$750 - $1000 for original seat?

[BobRitts]

I know I'm probably the *only* one out there with a torn bench seat, so bear with me...

I stopped by the local auto upholstery place to price a rebuilt seat (new fabric, rebuild the foam). They quoted $470 for the whole shebang, labor & parts, to take my old cracked seat and rebuild it with new material (same pattern, new vinyl and cloth). Not so bad, given how much I dislike working with upholstery!

They also said they could maybe find the ORIGINAL material, as in, been sitting in a dark warehouse for 38 years since the truck was new. In fact they did, but it's pricey, $750 to repair the driver's side half, and $1000 to rebuild the whole seat with new (but old) fabric. The samples I saw from that vintage were exact, not just similar... I was really impressed. It also seemed very fresh for being old - which I think is the difference between sitting in a hot sunny car and sitting in a dark cool warehouse for 38 years. All of their "old" stuff was still supple. (Supple... strange word...)

Does anyone carry exact reproductions anymore? Is this a rare deal to find the real material, or could I pick up an LMC catalog and find the exact same thing? Should I jump on this deal because it's the last bit of original material on earth?

Thanks!

- BobRitts