Option for New Leather Seats - Al Knoch Interiors

[SURF RUNNER]

One thing that most 3rd Gen owners (with leather interior) want is nice front row seats, or at least a nice drivers seat. I know that there are some options out there - some good and some not so good.

Anyway, I was at a Corvette Show this past weekend in Galveston and spoke to one of the reps with Al Knoch Interiors. They drove to the event from El Paso (probably a 24-hour round trip). They specialize in Corvette interiors, but will also do other vehicles.

I explained the issue 4Runner owners are having with their leather seats and he said that they could do an incredible job on our 4Runners. Once the first person has taken the plunge they will have patterns and after that fulfilling orders will be faster and easier. We would get them a swatch of the tan/oak, gray, and moon mist leather. They said that they can match the look exaclty with a much higher quality leather. All of their leather is imported from Italy.

This isn't in my budget anytime soon, but I just wanted to put this out there in case anyone was wanting to get top quality leather done. I don't have any estimates, but it would probably cost at least twice as much as you might think.

Al Knoch Interiors

Here are some photos I took at the show...

 

[StreetCreeper]

One thing that most 3rd Gen owners (with leather interior) want is nice front row seats, or at least a nice drivers seat. I know that there are some options out there - some good and some not so good.

Anyway, I was at a Corvette Show this past weekend in Galveston and spoke to one of the reps with Al Knoch Interiors. They drove to the event from El Paso (probably a 24-hour round trip). They specialize in Corvette interiors, but will also do other vehicles.

I explained the issue 4Runner owners are having with their leather seats and he said that they could do an incredible job on our 4Runners. Once the first person has taken the plunge they will have patterns and after that fulfilling orders will be faster and easier. We would get them a swatch of the tan/oak, gray, and moon mist leather. They said that they can match the look exaclty with a much higher quality leather. All of their leather is imported from Italy.

This isn't in my budget anytime soon, but I just wanted to put this out there in case anyone was wanting to get top quality leather done. I don't have any estimates, but it would probably cost at least twice as much as you might think.

Al Knoch Interiors

Here are some photos I took at the show...

I'm sure Italian leather is nice, but I think it might be a tough sell for the 4Runner crowd if the Corvette seats are any indication of pricing. I mean, I love leather seats, but I love $5000 worth of mods even more. Hell, many of our trucks cost less than that to begin with.

Would be nice though...

 

[SURF RUNNER]

I'm sure Italian leather is nice, but I think it might be a tough sell for the 4Runner crowd if the Corvette seats are any indication of pricing. I mean, I love leather seats, but I love $5000 worth of mods even more. Hell, many of our trucks cost less than that to begin with.

Would be nice though...

[MENTION=115590]StreetCreeper[/MENTION]

They probably have somewhat affordable options that are more in range with what 4Runner owners might be willing to pay. Maybe they could do something with a leather other than Italian. When you are talking about a complete leather interior package for a vintage Corvette that is trying to win in a category at Concours d'Elegance that is a lot different that getting leather for a single 4Runner seat that looks better than some of the other options out there.

Again, I'm not trying to push anyone towards Al Knoch, but just throwing it out as a potential option.

If you have ever been to a Corvette show you will know what I am talking about. Corvette owners will spend over $1,000 just add customized artwork to an engine bay. There are themes, car names, and all sorts of craziness. Some of them do a little too much customizing in my opinion.

Everything in the Corvette world is expensive. This 1963 Split Window Coupe was for sale for $18,000! Yes... there were lots of interested buyers.

 

[StreetCreeper]

[MENTION=115590]StreetCreeper[/MENTION]

I'm sure that they have somewhat affordable options that are more in range with what 4Runner owners might be willing to pay. They could probably do something with a leather other than Italian. When you are talking about a complete leather interior package for a vintage Corvette that is trying to win in a category at Concours d'Elegance that is a lot different that getting leather for a single 4Runner seat that looks better than some of the other options out there.

Again, I'm not trying to push anyone towards Al Knoch, but just throwing it out as an option.

If you have ever been to a Corvette show you will know what I am talking about. Corvette owners will spend over $1,000 just add customized artwork to an engine bay. There are themes, car names, and all sorts of craziness. Some of them do a little too much customizing in my opinion.

Everything in the Corvette world is expensive. This 1963 Split Window Coupe was for sale for $18,000! Yes... there were lots of interested buyers.

I hear ya, I was just going off the price of the seats I saw. I'm sure if they are willing to manufacture their seats to fit the 4Runner market (price wise) then I think they will sell.

As an aside, I didn't know old Corvettes were made of fiberglass. Or is that how they restore them these days?

 

[SURF RUNNER]

The old Corvettes (from 1953-1972) were made out of fiberglass. They are basically SMC plastic since 1973.

Here are a few explanations from the Corvette Forum:

All the outer body panels, and some of the inner panels are "plastic". The "plastic" includes a couple of different types of SMC, urethane, and carbon fiber composites. The various panels are made by different companies at different locations. For example the outer door panels, roof bows and tonneau (and also parts are made for the XLR) are made by Meridian Automotive Systems and are compression molded in Shelbyville, Ind. The Z06's carbon fiber front fenders and inner fenders are molded in Vermont from material supplied from Toray Composites America, Inc in Tacoma, WA..

Read more: What material does GM use to make C6 body panels? - Page 2 - Corvette Forum

The C6 (non-Z06 model) body is made of five distinct plastic materials, all of which are technologically advanced and chosen for their particular application on the car:
polyurethane (rear fascia and grill)
polyester (hood, doors, and hatch lid)
SMC or sheet molding compound, which is a thermoset fiberglass (rear fenders)
mica-reinforced reaction injection molding (RRIM) (front fenders)
polycarbonate (targa top on the coupe)

Most people still think the Vette is just made of cold-set fiberglass, which it was for decades. But with the modern Corvette, no longer. The Z06, OTOH, has a body made of carbon fiber.

Read more: What material does GM use to make C6 body panels? - Page 2 - Corvette Forum

"Plastic" is a poor generalization for the RRIM and SMC panels in use on the Corvette (C6 and also C5).

Reinforced RIM (RRIM)
Short glass fibers or mineral fillers (mica, wollastonite and others) can be added to the polyol blend to produce reinforced RIM (RRIM) parts with enhanced stiffness and heat performance. A high-quality surface finish also is possible with RRIM parts, which are relatively easy to paint. This process is used most frequently to produce automotive exterior parts, from body panels to fascia to side moldings.

SMC (Sheet Moulding Compound) and BMC (Bulk Moulding Compound) are fibre reinforced composite materials which primarily consist of inorganic ingredients. The organic plastics content is less than 30 per cent by weight: unsaturated polyester resin, a thermosetting resin, which cures by means of a cross-linking reaction. Fibre glass reinforcement guarantee superior mechanical properties. Additional additives like low-profile components, fillers, release agents, catalyst, process additives etc. are used to enhance the performance or processing of the material.

Read more: What material does GM use to make C6 body panels? - Page 2 - Corvette Forum

For those that don't know Corvette generations:

C1 1953-1962
C2 1963-1967
C3 1968-1982
C4 1984-1996
C5 1997-2004
C6 2005-2013
C7 2014-Present

 

[GangsterOfLove]

I had a generic local upholstery shop make a leather seat bottom for my '03 F350, so generic that I don't even remember the name of the shop. It's perfect - indistinguishable from the stock seat next to it and the guy remade the foam base as well. Looks like new, all done in one day. $350.

I want nice stuff for my T4R but if $5K is what they get for seats it seems like a bit of a stretch.