To tartan or not?

Yes!

In reply to californiamilleghia :

"I  wonder if there is a  special  blue tartan pattern that was made for automotive use  ?" Yes, the Triumph TR7/TR8 had tartan plaid seat covers in three different colors, red, blue, and green. Should the OP choose to run with TR7 buckets, the tartan seat covers are available from England, most often from Rimmer Brothers.

Impossible to gauge from online photos. I'd make sure the blues don't clash. Get a few samples sent to you. You won't regret it. 

But hell yeah plaid!

californiamilleghia said:

I  wonder if there is a  special  blue tartan pattern that was made for automotive use  ?

I know Mercedes Classic  has some nice patterns, but at Mercedes prices !

Not just Mercedes, but also VW and Porsche for sure. Probably also BMW and Renault, maybe also some of the British car companies. I can dive into specifics and recommend some years/models to search for blue plaids if you want. 

Here's a sampling from an upholstery supplier who does a lot of German plaid stuff:

https://relicate.com/collections/all-plaid-fabric/all-plaid?sort_by=manual

There's a nice subtle one from the VW Mk7 GTI that is dark with a little splash of blue and white.

https://automotivetextile.com/products/gti-blue-plaid-fabric?srsltid=AfmBOoo5nYszfZ9_1Q9CSjRU7yjyEyCDy58GShdNACF6WzxT94JqcxeT

I'm an auto-seat industry guy, so I tend to go overboard on this type of stuff!

Here's a few notes about upholstery fabrics and the variables involved that may impact pricing: On the surface, automotive upholstery cloth is just woven cloth like any other cloth material. You could cover a car seat with just about any cloth if you wanted, like a burlap sack or an old sheet, and it will function on some level. There are a few factors to consider that help explain the wide range of prices you will find. Many of them are important for OE/manufacturing, and might not matter for a home-built project car.

Genuine Mercedes (or whatever other manufacturer) materials will likely be more expensive than knock-offs. What you get with the genuine stuff is the knowledge that it meets Mercedes quality/durability standards, and incorporates all the stuff discussed below.

Auto-upholstery-specific cloth uses materials and has a weave construction that is designed to meet or exceed a minimum standard of durability in a car seat. The weave is usually tight as looser weaves are more likely to shift, stretch, wrinkle, trap dirt/lint, and wear out. Discussion of the types of fibers used could fill a book, but durability with fine/consistent fibers that have a tiny bit of stretch, but not too much stretch is the primary concern here. Breathability is also a factor for comfort.

Backing. Good auto upholstery comes with a backing, which is a thin layer of foam that is bonded to the back of the fabric. There may also be an additional layer on the back of the foam. The purpose is to provide stability and a smooth, full surface appearance on the finished seat. The backing also helps with pattern layout, cutting, and stitching seams. It basically really helps reduce wrinkles. 

Coatings. Without venturing into the weeds, coatings help ensure that the cloth won't do nasty things like catch fire easily, get hopelessly stained with a little spill, or rot instantly from UV exposure when parked in the sun. 

If you want to dabble in an upholstery project on a car that is mostly garaged and used on weekends, just about any fabric could work. If nothing else, make sure it has a foam backing (or add one yourself with a thin foam layer and spray adhesive.)

If you splurge for expensive materials, they will be easier to work with and likely last a lot longer, which may or may not matter for your project.

Thanx for the info ae86!

I clicked on the tartan seat image and hit "search the web" and this is as close as I could get.  If any of you folks can find a source to the material, I'd really appreciate it.  With winter coming, I would like to break up the all black interior.  With the red pinstripe it looks almost GTi.

Thanks, Dan

I think it is this ..... the tartan in that pic is awesome and I too hope to use it !

In reply to 914Driver :

I'm almost certain that the center material wasn't originally an automotive offering. There are several Scottish heritage type websites with lots of tartan finders or clan tartan pattern samples on them. Might try searching some of those? I found several sites like that just googling "blue navy red tartan plaid" and similar.

It's a little more subtle than the first image but still picks up the blue.  One piece 59 X 118 inches is $34.  (it is Auto quality material).   

Link?

Here's a couple links. I'm familiar with the first source, not the second, for whatever that is worth:

https://relicate.com/collections/vw-golf-plaid-tartan-fabric/products/golf-mk7-style-plaid-tartan-fabric-blue?variant=31281304895568

https://automotivetextile.com/products/gti-blue-plaid-fabric?pr_prod_strat=collection_fallback&pr_rec_id=4c561e522&pr_rec_pid=7217718722629&pr_ref_pid=7217719148613&pr_seq=uniform

You should be able to get a small sample before purchasing the final material to confirm you like it.

Just bought 2 yards of the AutomotiveTextile stuff, similar to GTi seat material.  Upholsterer says ~$1,000 to replace the center section os 914 seats.

In reply to 914Driver :

Shop around, that seems way high. Especially if you strip the seats yourself.

Thanks to this thread, if I ever have to reupholster either the CRX or the Vanagon, I'm doing tartan.

In reply to Keith Tanner : You're welcome!