Anyone bought a leather kit from Super Coupe Performance?
- Thread starter frankdodd
- Start date
I had a kit made, what year mark do you have?
SCTBIRD1173
Mark my Bird!
I don't know about his Mark kits but the ones Bill sells for the SC are very impressive.
racecougar
New member
Agreed.
I haven't seen the kits from SC in person but looking at the pictures its hard to tell the quality.
From the pictures it looks as if the kit was installed and picture taken right away, it does take a while for the leather to relax and all the wrinkles to come out; if you have a hand held steamer it helps the process along.
If you look at the head rest in the photos you can see puckers in the seam line. It could be from bad seam work, wrinkles, not being fitted correctly when installed... You never know. The seam flap on the inside should be pushed to one side or the other until you get the best fit.
I've seen hundreds of leather kits installed over the last year, here are some things I would ask Bill.
What is the quality of the leather, as in grade.
Get color samples, they never match exactly.
Stitching type.
Is it padded at all.
Do they have fabric reliefs sewn in.
Are the Velcro strips sewn into all the proper spots.
What parts are leather.
What's the warranty.
Who pays for shipping if you have a problem.
How long will it take to rectify it if you have an issue. As in a piece being defective.
Make sure he has it instock and will ship right away
That's enough I think..
Some other things to think about. Your seat buns have shrunk over time, all foam does. You can plump it back up with a hand held steam but this is temporary, it will loose form again. You can build it up with foam.
Either way you will end up with sags or puckers in places,adding or moving foam is the best way to fix it.
My luck with Bill has been 50/50, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it he has a few things for the Mark you just can't get anyplace else.
You do have other options for leather.
Hope this helps.
J
From the pictures it looks as if the kit was installed and picture taken right away, it does take a while for the leather to relax and all the wrinkles to come out; if you have a hand held steamer it helps the process along.
If you look at the head rest in the photos you can see puckers in the seam line. It could be from bad seam work, wrinkles, not being fitted correctly when installed... You never know. The seam flap on the inside should be pushed to one side or the other until you get the best fit.
I've seen hundreds of leather kits installed over the last year, here are some things I would ask Bill.
What is the quality of the leather, as in grade.
Get color samples, they never match exactly.
Stitching type.
Is it padded at all.
Do they have fabric reliefs sewn in.
Are the Velcro strips sewn into all the proper spots.
What parts are leather.
What's the warranty.
Who pays for shipping if you have a problem.
How long will it take to rectify it if you have an issue. As in a piece being defective.
Make sure he has it instock and will ship right away
That's enough I think..
Some other things to think about. Your seat buns have shrunk over time, all foam does. You can plump it back up with a hand held steam but this is temporary, it will loose form again. You can build it up with foam.
Either way you will end up with sags or puckers in places,adding or moving foam is the best way to fix it.
My luck with Bill has been 50/50, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it he has a few things for the Mark you just can't get anyplace else.
You do have other options for leather.
Hope this helps.
J
racecougar
New member
IIRC, the pics that Bill put on his website were of a kit that had just been thrown on a set of seats without any care as to getting them tight (just to snap some pics). I've seen a number of his covers on SC's (especially at the annual SC/XR7 Shootout) and they have all looked fantastic.
SCTBIRD1173
Mark my Bird!
^ I second this. The SC's I see at Carlisle year after year with his kits seem to fit very nice and continue to over the years. Can't say I've ever crawled into anyone's car to poke at them though.
SCTBIRD1173
Mark my Bird!
I'll have to dig around on the SCCoA and see who I can come up with for you.
racecougar
New member
IIRC, Ira and Damon both have the kits installed in their cars.
SCTBIRD1173
Mark my Bird!
Yes, good point racecougar. 
Bill Evanoff
Vendor
The Lincoln Mark VIII upholstery kits are a relatively new item for us. We probably have less than 10 of these exact kits out there currently but we have many many currently running around on Tbirds and Cougars. I have one of these on my personal Tbird SC and after 4 years it still looks like new.
