Upholstery Project
Reported by Howard and Gretchen Minners
Many of us are handy Model A mechanics, but when it comes to upholstery and top materials, a bit of "mystery" seems to creep in. Which upholstery is correct for my car and how can I be sure, what does it look like, and where do I get the "best available repro" are a few of the questions that come into our minds. After all, unlike a spring hanger or even radiator hoses, you are not very likely to locate NOS Model A upholstery material that is still fresh and in good enough condition for installation. Besides, original fabrics tend to fade much more rapidly than modern color-fast, reproductions.

The MAFFI Upholstery Project aims to collect and describe the "software" that originally went into a Model A including upholstery, top materials, trim welt,wind lace, window curtains, carpets and leathers. We have organized and categorized all these items according to their basic color scheme, eg.brown, blue, gray, green, and tan. We have now managed to collect and identify 200 samples, representing approx. 85% of original Model A upholstery plus similar information about reproduction materials. Individual data labels along with a comprehensive master list have been prepared for each item, both original and reproduction. These labels delineate where a given fabric was used, eg. seats, seat sides, doors, quarters, roof side rails, windshield header, etc, We are preparing substantial, identical books for both national Model A clubs as well as one for the MAFFI archives. For every known item, we have sought 3 good examples (original as well as reproduction).

Many years ago, Bertha Haueter began the Upholstery Project (see article below). More recently a substantial number of Model A'ers have contributed samples, photographs and comments. Bill Sturm has donated more than half of our samples and continues to be a steady and dependable source of information and advice. George DeAngelis helped greatly with Material Specifications plus some original samples. Few, in any, original upholstery items normally go into a restoration. So first knowing the correct material, and then finding a good reproduction are typical challenges facing most restorers. Then, there is always the question of what a item was made of and when it may have been adopted, changed, and eventually became obsolete. We have been very fortunate to have acquired photocopies of perhaps 60% of the Ford Material Specifications for upholstery materials, the so call M-Specs. These become important when one realizes that upholstery items usually did not have an engineering drawing, although they may have been mentioned as a component of a Model A part assembly drawing. Model A "software" rarely had a Ford part number. As far as window curtains are concerned, there is the matter of which came with a tassel or a pull tab, what colors did the curtain materials come in and specifically in which body styles, and finally which reproductions might be available (if any).

BERTHA HAUETER
ORIGINATOR OF THE UPHOLSTERY PROJECT
It has been said that even the biggest project begins with the first step. As for MAFFI's upholstery project, the first step, and thousands more steps, were taken by Bertha Haueter. Bertha conceived of the idea of gathering original samples and creating large books containing all the obtainable samples of original Model A upholstery. She worked or years to collect those samples, and then created three huge identical sample books, one each for MARC, MAFCA and MAFFI.

Along the way, Bertha wrote numerous articles on various items relating to the upholstery project, and even developed a set of display boards for showing samples at Model A gatherings. She has won both the MARC George DeAngelis Literary Award (1988) and the MAFCA Bill Reeder Literary Award. Her subjects have included such topics as Door Check Straps and Installation of Seat Belts. In March 1996 she wrote an article for the Restorer announcing the coordinated effort to collect upholstery samples. She then followed up with multiple progress reports in the A Preserver.

In the introduction to the latest version of the sample books, is an acknowledgement of the project contributors. Bertha's contributions are recognized with the following accolade: "If it had not been for Bertha Haueter, these upholstery books would never have existed. She was the one who started the project, worked many years collecting and organizing samples and established a sound foundation on which to continue to build".

Thanks, Bertha, from the entire Model A Community.