense in doing all that work for vinyl.

x2

Moo.

I'll take vinyl any day in my OB. F... the power seats, leather, auto trans, spare tire and anything that adds weight. I'm prob going to get rid of my air conditioning too. With the HP my euro spec has and a car that weight clost to 3,000 lbs it should be pretty quick.

Vinyl is a lot more durable and scrubbable. I had my rear quarters, rear seats, dash and pod done in vinyl. Won't shrink or warp. It was a practical decision.

I have vinyl seats and have no issues with them except the foam has collapsed.

I am working on leather for the 84 just because.

I have Vinyl in my 83.........each day I go out to the car I'm hoping the Leather Gnomes have come in the night and replaced it with Black leather! So far NO SUCH LUCK but we keep wishing....as soon as I can swing it....it will be leather seats...I choose leather over Vinyl...Maybe I need to pray to Ricardo Montebon?? Whatever you choose.....hope your happy with the results!

I would say if the car is a DD and will be out in the heat all day long (and you live where it is particularly hot) then Vinyl is a good choice to make from a practical standpoint. The leather just won't hold up in the direct sun and heat the vinyl will. If you do it in leather and then DD it you will be redoing it again in a couple of years having already spent THOUSANDS of dollars on it once!

I am just going through this...it started with a cracked dash and took on its own life from there! Now I have a new leather dash, leather pod, upper door panels, console, and the front and rear seats...I figure if the rears are new maybe somebody will sit in them :)