All of our kits are made with a premium automotive grade leather. The kits are made EXACTLY like the originals and have all the same clips, Velcro, pads, etc. as your OEM seat leather had. Our kits are made where natural leather is used on the seating surfaces that touch your body. The fronts, sides, and backs of the kits will be vinyl. This is exactly the same way OEMs make their own kits. The leather and vinyl materials are nearly indistinguishable from each other while viewing but they do feel different when you pinch and rub the materials.
Our kits are sold on a custom made basis, so therefore we keep nothing in stock. As you can imagine this is the only way to do it as there are dozens of colors available and all our kits are customizable with Lincoln logos, perforations (small holes) in the leather, two or more colors, suede, etc. so each kit is made to a customers order. It typically takes my supplier 2-3 weeks to receive material and make the kits. We can make a bone stock replacement seat set or a totally customized product...your choice!
If there are any issues with the kit we will pay for return shipping and repairs or replacements are made ASAP. Typically this is done in a week or less.
Leather samples are commonly given to our customers to verify color match and we encourage this.
I am VERY confident that everyone will be fully satisfied with our full leather seat kits. They really are beautiful! Please call Bill at 513-697-6501 to discuss your project
All of our kits are made with a premium automotive grade leather. The kits are made EXACTLY like the originals and have all the same clips, Velcro, pads, etc. as your OEM seat leather had. Our kits are made where natural leather is used on the seating surfaces that touch your body. The fronts, sides, and backs of the kits will be vinyl. This is exactly the same way OEMs make their own kits. The leather and vinyl materials are nearly indistinguishable from each other while viewing but they do feel different when you pinch and rub the materials.
Our kits are sold on a custom made basis, so therefore we keep nothing in stock. As you can imagine this is the only way to do it as there are dozens of colors available and all our kits are customizable with Lincoln logos, perforations (small holes) in the leather, two or more colors, suede, etc. so each kit is made to a customers order. It typically takes my supplier 2-3 weeks to receive material and make the kits. We can make a bone stock replacement seat set or a totally customized product...your choice!
If there are any issues with the kit we will pay for return shipping and repairs or replacements are made ASAP. Typically this is done in a week or less.
Leather samples are commonly given to our customers to verify color match and we encourage this.
I am VERY confident that everyone will be fully satisfied with our full leather seat kits. They really are beautiful! Please call Bill at 513-697-6501 to discuss your project
Last edited by a moderator:
DLF
New member
Is this what you meant to say?
Bill Evanoff
Vendor
I'm not sure what you mean.
The first thing I stated was that any part of the seat that touches your body will be leather. This includes the area where your behind touches the seat as well as the entire upright torso area.
I wish to clarify that when I say "front" it means the area to the back of your knees or the forward facing seat area underneath the steering wheel. The "back" of the seat means the portion of the seat that faces the back seat. The "sides" are pretty self explanatory.
I don't imagine there will be too much pinching and feeling up of seats but if you did you can feel a difference between the vinyl and leather but the appearance is nearly a dead match. Don't get too freaky with your seats.
The first thing I stated was that any part of the seat that touches your body will be leather. This includes the area where your behind touches the seat as well as the entire upright torso area.
I wish to clarify that when I say "front" it means the area to the back of your knees or the forward facing seat area underneath the steering wheel. The "back" of the seat means the portion of the seat that faces the back seat. The "sides" are pretty self explanatory.
I don't imagine there will be too much pinching and feeling up of seats but if you did you can feel a difference between the vinyl and leather but the appearance is nearly a dead match. Don't get too freaky with your seats.
DLF
New member
You wrote:
The fronts, sides, and backs of the kits will be leather
I corrected it to:
The fronts, sides, and backs of the kits will be vinyl
Bill
I think one thing that would help is to get the covers in your marketing picture professionally (or yourself) installed so they look good. I am sure it is a fine product, but more than a few people have said...."I don't know???? That one in the picture sure fits like poop"
I think one thing that would help is to get the covers in your marketing picture professionally (or yourself) installed so they look good. I am sure it is a fine product, but more than a few people have said...."I don't know???? That one in the picture sure fits like poop"
Bill Evanoff
Vendor
Thank you for the wording help Doug.
