Houndstooth - is the 68 pattern different than 69?

[Dave69x33]

I am in the process of redoing my ‘69 deluxe seat covers, which are black with the black/white houndstooth insets.  When I purchased the car in 1995 it came with a complete set of reproduction PUI covers. 

The vinyl panels in the repro front seats were not made correctly, or consistent between the driver’s and passenger side seats.  The houndstooth insets and buttons are not horizontally straight across between the seats.  When I compared my original covers with the reproduction covers, the location of the seams, etc., it is very evident the repro covers were not made correctly.   I am having a local automotive upholstery shop correct this issue.

Question: Was the ’68 houndstooth pattern size different from that used for ’69?

I found the following company that sells automotive fabrics, and they show different houndstooth for the ’68 vs. ’69.  Ref: http://www.smsautofabrics.com/featured-products.php. 

Thanks

[Stingr69]

I don't know the difference but requesting samples would be the next step.

The PUI houndstooth covers I bought for my '69 were not acceptable for me either. I ended up mixing some good original pieces with some repro pieces and it looks pretty good now. 

-Mark.

[Dave69x33]

Stringr69,

Thanks for your response.  I delivered my original seat covers to the upholstery shop yesterday.  We discussed the possibility of transferring the newer houndstooth insets to my old vinyl covers which are in very good shape.  Before this is done, I will contact SMS Automotive Fabrics to check their knowledge regarding the proper houndstooth pattern, and share with them the pictures I have attached

I dug thru my pictures and found a few of my original houndstooth fabric vs. the reproduction fabric.  Unfortunately I did not have my digital camera with me when I delivered my original covers to the upholstery shop to get the two fabrics together, which would better show the differences in the houndstooth patterns.  If you study the two pictures, you can see the width of the houndstooth is wider (approx 3/16” wide) than the repro.

[william]

'68 and '69 houndstooth cloth is not the same.

[Dave69x33]

Thanks William,

As I discovered the websites to SMS Auto Fabric (see web link above), and the Original Auto Interiors (www.originalauto.com), I saw the difference between the ’68 and ’69 houndstooth.  The ’68 houndstooth pattern is not as well defined or contrasting as the ’69 pattern.  I now realize the issue has come down to the houndstooth pattern used in the original ’69 fabric vs. what is being produced today and sold in reproduction seat covers, at least from PUI years ago.

Both SMS and Original Auto Interiors are sending me samples of their ’69 houndstooth patterns.  If one or both patterns match my original pattern, I’ll post a picture for reference on this topic.

If anyone has replaced their ’69 Camaro houndstooth seat covers with a repro set with the correct pattern match, I would like to know the source.  Again, my goal is to find the original “square” houndstooth pattern rather than the “rectangular” pattern found in (some/all?) reproduction seat covers. 

One other difference discovered is the shape of the buttons in the pleats.  The repro buttons are the same diameter size, but the original buttons have a more rounded shape.  When I get my seat covers back from the upholstery shop, I’ll post a side-by-side picture of the buttons.  The trick will be to remove and not destroy the original buttons.  The original buttons have serrated pins and retained with a round, stiff spring metal, push retainer which are difficult to remove.

Thanks!

[flyingskibiker]

Is this the pattern you are looking for (random pic from net)? 

[Stingr69]

My '69 PUI covers matched great but the sewing workmanship was bad/crooked. They just didn't look right when installed. I have the original backs mixed with the repro bottom covers and the cloth is the same. This was a few years ago so maybe something has changed. I can take pix if you want.

-Mark.

[Dave69x33]

Flyingskibiker,

Wow...I knew the '60 were very mod and wild, but I'm glad that the houndstooth pattern in the Camaro seats was not that wild! 

I received the fabric sample from Original Auto Interiors and the houndstooth matches the repro seat covers.  It's not square like the original as shown in the attached picture next the original fabric.  I also include a couple shots of the original fabric buttons vs. those on the repro covers, and the button retainer.

Using two small flat blade screw drivers to pry up the tabs, the retainers are easy to remove.  The original buttons can then be transferred to the repro fabric if desired.