A classic car is only as convincing as its interior. You can spend years on paint and mechanicals, but the moment someone opens the door, it's the seats, door cards and headlining that tell them whether the car has been restored properly. Sun-hardened leather, collapsed foam and split seams are what most classics arrive with, and putting that right takes a different skill set from trimming a modern car.
The easy mistake in classic car trimming is making an old interior look modern. Original interiors have their own language: the grain of the material, the width of the pleats, the position of every seam, the way piping runs around a squab. Get those details wrong and the car never looks right again, however tidy the work.
Our approach starts with the original specification. Where original trim survives, we use it as the pattern, lifting seam positions, pleat counts and stitch spacing directly from what the factory did. Where it doesn't, we work from the marque's original design with you and, where needed, reference material for your model and year. We then source period-correct materials to match, so the restored interior belongs in the car.
What makes a classic seat feel wrong is usually invisible. Decades of use flatten foams, break down horsehair and rubberised fillings, and stretch or snap the springs and webbing underneath. New covers over collapsed foundations always look (and sit) wrong.
So we strip classic seats back to the frame. Springs and webbing are repaired or replaced, and the foam is rebuilt to the original profile before any trimming starts. The result is a seat with the correct shape and the correct sit: the crown on the cushion, the support in the bolsters, the way the backrest holds you. It's the difference between a seat that photographs well and one that feels right on a Sunday drive.
Not every owner wants a museum piece. If you drive your classic regularly, we can build in modern comfort without losing the period look: firmer modern foams shaped to the original profile, hard-wearing materials in period colours, and discreetly fitted heated seats under period-style covers. It's your car; we'll build the interior to how you actually use it.
Every marque has its own interior language, and some come through the workshop often enough to deserve their own pages:
Don't see your car? These pages are just the regulars: the same approach applies to any classic.
We take on complete interiors (seats, door cards, panels and more) and equally happily retrim a single split seat or repair one damaged section. Craig, our lead trimmer, has 15 years' experience across seat repairs, bespoke seat covers and full custom interiors, and will always give you an honest steer on whether repair, partial retrim or full restoration is the right call for your car and budget.
Our workshop is at Unit 6 Carrock Road, Wirral, CH62 3RA. You're welcome to bring the car, or just the seats, to us. We also offer nationwide onsite fitting, which many owners prefer when a classic is laid up mid-restoration or not currently roadworthy. Call 0151 559 2515 or email [email protected], tell us what you're restoring, and we'll take it from there.
Send photos of the interior as it stands (seats, door cards, headlining) along with the marque, model and year, and how original you want to keep it.
We source period-correct materials and match grains, colours and stitch patterns to the original specification, or work with you on a sympathetic upgrade.
Seats are stripped to the frame, springs and foam are rebuilt to the original profile, and new covers are patterned, cut and fitted by hand.
Every restoration is different. These are the routes owners usually take.
Quoted per job
Materials, colours and stitch patterns matched to the original factory specification.
Quoted per job
The original look with modern comfort: upgraded foams and hard-wearing materials that keep the period character.
Yes: we source period-correct materials and reproduce the original seam lines, pleats and stitch patterns so the finished interior looks right for the marque and year. If you have surviving original trim, we use it as the pattern reference.
Yes. We strip seats back to the frame, sort the springs and webbing, and rebuild the foam to the original profile before trimming, so the seat sits and supports the way it did when the car was new.
No: we regularly retrim a single seat, a set of door cards or repair one damaged panel. We'll advise on matching new work to your existing trim so a partial job doesn't stand out.
Yes: heated seats can be fitted discreetly beneath period-style covers, and modern foams can be shaped to the original profile so the seats look original but support you better on longer drives.
No: we work on classics from across the UK. Our workshop is at Unit 6 Carrock Road, Wirral, CH62 3RA, and we offer nationwide onsite fitting. Call 0151 559 2515 to talk through the practicalities for your car.
Tell us about your car, how original you want to keep it, and send a few photos, and we'll advise on materials and give you a quote.
Request a quote