I'll try to give some basic answers without adding too much in the way
of marketing fluff.
First off, the leather seat kits from Moss are all built in-house in
California, except for the Light Tan Complete kit for the 70-80 which
comes out of the UK.
All of the regular suppliers of seat kits supply Leather on the facing
surfaces only. Phil pointed out one reason. The other is that Leather
does not hold up very well to the creasing action faced by the sides of
the seat. It is also a maintenance nightmare for areas such as the back
which are one big sheet. Using only Leather facings replicates the
original design of the manufacturers during the 60s when the transition
away from leather began.
"Good Leather" is highly subjective. The Leather found in most modern
cars is not what I would term "classic" leather. It is more of a
garment grade and feel than a furniture grade. That may be the
difference you are feeling as a rubbery feel.
As Phil stated Connolly was a brand name, which meant that it was
reliable and had a particular stamp design. Moss kits were made from
Connolly leather until supply became a problem. At that time Moss went
direct and invested in their own stamp which is used by the Italian hide
supplier to give the vintage looking grain to leather.
>From experience I can state that the Moss Manufactured kits are very
high quality and are superior to any of the kits out there. Sorry if
this appears to be fluff, but that is an honest belief.
There may be better value for money, if you shop around. But there is
not a better OE type kit for the 62-69 cars. The Classic Stitched kits
for 70-80 are also made in house and that is what I am installing in my
own car. I have already installed a kit in my 1965 B and it has been
holding up very well.
If you have any specific questions about the kits, please feel free to
ask.
Regards
Kelvin Dodd
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-mgs@autox.team.net] On
Behalf
> Of ksmith40@centurytel.net
> Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 10:46 AM
> To: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Leather Seats / Connolly Leather
>
> First, are the seats offered by Moss completely leather or just the
faces?
> Is it "good" leather? I've sat in some new vehicles recently and many
of
> them had leather that felt more like rubber.
>
> How about other popular vendors? What do they offer?
>
> Secondly, was there anything special about Connolly leather? Sure, it
was
> put into the best cars, but was it truly better than other leathers?
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