Best elephant hide seats for restoration?

[GregSC]

I have a 1960 Series II and I'm down to the seats. Who makes the best elephant hide seats for restoration?

Thanks, Greg

[Jim-ME]

Elephant hide seats

I would check Badger Coachworks in Mass. Here is their link http://www.badgercoachworks.com They aren't inexpensive by any means but they have a great reputation for quality.
Jim

[yorker]

I don't think I've seen any material that really matches the original "elephant hide". Most stuff is grey and looks like plastic leather but it still doesn't look the same. Unless someone has produced a new material that is dead on within the past few years you'll have to settle for something that is similar but distinctly not the same.

Look in Hemmings Motor News for outfits that re-upholster/restore. Really the series IIa seats are simple to do and any decent outfit should be able to restore them with whatever material you select.

http://www.carestoration.com/upholter.htm

Matt Nelson

[GregSC]

Thanks. I will give Badger a call.

Greg

[TeriAnn]

I have a 1960 Series II and I'm down to the seats. Who makes the best elephant hide seats for restoration?

The original elephant hide gray has long been out of production and hoarded by a few. Last I heard, Dunsfold and Kellog's company in the North West still had some for prices that few people could afford.

The closest reproduction I personally have seen is made for Exmore Trim in the UK. They sell the matterial on already made up seats but not by itself. The fabric appears high quality as does Exmore's products. While the pattern is a reasonably close , fabric is more silver than gray.

Here is a comparison of Exmore's fabric (left) and original factory fabric (right) that I grabbed out of the British Pacific Series LR catalogue (they are an Exmore distributor). You can see that it is more silver in colour than the original.

Everything else I have seen just looks like regular nagahide.

[PH4]

I just purchased the entire front row of the elephant hide replica seats from Exmoor Trim for my 1962 Series IIA 109. They look great. I also may be willing to part with them and the original elephant hide rear bench seats in the back. I have had my IIA for 14 years but just purchased a 109 Stationwagon IIA (growing family) and, therefore, am toying with selling the 1962 or at least parting with the elephant hide seats and tropical roof and using it as a topless pickup. I am also in Charleston and would be glad to provide you with local mechanics etc if you like.

In addition, I believe British Northwest has the original material brand new. Pricey but original.

[NashvilleRover]

Hi, Guys:
I am looking to recover my original Ele-hyde seats as well.

I have been in touch with British Northwest Land Rover Co and they do have the NOS (and according to them great, soft, no-cracked condition) correct material for the job. They will not, however sell it to you to have the job done locally. They will, let you ship your seats to them for restoration.

Have any of you had any experience with their work, job time line, accuracy from job quote to finished price?

I would appreciate any feedback before I ship my seats off to them.

Thanks,
DJ

[PH4]

Very good people and top notch restorations. I have not had them restore seats but have found them to be excellent for hard to find parts and a wealth of information. Ask for Charles.

[Leslie]

Sigh.....


I won't say anything bad. However, I will say, once upon a time, I was interested in something that he had, so I emailed to find out how much it was... basically, the reply was something to the effect that "if I have to ask how much it is, I couldn't afford it". I exchanged several emails trying to get a price, and never could.

He does seem to be knowledgeable and does have items in stock that are made of unobtainium elsewhere.

FWIW.... if RN doesn't have what you need, then I'd check w/ BP, RDS, and Badger. FWIW...

[Clive]

emailed to find out how much it was... basically, the reply was something to the effect that "if I have to ask how much it is, I couldn't afford it".

I had exactly this experience too - which is a shame really because he does seem pretty knowledgable and has a wealth of neat parts, but that attitude is likely to alienate many who could just take their business elsewhere...especially as the vast majority of Series owners like to know how much of their hard-earned cash they will have to part with this time...

[NashvilleRover]

Well, that is the reason I ask. I called and talked with him.
When I expressed concern about shipping cost of sending the entire set to him for an estimate, he said that it concerned him that if shipping were an issue, then I might not want to know what restoration would cost.

