Wood Veneer question ( original)

[Paul02]

Hello
Can anyone tell me what the original wood veneer used on a 74 cs coupe is . Or are they all different . I have found a couple of places that can do the job and they ask me what wood should the veneer be and if I want gloss,satin,matt, finish.
Tell me what I should go for before I just choose what I think looks best.
Paul

 

[Jonathan]

The original wood veneer is French Walnut. And the finish should be a matted one. The best wood restorer in the country (and most expenxive) is called Heritage Woodworks in North Carolina. He charges $1,200-$1,400 but his work is flawless...

Hope this helps,
Jonathan

 

[Paul02]

Thanks Jonathon for the info , unfortunately I am in the UK but I have been given a few people to try.
Cheers Paul

 

[Jonathan]

Actually, with the pound so strong you would do well sending it to the USA!
But I'm sure that there are a # of shops who can do the job in the UK...

JB

 

[Paul02]

Jonathon
You may be right , the ones I have found are not recommended just off the net , who knows what sort of job I will get.
I will look into the shipping both ways and have you used this company yourself and do others on here say Heritage is the best.
Thanks for your help.
Paul

 

[kfrito789]

I also used Drew at Heritage for my Mercedes 3.5 Coupe. Fantastic work

 

[Roger S]

Veneer

I have used Madera Concepts in California and have been very happy with their service. You can buy a complete set without a core exchange which should lessen the cost of shipping to and from across the pond. One of the sets I commissioned is on display in the 3.0cs gallery under iconoclast.

Their website is www.maderaconcepts.com, the work speaks for itself. Ask for Jeff.

 

[Paul02]

Thanks to the guys who answered my questions , Jonathan and Kfrito 789 , I have e-mailed Drew at Heritage and he seems very helpful and I am waiting on a price.
Roger so this place ( madera) supplies a dash and door cappings without my old ones ? How much was the one in the gallery of yours ?
I tried to open the link but it wouldn't work for me , i will google them to see if I can find them.
Thanks once again
Paul

 

[BarryG]

Paul i sent you a PM
Thanks

 

[Paul02]

Barry , I done what you asked, see your PM for more details.
Paul

 

[Roger S]

Thanks to the guys who answered my questions , Jonathan and Kfrito 789 , I have e-mailed Drew at Heritage and he seems very helpful and I am waiting on a price.
Roger so this place ( madera) supplies a dash and door cappings without my old ones ? How much was the one in the gallery of yours ?
I tried to open the link but it wouldn't work for me , i will google them to see if I can find them.
Thanks once again
Paul

Madera Concepts. (http://www.maderaconcepts.com/NewSite/Madera_home.html)

Contact numbers: 805-962-1579, 800-800-1579.

Jeff and Tony are the owners. I commissioned a number of one off items in that first order and they used some of my parts to remake tooling (if thats the correct terminology). In the second order, I had a few one off's as well. My orders were pricey as a result of missing tooling and the additional work - poor reference point. I think its fair to expect to pay between $1700 and $2k for work without cores. If you have a core to swap, depending upon condition, you can get as much as $300 back. If you send in a core, they can work from your specimen and it might be less. They had a two week turnaround on my last set and I was very pleased with their professionalism and craftsmanship.

Give them a call. They are nice guys and have impressive work to show for their efforts. There are a number of exceptional craftsmyn (don't want to offend genders) doing this work. Price it, look at the work, and decide whats best for you. I put the information on the board versus in a PM so that anyone who is interested can have an idea of cost and turn around time. Not as polite but sometimes necessary to not have the same post resurface.

Good luck. Its a good time for the pound and euro (and a reckless and embarrasing time for governance in NY State).

 

[Paul02]

Roger ,
Thanks for the time and effort , I spoke to a guy at Madera today but he can't do the same for me because I have a RHD car.
He can do a refurb of my dash so it's a toss up between Madera , Drew at Heritage or a couple of guys I have contacted in the UK . To be honest the price is not vastly different , just only want to do this once.
Paul

 

[whalem6]

wood trim

Hey Jonathan where did you get your info on the french walnut bit. I was told by a wood specialist it is mohagany? Thanks tom nc

 

[dave v. in nc]

walnut vs. mahogany

Hi Tom, I've been designing furniture for thirty years. When I was first aquainted with coupes, my impression was that it was mahogany; because of the (for the most part) very plain cut, and the original finish was on the amber/red side of brown, and almost always sun-bleached. Over the years of studying and designing repro's of walnut and mahogany antiques, you learn that after sun bleaching, the two woods are remarkably similar. When you strip or sand either to bare wood, its pretty easy to tell. Ours are most certainly walnut. I've heard French from almost everyone, but have also heard Italian walnut. Both close proximity to a Bavarian wood shop. I'm re-veneering mine in some French figured walnut, that wont be exact, but that's what makes horse races...
If you've seen Andrew's NOS dash, you can see how dark red our dashes started out life before UV.

Drew at Heritage Woodworks concurs on the walnut issue, BTW. Dave V. in western NC

 

[2275xxx]

I have no idea what these finishes are called, but be aware that there are two types: one for cars built until 8/73 (lighter) and one for cars built after (darker).

 

[shanon]

got wood??

If your looking for a veneer source, I used a walnut veneer (European if I recall..!?) that was impressively close to the original veneer. (In my humble opinion as DIYer)

The fellows at MacBeath Hardwoods (San Francisco & Berkeley, CA) helped out with the ID/match of the veneer. They had an extensive veneer sheet selection (all in flat file cabinets) which gave the process a very entertaining, archival/investigative feel.

I'd wager that my left-over veneer from the sheet is enough to do one, maybe two more interiors or....or something else Coupey?

good luck & hth,
-shanon