While the car is out at the mechanics, let’s have a look at some of the work that I’ve done with the interior.
The original steering wheel was badly cracked, the leather dried and discolored. There’s a sailmaker down the street who does leather interiors as a sideline, and is really good. He managed to find replacement leather of the same color and grain and restore the wheel (two, actually, contact me if you need one).
Another problem was that the seams on the front driver’s seat had split, although the leather itself was still in good condition. The passenger’s seat had also developed a beginning split it it’s seam.
There are quite a few stories about the Quattroporte III’s interior, from “a herd of cows was needed to cover it”, to “driving a gentlemans’ club (lot’s of wood and leather) down the highway”. One little known fact (as yet unverified) is that Italian exotica of the era preferred leather sourced from Scandinavian cattle instead of the closer Italian, French and Spanish suppliers. The reason for this was simple – barbed wire wasn’t used in farming in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, while it was common on the rest of the continent. No barbed wire meant hides without blemishes and marks, resulting in more useable hide of higher quality.
The front seats kept their beautiful patina, yet are now solid and ready for another 30 years. Special heavy duty thread was used to ensure both toughness and longevity. As “Joel” on Bring a Trailer put it (perfectly, IMHO), “sitting in there is what a baseball feels like when its well caught.”
Based on recommendations I’ve received from other car enthusiasts, I’ve been using Leatherique products to clean and care for the leather. Results have varied, from excellent (center console cover/arm rest was 100% better, clean, and supple) to “is this on?” (rear seats, which seem exactly the same after multiple treatments as before). Lately I’ve heard from people restoring older Masers that Effax Leather-Combi is perhaps even better, and doesn’t risk discoloring or fading the leather. I’m thinking of giving it a try.
One thing none of the products available could help with was the rear parcel shelf. It was cracked, dried and looked like cardboard, or beef jerky, and had pulled away from the shelf it was glued to. Since the windows have to be removed for the paint job, it makes sense to have the rear shelf pulled at the same time and re-covered.
Both rear speakers were blown as well, and well, in a cruisin’ car you really need good tunes to drive to! So new speakers have been purchased and are waiting for installation. Not a whole lot to choose from in the size used here, but I want to keep things as original as possible.
It would have been nice to find something that used the original or had optional square grilles, if anyone knows of a source, please leave a comment.