Beyond covering the convertible top Sid Chavers Company upholstered the interior and trunk. Beginning with a base of Dynamat sound and heat damping mat laid in the trunk and interior floor, padding was added to provide additional soundproofing and create a level surface to lay tan German square weave carpeting. The door and trunk panels as well as the seat were scratch built and then upholstered in caramel leather.

Each year legendary auto upholsterer Sid Chavers selects his favorite interior at the show and presents the prestigious award to the trim shop responsible for the work. This year Sid chose a 1960 Buick X60 Invicta Custom with a stunning cockpit trimmed by the two-man crew at Starline Hot Rod Interiors.

This interior theme honors the Impala heritage while giving it a custom twist. Tracy Weaver and his team at Recovery Room Interiors stitched off-white leather over custom seats and side panels in a clean ’60s style, complete with tan suede inserts and Impala-style trim buttons. There’s plenty of one-off custom-machined trim by Atomic Machine and Fiber Forged augmenting the upholstery work, including a custom aluminum bezel for the Dakota Digital instruments.

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Inside, the Nomad shines just as bright, boasting a fully custom interior from Salt Lake-based J.S. Custom Interiors. Features of the interior include a custom dash built by G3 Rods, inset with Dakota Digital gauges; a Billet Specialties steering wheel is attached to an ididit steering column, and custom Corbeau seats are wrapped in Deep Blood Red leather with custom emblems and stitching. The interior was designed by Eric Brockmeyer and produced by J.S. Custom Interiors.

The building of an outlaw often reveals much about the owner’s personality. Some cars are built to be loud and flamboyant, others are built as sleepers to remain under the radar. Regardless of the outcome, the details on each car speak to the preferences and priorities of the owner. This early “A” 356 is no different, except that it has had influences from two different owners, both with supreme taste in both design and style. Most recently owned by automotive interior legend Sid Chavers, this “outlaw” 356A is appointed well in all the right places: restored, upgraded, and elevated beyond compare.

The most repeated rule in street rodding is that there aren't any rules in street rodding. Whether that's true or not, there are definitely a few "general principles" that have been proven over time. Technical rules help prevent mechanical failures. Design rules help prevent empty trophy cases. A rule obeyed by most rodders, from backyard hobbyists to pro builders, involves teamwork.

This heavily modified Chevy was put together by the team at Johnny’s Auto Trim and Rod Shop in Alamosa, Colorado, for Greg Hrehovcsik. Every panel of this Chevy has been heavily massaged. A custom top panel joins the rest of the body, which was channeled over the frame rails and sectioned. Sectioning, for those who don’t know, is removing material from the side of a car to make it lower -- obviously that means reworking every piece of sheetmetal.

There are many ways to install a rear window. This is the way we do it. We find this the best and easiest way to get the alignment perfect, and ease of installation.

We weren't but a few words into our interview with David Farmer regarding his Brizio-built 1932 three-window coupe when he mentioned he didn't consider himself a car guy and then went onto tell about his early days in California's Central Valley wrenching at a gas station, hot rodding jalopies, and dirt track racing in Merced.

We walk you through the typical Boptop installation here. Please call us with any questions you may have.

The Grand national roadster Show started in 1950 and is the longest running indoor car show in the world, and the AMBR (Americas Most Beautiful Roadster) award, a towering eight foot tall trophy, is considered the ultimate recognition for a roadster-style hot rod. Each year a field of outstanding cars—built by the elites of the custom car world—competed for the prestigious award.

Inside, DJ Designs used brown Relicate leather on the reshaped bench seat and custom dash pad that extends to the windshield. The custom 3D-printed door panels feature a laser-etched floral pattern similar to the embossed design on factory CST panels. Classic Instrument gauges, Vintage Air, a Lokar shifter, and a Nardi steering wheel are also featured inside.

Sid Chavers is hot rodding’s signature stitch man. He has been sewing things for nearly 55 years, hot rod upholstery accounting for the last 42 of those. Just barely a teenager, his uncle taught him how to sew using an old Singer. Being industrious and attentive, Chavers was a quick study. He took his propensity for threading the needle to school and began “pegging” the jeans of fellow high school students for one dollar per leg.

Inside, Ron's seating request was achieved using a quartet of 2000 Monte Carlo buckets, sculpted and reshaped by Gabe's Custom Interior in San Bernardino, California before being custom stitched in Irish Cream and Mocha colored leather with copper piping accents. A hand-built console bisects the seating and is home to a Gennie shifter and controls for the air conditioning and RideTech shocks.

Adam Banks at Rad Rides covered them in elaborately stitched leather. The crosshatch design is carried over to the door panels, along with a burlwood panel that stretches across the dash. The upper dash contains Mazda Miata vents for the Vintage Air A/C system, and a 1949 Cadillac instrument cluster with modern workings from Classic Instruments. The lower center panel houses the Kenwood head unit providing access to HD and satellite radio, a GPS system, and a backup camera.

Sid Chavers is a legend in the craft of auto upholstery and throughout the hot rod scene.

Operating out of Santa Clara, California, Sid has designed and influenced award-winning interiors for collectors across the world, published a series of DVDs teaching rookies the ins and outs of our craft, and even invented the highly acclaimed "Bop Top."

But it's his latest project that may have the most profound impact on our industry.