I agree the pics are not the best but often I depend upon customers to take pics of our products and email them to me for use on the SCP site. Some times I am at the mercy of using pics that may not represent the product as well as it could.
I will make it a point to get some better shots of these seats that have been on for awhile and have smoothed out. It usually takes about a month for the leather to heat cycle several times and it will tighten up around the foam for a beautiful factory fitment. Professional installers have steamers which can replicate this in minutes but either way the leather will eventually smooth out.
I agree the pics are not the best but often I depend upon customers to take pics of our products and email them to me for use on the SCP site. Some times I am at the mercy of using pics that may not represent the product as well as it could.
I will make it a point to get some better shots of these seats that have been on for awhile and have smoothed out. It usually takes about a month for the leather to heat cycle several times and it will tighten up around the foam for a beautiful factory fitment. Professional installers have steamers which can replicate this in minutes but either way the leather will eventually smooth out.
Bill Evanoff
Vendor
I realize this is a rather old post about the SCP leather seat kits but I thought I'd chime in and give some info.
We sell the heck out of the Thunderbird and Cougar seats.....likely 3-5 kits a month. Not so much for the Lincoln guys. I don't know why. If you read the descriptions of our seats on the SCP site it should answer just about any question a potential buyer would have.
We do offer leather samples because as someone pointed out above colors change over time due to exposure to the sun and simple darkening with age. We always recommend getting a complete seat of fronts and backs as matching to existing material can be very difficult.
If there is a problem with any panel we cover the shipping to repair it.
The quality of the end product depends greatly on who installs the kit. Professionals have leather steamers to smooth everything out while a DIY person would have to wait several months for the leather to go through repeated heat/cool cycles which should also stretch the leather over the seats. If you want the seats to be perfect then find a pro to do the job. Costs can vary dramatically depending upon where you live. I personally paid a pro to install the kit for my own car and the result was outstanding. I think it was less than $300. Your costs will vary.
Actual leather is located where the seats contact your body. The sides and backs of the seats will be vinyl. THIS IS EXACTLY THE WAY THEY WERE MADE AT THE FACTORY. We can customize the seats in a multitude of ways. We can do more than one color. We can do all leather if you wish. We can offer perforations (little holes) in the leather for a unique appearance. We can do logos.....and much more. These are CUSTOM MADE to your specifications.
The quality is considered better than factory and will likely last 25-30 years or longer if taken care of. If anyone has any questions please call me. I will be glad to put you in touch with others who have our product on their car. I welcome the opportunity to earn your business.
We sell the heck out of the Thunderbird and Cougar seats.....likely 3-5 kits a month. Not so much for the Lincoln guys. I don't know why. If you read the descriptions of our seats on the SCP site it should answer just about any question a potential buyer would have.
We do offer leather samples because as someone pointed out above colors change over time due to exposure to the sun and simple darkening with age. We always recommend getting a complete seat of fronts and backs as matching to existing material can be very difficult.
If there is a problem with any panel we cover the shipping to repair it.
The quality of the end product depends greatly on who installs the kit. Professionals have leather steamers to smooth everything out while a DIY person would have to wait several months for the leather to go through repeated heat/cool cycles which should also stretch the leather over the seats. If you want the seats to be perfect then find a pro to do the job. Costs can vary dramatically depending upon where you live. I personally paid a pro to install the kit for my own car and the result was outstanding. I think it was less than $300. Your costs will vary.
Actual leather is located where the seats contact your body. The sides and backs of the seats will be vinyl. THIS IS EXACTLY THE WAY THEY WERE MADE AT THE FACTORY. We can customize the seats in a multitude of ways. We can do more than one color. We can do all leather if you wish. We can offer perforations (little holes) in the leather for a unique appearance. We can do logos.....and much more. These are CUSTOM MADE to your specifications.
The quality is considered better than factory and will likely last 25-30 years or longer if taken care of. If anyone has any questions please call me. I will be glad to put you in touch with others who have our product on their car. I welcome the opportunity to earn your business.