Then, I could not get a square answer from him about cost range. I simply wanted something like, " you can expect between $1500 - no more than $2500". Instead I got all kinds of circle talk.
I explained that I understand that there are many different variables that can affect the price, but that all I was looking for was some range of price.

However, I want the real material, and he is the only one that offers it, so, I guess I am going to bite the bullet and send the goods out there to determine an estimate.

Will have to wait to the weather is cooperating before I can get everything out, packed and shipped. I'll keep you posted.

I just wanted to know if anyone has had similar "circle talk" and eventually was totally satisfied with the goods and the resulting price.

Thanks,
DJ

[TeriAnn]

Hi, Guys:
I have been in touch with British Northwest Land Rover Co and they do have the NOS (and according to them great, soft, no-cracked condition) correct material for the job. They will not, however sell it to you to have the job done locally. They will, let you ship your seats to them for restoration.

Have any of you had any experience with their work, job time line, accuracy from job quote to finished price?

First I should say I am a bit biased. His dog attacked my dog once and I tend to believe that a constant companion dog tends to show much of the owner's personality.

I have seen (crawled under and through) a few of the complete restorations done my Mr. Kellog's company. The restorations that I have seen on display appeared to be first rate with a fresh from the factory new look about them, including new fixings everyplace I looked. They even included correct manuals and a complete factory tool rool. The upholstry work appears to be of high quality.

Mr Kellog is always seeking out additional stock of NLA parts so evidently has lots of cheap storage space. When British Pacific wants to clear shelf space of NLA parts that they sell one or less of a year, they usually sell the parts to Charles. So he does have a stock of stuff that no one else in the States is likely to have.

That said, I have heard dozens of stories from unhappy ex customers who have purchased used parts through the mail from him or looked at a part, come back later with the money and was offered a part of lower quality. I do not know how true these statements are but I keep hearing the same thing over and over again (of course satisfied customers might not be a vocal).

Personally, if I had deep pockets, I would give him a try for upholstry, just because I have yet to hear anyone say anything negative about it and he seems to be just about the last source of original fabric. However if I wished to buy a part I would do it in person and with the part constantly in my sight throughout the transaction.

[Jeff Aronson]

Badger Coachworks and Elephant Hide

Chris Laws at Badger really does excellent work. He also repacks the seats so they have the cushioning you'd expect when the car was new.

The seats that he's refurbished on my '66 II-A are darker, but as he reminded me, the original seats had faded over the 40+ years of use. He's a meticulous craftsman and a huge Land Rover fan.

I have an Exmoor top on my car through Rovers North, and I must say the quality of their work is quite good. I have not seen their "elephant hide" on any trip to a British event, but Terri-Ann's photos looked pretty convincing.

Good luck,

Jeff

[Erin]

Buyer Beware

Your hard earned money is your buisness, but don't think that for one second that it is well spent in Whatcom County. Being a young scrapy rover owner I can tell you that the palpable aprehension felt in the previous responses in this thread comes with a lot of wisdom. Why would such an eclectic group of individuals suggest that you spend your money elsewhere? A conspiracy? Common sense? Collective wisdom and experience. I am young enough to recognize a suggestion, and old enough to listen. The hoarder of elephant hide thinks that his upholstery restorations are worth more than the original price of the vehicles. Of course you can give him your money but the price will always be more than you originally agreed to. That is my experience and I have the paperwork to back me up. I'm not trying to make waves, I'm simply sharing my experience. There are many better options. You may find that someone has a few good seats lying around for a good price. Just my 2 cents.

[Rat Patrol]

I have spent many hours discussing and pestering Charles about the merits and virtues of Land Rovers. He can be very rough at times and insists that all work be museum quality standard.
If you really want an idea of how he operates find a copy of his book Perspective Owners Handbook or have a look at his website and "read" the articles that accompany the "for sale" section.

IMHO he does exceptional work but at a very hish price. Last time I was up there 5+ years ago, he had a full restored IIA for $45K, as I recall.