Interior and Upholstery TMI cloth/tweed interior, is it anything like the original cloth?
- Thread starter Cincylance
- Start date
Actually, it’s one of each
left seat is out of a friends 88 GT. Saw it before it was strippped. Right seat is an 87-91 bottom and 94-98 V6 low back seat. (I’ve since found the correct seat back with fox lumbar)
Those headrests are locked in place fully down, and you can see the gap there. That was all foam before it was trashed. (Not by me I would have kept it). With the SN95 seat headrest on, it bottomed out on the frame.
I am pretty sure you can put 87-89 foam and covers on a 1990-1991 sport seat frame as well. You just will need to source the headrests. (And foam obviously)
I’ve pulled apart a few 94-98 SN95 seats as well and a lot of similarities there. I actually have a set of SN95 tilt lever assemblies that I was going to use instead of the fox stuff if I redid these seats from scratch.
left seat is out of a friends 88 GT. Saw it before it was strippped. Right seat is an 87-91 bottom and 94-98 V6 low back seat. (I’ve since found the correct seat back with fox lumbar)
Those headrests are locked in place fully down, and you can see the gap there. That was all foam before it was trashed. (Not by me I would have kept it). With the SN95 seat headrest on, it bottomed out on the frame.
I am pretty sure you can put 87-89 foam and covers on a 1990-1991 sport seat frame as well. You just will need to source the headrests. (And foam obviously)
I’ve pulled apart a few 94-98 SN95 seats as well and a lot of similarities there. I actually have a set of SN95 tilt lever assemblies that I was going to use instead of the fox stuff if I redid these seats from scratch.
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Has anybody tried taking the TMI cushions and shaving/sanding/shaping the foam with a rotary tool?
At damn near 500 a pair, I'm not tempted to try. I'll go to the local fabric/hobby stores and buy some sheet / block foam, glue and burlap to repair old stuff. An old yard sale electric carving knife works wonders though, probably better off with a DA sander or a cookie disc grinder on their stuff...
I’ve never really been much for convertibles other than the 7-up and summer specials…… but I gotta say, that is one sharp looking car. Honestly can’t say I’ve seen one in that silver before. Looks awesome!
Watching all the car shows on Motor Trend/ Discovery/ etc…… it’s those upholstery guys that wow me the most lately. It takes it all….. woodwork, bodywork, upholstery…. to make a custom interior, and they make it look easy!
My Dad an his twin brother did upholstery together. They started in High School and only retired for health reasons after 50 years in business. They were known for their quality restoration work and also custom interiors. They were the Langdon Brothers and when they passed, a ton of experience went with them. They were legendary in the tri-state region (OH, IN, KY). Toward the end of their careers they did a few TV shows like you mention. I miss them dearly and they live on through their amazing work.
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Hey all, 2026....I found this thread looking for feedback on TMI and ACME. I want to post and say that the materials ACME and TMI use are not even close to OEM (Not to their own fault). However, seeing all these post that say the fabric is "close" or OEM appearing just isn't true. The covers are truly just aftermarket replacements.
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Yeah, that's pretty well known, only one place has the original fabric and you will pay stupid prices for it, SMS at $200+ a yard. Better to buy donor seats and use the material to replace the worn bolsters by an upholstery shop or seamstress or do the flipper hack and use a decent passenger side cover on a worn drivers seat. I'll have a decent passenger side and useable for patching drivers side 87-89 smoke grey tweed soon, just got done shampooing them since I'm just using the frames and foam as cores, tweets decent, its the vinyl, foam and frames that are shot and need fixing. Oem tweed isn't made anymore, there stuck with what they can source new.
Really didn't seem to be the case. I googled, AI'd the heck out of it and even descriptions and reviews make it seem like ACME and TMI are "very close". Seems like the only option is to pay SMS for OE material. The issue is, who do you trust to sew up thousand-dollar material?
The other option is to buy a [set] from one vendor or the other so that it all matches.
The sticking point is I want the OE look with the plaid design in the middle. I have a set, up they are very faded from 40 years.
For me, the sticking point is that what you want isn't available.
So, find something that looks similar enough that you can't really tell a difference unless they're sitting side-by-side.
So, find something that looks similar enough that you can't really tell a difference unless they're sitting side-by-side.
It's available, just you have to be nuts to pay what they want for the material lol. the grey tweed usually doesnt fade that bad, it water stains like no ones business though, I'll post up the set I just shampooed when there dryed out, they looked like complete ass, filthy, covered in hair and dirt before I cleaned them. The vinyls does fade though, buy you can dye that or match it cheaply. These are just cores I'm fixing and recovering with a leather kit I got dirt cheap so oem covers are going in the parts pile or sold to someone who can use em. I just cleaned them to get the funk out of the foam before I strip them down.
As for upholstery work that depends where you are.. Ask boat guys for locals they will know who does good work, all they do is copy the existing pattern, stich it up and rebuild the foam. you can do the flipper hack and use a used decent passenger seat as a donor, patch the holes in the vinyl with one of those cheap kits and recover the drivers seat with it, or buy used seats to use as donor material and take them to anyone who can sew to replace the worn threw sections using the material from the donor seats..... Half the damn cars getting flipped at auction with bull
stories do this or passenger seat hack. You should what the lot monkeys on dealer lots can do to vinyl/ leather upholstery and make it look like new, just Dye and filler material
As for upholstery work that depends where you are.. Ask boat guys for locals they will know who does good work, all they do is copy the existing pattern, stich it up and rebuild the foam. you can do the flipper hack and use a used decent passenger seat as a donor, patch the holes in the vinyl with one of those cheap kits and recover the drivers seat with it, or buy used seats to use as donor material and take them to anyone who can sew to replace the worn threw sections using the material from the donor seats..... Half the damn cars getting flipped at auction with bull
stories do this or passenger seat hack. You should what the lot monkeys on dealer lots can do to vinyl/ leather upholstery and make it look like new, just Dye and filler materialActually, the material is available. And I know your friends may not be able to tell that you have TMI covers, but I would....and it would bother me. The material is $200 a yard so it does come out to a grand in material, but they will new seats. I do think you could salvage up a couple of passenger seats, but they are not that available, lots of them are the 90s seats with the solid plaid design. People usually want $450-$500 for a pair of buckets. Add in the time, cleaning products, repair products the cost adds up. I would def go that way if I could find covers respectable enough to go in an original 50K mile car.
