Cool McCool's Garage

Everybody needs a nickname, even if you have give yourself one, right?  Since I spent today getting ready, then laying out, cutting, and then sewing the leather for the interior panels in the Diamond T, I guess “The Stitch” is legit.

I dug the four hides I have left out of the box they’re stored in down in the basement, and happily, they still smell like leather, not a basement.  They’ve been rolled up around a cardboard fabric tube, so they weren’t too badly wrinkled, and they’re still supple.  So, I was good to go.  I had all the aluminum panels cut and fitted inside the cab for the headliner, rear and side panels, so it was a simple thing to cut out the leather to cover them.  I decided to make my own windlace to match, and used more leather for that, covering nylon rope from the hardware store.  I think it looks great.

I’ve got the main headliner panel covered and in the truck, the rest of the panels will get covered and installed tomorrow.  Here’s a peek at the work so far…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only sewing was the windlace and the panels above the doors, which transition from the side of the cab to the headliner.  Lacking an English wheel, I can’t make that deep compound curve, so it was easy to make separate pieces.  Once they’re all installed, it’ll look like the cab was supposed to trimmed out, not just pained steel.  It’ll be quieter, and cooler too, since the cab is all insulated with “McCool-Mat” insulation.  I should rent a vender space at the NSRA Nats and give Les Noyze some competition…