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by Gary Anderson
Interior
and Boot Trim Stitching
The method
of stitching on armacord is one element that distinguishes average trim kits from
original or carefully-restored boot and interior trim. From beginning to end of
production, in any area of the car where armacord (or hardura) is edged with vinyl,
the stitching was always a "blind seam." This applies to the armacord
(that rubberized material that has corduroy-like ribs) in both the boot (trunk)
on all models, and in
the interiors of the two-seat cars. Because most kits don't get this right, you
may wish to purchase the armacord separately and have it finished correctly by your
trimmer.
 The method
involves two steps. First. the vinyl edging is laid with its finished side against
the finished (the top or exposed) side of the armacord and the first seam is sewn
near the edge of the vinyl, about one-quarter inch in from the edge of the armacord
(as shown in diagram 1). Second, the vinyl is tumed over the edge of the armacord,
exposing its finished side but concealing the first seam.
Then, the vinyl is attached
on the underside by sewing a second seam as near as possible to the first seam so
that it is nearly concealed by the roll of the vinyl (as shown in diagram 2).
The
result is that a very finished look is achieved, without the edge of the vinyl showing
(see picture).
Questions
and Answers
Q: Why
don't original items that are difficult to find get more points?
A: With
the recent changes in concours in the Austin-Healey clubs, several people have asked
for reasons behind the point allocations. A friend in the San Francisco Bay area
who is restoring a 100M wanted to know why there were so few points given to some
of the hard-to-find items, such as the original LeMans plaque on the cold air box
..
He has
some justification for his position. Anyone preparing a 100M or LeMans-modified
Hundred should be aware that the reproduction plates sold by most suppliers are
not completely accurate reproductions and can be distinguished from the original
plates. The original plates are extremely difficult to find. Nevertheless, that
item is considerably less than one percent of the total car's points. Why wouldn't
we put a high
point premium on this item to reward the person who spends a great deal of time
finding an original or is lucky enough to have an original?
 Portion of trunk lining showing invisible seam edging  Reverse side of edging of trunk lining showing second row of stitching
In the
view of the concours committee, the owner should focus first on the large, visually
important areas of the car, like paint job, chrome, and interior trim. The point
system reflects that philosophy. A car that looks impressive and original because
of its fit, finish, and interior trim, butlacks some of the little details like original-specification
decals or spark plugs, will score higher than a car with a second-rate paint job
and non-specification carpeting that nevertheless has all the right tags, clips,
and decals. So we've structured the point system on the basis of overall impression
rather than on the basis of the difficulty of finding specific components.
We think
the owner's motivation will take care of the rest. Once the major items are carefully
done, then the little details start to matterperhaps not to the casual observer,
but definitely to the owner.
We hope
the result of this system will be to encourage many owners to bring their cars up
to the minimum standards to register them, because essentially any careful restoration
should achieve a bronze, or a silver award. The remaining points needed to get to
the gold level are not as easy to obtain, and they depend on getting all the details
right. And that's the way it has always been. Experienced restorers will tell you
that the last six to eight points on a restoration may take as much time and effort
to achieve as-the first
ninety. .
And I
personally believe that having fifty good cars on the concours field is as important
as having five great ones.
Austin-Healey
Magazine. February 1991
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