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Car · Full retrim: seats, headlining, panels
Fiat Balilla francese
A dark green Balilla saloon on cream wheels that came from France with its cabin already stripped: seats rebuilt from the frames up, new headlining, panels and mats, interior in grey cloth.
- Model
- Fiat 508 Balilla four-door saloon, French plate
- Era
- Mid-1930s
- Engine
- 4 cylinders, 995 cc
- Colour
- Dark green, cream wheels
- Work
- Seats, padding, headlining, panels, mats
- Restoration
- Trim and interior
The story
The Fiat 508 Balilla was not only an Italian success: in the 1930s it was also built in France under licence, by Simca. Several are still found in France today, on their black plates.
This one arrived at the workshop on its French plate with the cabin already taken apart, among boxes and loose parts. The outside was in good order; the work focused on the interior, redone from the seat frames to the headlining.
The restoration step by step
From bare frames to grey cloth
- Step 1 of 6
How it arrived
The cabin had already been stripped: seats, panels and trim were in boxes and bags, the floor was cluttered and the old fabrics worn out.
the cabin as it arrived, stripped and cluttered 
parts and trim in boxes, inside the car 
the empty cabin, painted green - Step 2 of 6
Seats stripped to the frame
Old fabric and padding come off the seats, layer by layer, down to the tubular frames and the springs.
a front seat before the work 
the old padding, layer upon layer 
the seat frame with its old springs 
the tubular seat frames, stripped bare - Step 3 of 6
Springs, padding and stitching
The springs go back on the frames cleaned and painted, the padding is built up over them; the cloth is machine-stitched and the buttons set by hand.
the springs cleaned and painted 
the seat with its new padding 
the cloth being machine-stitched 
a button set by hand with twine - Step 4 of 6
Headlining and panels
The headlining is redone in dark cloth, stretched above the windows; the panels are made on new backing boards, covered and cut to size.
the new headlining in dark cloth 
a panel covered in hessian 
a grey cloth panel cut to size - Step 5 of 6
Floor and details
Rubber mats on the floor, a sun visor trimmed to match the seats; the old French plates were kept as well.
the rubber mats on the floor 
the sun visor trimmed in cloth 
the old French plates, rusty - Step 6 of 6
The finished interior
Front seats and rear bench in grey cloth with vertical stitching and buttons, refitted in a cabin painted green like the body.
the front seats in grey cloth 
the rear bench with vertical stitching 
the seats refitted in the cabin
As it is today
Does your pre-war car need its trim redone?
Frames, springs, padding, fabrics and headlining: Mimmo redoes interiors in the workshop, including for cars coming from Switzerland or France. Tell him about yours.
More restorations
This is only a small selection: over the years Mimmo has restored many more cars and trucks, and we'll keep adding them from the workshop's photo books.
