And like new, too. I spent the morning over at Craftmasters Upholstery in The Big(ger) City™, watching three people do what they do best... needlework on a grand scale, coupled with superlative automotive repair skills... and they are REALLY good at it. I arrived at 0815 hrs this morning and was out the door with a repaired top around 1130 hrs. So not only are the folks at Craftmasters good at what they do, they're quick, too. A few pics...
The top had to come off the car for the restitching and that trick is MUCH more involved than it sounds, especially considering the close quarters craftmasters Joe and Nacho had to work in. Case in point:
That's Joe inside the car doin' his contortionist imitation while Nacho assists. It took the guys only a little over 45 minutes to remove the top, which included drilling out about a half dozen rivets and undoing a boatload of fasteners. Here's a hat-less Green Hornet:
And then it was over to the sewing table...
Sizing things up
Nacho did the needlework, which was a two-man job...
After the needlework was done the guys re-installed the top while proprietor Susan and I talked about most everything under the sun. I took a bunch of magazines with me to kill time if that had been necessary but it wasn't. Susan is a most personable woman who's been in the upholstery bid'niz for 35 years and started out working for her Dad Ray when she was 15. Ray is semi-retired now and Susan pretty much runs the show. And a great show it is!
Don’t just love it when a car repair job actually goes as planned.
ReplyDelete“Nacho”…hehe.
Those TopShop guys are interesting to watch. I've watched a couple of upholstery jobs in the past, and have tried to do a couple myself on my old crap.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much difference in a pro, and an amateur that it ain't even funny. But, I guess that goes for darn near everything.
I'm sooo happy the old gal is properly attired once more, but don't you think she might be a little embarassed that you plastered pictures of her all over the internet without her top on?
ReplyDeleteI love watching how people fix things. A few months ago I had to have my windshield replaced. The company replaced it right in the parking lot of my condo! I told the repairman that I was going to be annoying, watch and probably ask annoying questions. But it was very interesting!
ReplyDeleteEven in Clovis they have professional folk who work hard and do their best.
ReplyDeleteNicknames always amaze me. When I first started teaching in McAllen, the head custodian told me his name was Chewey. I can remember thinking, "You want me to call you Chewey?!" He was an awesome man taking care of me and my classroom and the rest of the school as no other. I was so glad he was my friend.
Lou - we have a nephew whose real name is Matthew but his older brother could only say "Machew" and it stuck. So my nephew's nickname is - Chewie. He's 15 now and I doubt he'll ever get away from it.
ReplyDeleteBuck - TGH looks like she appreciated the TLC.
Small Tee: Yup! I just tapped the woodwork coz I've had REAL good luck with automotive fixer-uppers of late.
ReplyDeleteAndy: Yeah... pros ARE better. Unfortunately there are a lot of amateurs doin' bid'niz out there, masquerading as "pros."
...don't you think she might be a little embarassed that you plastered pictures of her all over the internet without her top on?
Nah. She's ALWAYS been cheap, fast, and easy. Brazen, too.
Ash: Work has always amazed me... I can watch people do it for hours and hours and hours! ;-)
Lou: Chuy is a quite common Hispanic nickname, most often for "Jesus."
Kris: The way your nephew got to "Chewie" is unusual, to say the least! I should have posted a pic of TGH after the work was done, shouldn't I?
Thank, Buck. I knew that Pancho was a nickname for Fransico, but I did not know Chuy for Jesus - sorry for my sorry spelling.
ReplyDelete