Seats, headlining, carpets, door cards and dashboards rebuilt and retrimmed for British and European classics.
Trim and interiors, in-house
Interiors are stripped, rebuilt and refitted here. Seats and squabs, door cards and kick panels, headlinings and sunvisors, carpets and boot linings, dashboards and timber cappings, consoles and steering wheels, hoods and hood bags, all specified and fitted by our interiors team.
Our interiors lead, Nick, runs the interior on every restoration and build, from the strip through to the last fitting going back in.
The team works alongside our panel, coachbuilding and mechanical teams, so a car moves between them without leaving the building. Cars come to us for the interior on its own as well as for a full restoration.
Repairs, or a full retrim
Full retrims and single pieces. A split leather seat, a worn dashboard, a set of carpets, one door card. Leather, vinyl and cloth seat repairs, dashboard restoration, trim repairs and carpet replacement, on classics and on modern British and European cars.
Not every interior needs recovering. The 1975 Toyota Celica GT kept its own: every piece came out, was cleaned and repaired by hand, and went back in. It took fourth in the Masters Class at the Ellerslie Concours d’Elegance with the interior it already had.
Made, not bought
An interior is rarely only upholstery. Where a part isn’t made any more, or the car never had one, we make it here.
The Celica’s centre console was scanned and digitised by our workshop team before being 3D printed to match the original. On the 1970 Volvo P1800E the dash has been modified to take air conditioning, with bespoke metal inserts machined for the dash and console.
Timber dashboards and cappings are stripped, repaired and re-veneered here, then finished to match the rest of the car’s woodwork.
If we can’t source it, we can help you recreate it.
Back to factory original
Leather, vinyl and cloth, loop pile and woven carpet, with the foam, underfelt, calico and webbing that sit underneath where the original had them.
The Mercedes 240D Estate had its carpets fully restored, taken back to the factory original mustard loop pile rather than something close to it, all sourced by our team.
Some owners want the interior the car left the factory with. Others want something of their own design. Our team can create an interior that you are going to love spending time in.
Built around the driver
We can rebuild an interior to fit the owner rather than the original drawings. Seating position, seat mounts and console layout can all be changed, which is often what makes an older car comfortable to drive any distance.
On the Morris Minor and the New Zealand-built Taipan the interior was laid out around the person who drives it. This is fabrication as much as trim, which is why the interiors team works on it alongside panel and coachbuilding.
Headlining and headliner replacement
Headlinings sag, shrink and stain over time. We can replace the bow roof lining fitted to older cars, and the moulded panel used in modern ones.
The lining comes out, the bows and the frame are repaired or replaced where they need it, and the new lining is matched to the original style, fabric and colour. Sunvisors, pillar trims and rear parcel shelves are done at the same time, because a new headlining shows up everything next to it. View more about this service.
Soft tops and hoods
Hoods and hood bags, made and fitted in the original material and pattern where it is still available. The frame is checked and repaired at the same time, because a new hood over a tired frame will not sit right or stay dry. Rear windows, seals and fastenings are replaced with it.
Comfort you can't see
Sound deadening through the floors, bulkhead and boot. Seat foams rebuilt rather than packed out. Audio built in where it can’t be seen, and air conditioning designed into the original dash rather than hung underneath it.
The 1975 Alfa Romeo GTV2000 runs a modern sound system behind its original Becker face, with the speakers hidden under a perforated leather parcel tray and the rest of the components designed to feel like they were always there.
Follow the work from anywhere
We document trim and interior work in our workshop app with photos, notes and video as it happens, so what came out of the car is recorded alongside what went back in.
How it works
- Assessment. We go through the interior piece by piece and tell you what can be cleaned and repaired, what needs recovering and what has to be remade. Where only part of the interior is being redone, this is where we tell you honestly whether it is going to match the rest.
- Strip. The interior comes out and we find out what has survived. Plastics go brittle, foams collapse, and clips and fixings break. Every piece is catalogued as it comes out and graded: repair, replace or remake.
- Patterns and materials. Patterns are taken off the car where enough of the original survives. Materials, colours and finishes are chosen and agreed before anything is cut.
- Repair and make. Frames, springs and foams sorted, dashboards and consoles repaired or made, instrument surrounds and interior chrome refinished.
- Fit. What sits behind the trim goes in first: sound deadening, interior electrics, lighting and switches, run and tested before anything covers them. Then panels aligned and gapped, chrome and brightwork refitted, door seals and window rubbers renewed, and the seats and controls set up last. On a build we mock up the interior and set the driving position before any of it is finally fixed, so the seats, wheel and controls suit the person who is going to drive the car.
The rest of the process, from your first workshop visit through to handover, is set out on our How We Work page.
Common Questions
My headliner is sagging. Can you replace it?
Yes, on British and European cars, classic and modern, bow roof linings and moulded panels alike, including the bows and the frame where they need attention.
Will you take on an interior on its own?
Yes. Owners bring us retrims, headlinings, carpets and interior repairs as a standalone job.
My interior is original but tired. Should I retrim it?
Not always. Original trim that can be cleaned and repaired is usually worth keeping, and it is the first thing we will look at.
Can you match the original material?
Usually. Period materials are still made or reproduced for most British and European classics, and where they aren’t we work from what is left of the original.
Can you make a part that isn’t available?
Yes. Consoles, panels, inserts and fittings are measured or scanned, drawn and made here, or manufactured out of house.
Can you replace a soft top?
Yes. Hoods and hood bags, with the frame repaired at the same time where it needs it.
Can you restore a timber dashboard?
Yes. Stripped, repaired and re-veneered in-house, matched to the rest of the car’s woodwork.
I don’t fit properly in my classic. Can anything be done?
Usually. Seating position, mounts and console layout can be reworked around you, and on some cars that is the difference between a car you drive and a car you look at.
Can you make the car more comfortable without changing how it looks?
Yes. Sound deadening, seat foams, air conditioning and audio can all go in without being visible. If you want the car re-engineered beyond that, that sits under Restomods and Bespoke Builds.
Do you work on cars from outside Auckland?
Yes, for owners throughout New Zealand and overseas. Transport can be arranged.
If your classic needs an interior, come and see what we do first hand.
