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Carlotti wheel wanted

65beam

Donation Time
I bought a perfect Les Leston wheel probably close to 15 years ago . The wife decided to use it on the white car and I used the original hub that Harrington used. The wood section is an original piece that we restored. 110_0716.JPG 110_0721.JPG
 

Limey

Donation Time
Credit where it is due... good trans tunnel carpet. Is it removable like the originals or bonded to the shell?
 
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65beam

Donation Time
Removable. All of the carpet sections except under the console and along the sills are held by snaps. Those are glued. You'll also find the red vinyl glued in areas so there is no white showing.
 

Limey

Donation Time
Thanks 65 Beam. Any shots of the stitching around the dip switch, ashtray and how he got the carpet to follow thw compound curve? What thickness was the carpet and what backing if any? Is it wool or synthetic or a mix?
Oliver
 

65beam

Donation Time
Thanks 65 Beam. Any shots of the stitching around the dip switch, ashtray and how he got the carpet to follow thw compound curve? What thickness was the carpet and what backing if any? Is it wool or synthetic or a mix?
Oliver
Liney,
This kit was made by the west coast supplier for Sunbeam Specialties using a roll of carpet that Rick bought in the U.K.100_0341.JPG . You would need to ask him those questions. The remainder of the roll of carpet was used for the interior of this car.
 

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
When I was restoring my HLM 20 years ago I sent the original carpet set to Martha Christensen (she makes the interior kits for Rick at Sunbeam Specialties) so she could put together a template. I included some Wilton Wool carpet that was the exact same product used in 1961 by the Harrington Factory. Amazing the Wilton factory was still making it and I was able to obtain some. I understand the carpet material is still being made. The photo ( sorry very poor clarity) shows how she did the aft part of the hump. The stitching is obvious in my photo. If you look closely at Bob's photo you can see Martha was still using the same template.
 

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65beam

Donation Time
I haven't found when Harrington stopped installing the knee pads on the door panels. My three had the arm rest. Anyone have an idea?? Some one mentioned stitching around the dip switch. My carpet has a rubber grommet around the switch and as you can see the stitching of my carpet is hard to see. I had to super glue the rubber cover on the dip switch of the RHD car because it sets just to the left of the clutch pedal and because I wear 13 extra wide (4E ) shoes it popped off every time I used the clutch. These photos show the quality of Martha's work. She custom made the entire interior of the blue car. The carpets in our red car date back to the 80's. The series 4 also has a set of her carpets and seat covers. It's hard to see details in a black interior100_0565.JPG 100_0298.JPG 107_1002.JPG
 

napa 1

Donation Time
If anyone is interested I have the “blue prints” for creating the knee bolsters as original. Don’t know if my car originally had them or not as the door panels were long gone when I got the car. I had a lot of extra leather so I decided to go all out on the door panels. :)88E1C3A9-F8FA-430A-91A5-DE42A7F2753D.jpeg
 

Gordon Holsinger

Diamond Level Sponsor
If anyone is interested I have the “blue prints” for creating the knee bolsters as original. Don’t know if my car originally had them or not as the door panels were long gone when I got the car. I had a lot of extra leather so I decided to go all out on the door panels. :)View attachment 18430
Something like that would be interesting in a later Alpine.
 

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
Here are three photos from my Harrington Le Mans promotional car. Note: the first left hand drive iteration is different than the blueprint version. The pocket is different as well.

Original before restoration.upload_2020-1-3_13-49-2.png

upload_2020-1-3_13-50-50.png
Close up before restoration

upload_2020-1-3_13-55-39.png
After restoration using the original upholstery just replacing the padding.
 

65beam

Donation Time
Reproductions of original panels with arm rest only. When did the knee pads units cease production? None of my three had them and I've seen other later cars with out them. I' ve driven a couple cars with the knee pads and they look good and they would be OK for folks of smaller stature but for someone 6' 3" ,250 lbs and size 13 shoes I have a hard time with them. Age doesn't help either.110_0718.JPG
 

napa 1

Donation Time
Looks like the “blueprint” I have creates the correct shape for the wood form and then the final product varies based on the amount of padding one uses. My reproductions are clearly not as heavily padded as the originals. But I think the combo arm rest/knee bolster adds a certain je ne sais quois to the Harrington door panel.
 

jdoclogan

Platinum Level Sponsor
Right, my original is a bit thicker through the armrest into the knee bolster. All of the door panels look good because they are in a Harrington Le Mans.
 

cdk84

Donation Time
Hello Oliver,

I'm well behind the times but am Very happy you have found a Carlotti wheel for your fine Harrington.

The wheel you have, overall, is the correct wheel for the Harrington Alpine, which differed from the Carlotti wheel used on the later, Le Mans model.

I haven't seen enough original Harrington Alpines to comment on the wheel boss / center. Bob Avery machined the wheel center on his car from billet stock, and I don't remember what Bill Atalla did for his steering wheel.

The Index of Thermal Efficiency Harrington is the only other known early car in North America, so you will have a better time gathering information on your side of the puddle than we over here can offer.

Would you kindly let us know what more you discover during your research about this part of the early Harringtons?

Very Best,

David
 
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