IMO there are too many variables, there are so many different types of seats , headliners etc...
Some are fairly easy, others are very complex.
Even if we had something for interiors like the estimated time listed for installing convertible tops, the skill set of the individual trimmer will vary so the time estimates will not be accurate.

Interesting events to consider in a shop to schedule and price our time in order to give estimates.
I am just a part time car trimmer doing jobs off and on. Perhaps I would also give a partial opinion not adjusted to updated trimmers who are in the business everyday.
A skilled upholsterer should be able to upholster a set of car seats (front and rear) in one day. Provided the seats are in good condition and counting with a helper to remove, disassemble, clean the seats, etc. Besides, doing same pattern or something similar, and no modifications.
Going at a slow pace and solving some issues(broken springs, torn foam, etc.) two days at most.
Sometimes repairing takes more time than doing the covers. I think a good point to consider before giving an estimate because it involves two jobs.
Door panels, one day at most.
Carpet, half day
Headliner (bow type) one day. cardboard type(half day)
Steering-wheel (no modifications) from 5 to 8 hours.
Headrest (simple pattern) 2 hours.
I guess to do the complete interior of a car would take a week if working on 'standard patterns'.
If some repairing or modifications the time would be longer and could take more than a week. A month or more.

One day to do front and rear seats is really moving unless its fitting a kit.I can do a pair of front vw t5 seats in about 16 hours (from what I remember) this is using templates I already have.It would include stitched design centres(diamond/pleats/etc), top stitched seams,headrests with top stitch and hand laced mounting slot,four armrests with top stitch, all in leather and foamed up.Full interiors tend to be around the hundred hour mark.

Headliners, I did a ford escort headliner the other day with a liner I had previously made(I make 5 at a time for another company) it took me under two hours to fit, in the afternoon I did a porsche 911, 6 hours inc making it from a template.

I think the time scale thing is a bit pointless really unless your talking about the same make/model of seat, door card etc.

1 day (8 hours) to do front and rear seats isn't going to happen unless your talking 2 bench seats in perfect condition with only a few panels in them and crashing through them.

I put a toggle switch on an electric clock to track time on individual projects... learning as I go. This seat: repaired frames; carved foam; patterned and completed took 33 hours. The front seat took 40. I show customers the patterns and photos of the process. People just don't realize the time involved in this work.

I agree with @Gareth Judd. Everyone will work at a different rate of speed.

When I was a young man and living on my own I wanted to make pork chops for dinner. I did not know how to cook them, so I called my mother on the phone and asked how do I cook pork chops. She told me how to prepare them and at what temperature to cook them. I thanked her for the help. About 45 minutes later, I called my mother again and asked her, "Are they done yet?"

We all work at different paces and it just take time to gain the experience to quote a job.

When I only did furniture the first chair in a set of 2,6, or 12 took a long time but the last ones flew by. So one off custom work takes longer, just as having a pattern speeds up the job. Maybe some one should make ready made standard seat patterns to sell for the common cars. Oh Wait you can already get those from Ecklers.

there are too many variables, there are so many different types of seats , headliners etc... Some are fairly easy, others are very complex. — Mike Goldring

For me 16 hours on a single bucket seat is flying... I can have 3 to 6 hours just making the pattern depending how complex the seat is. But almost everything I do is custom, there is no such thing as using a previous pattern. On occasion I'll be able to cut apart the existing cover and use that as a pattern, but that's rare.

I think the time scale thing is a bit pointless really unless your talking about the same make/model of seat, door card etc. — Gareth Judd

There was a time estimate list posted here on THR for boat seats/interior. That list for me is pointless, due to the "custom" type of work I do. I don't recall what any of the times were on that list. But if I had followed that for estimates I would have 30 hours or so that I wouldn't have charged for. I had around 10 hours just marking & sewing double diamonds on the last set of boat seats I did.

Once you have done 4 or 5 complete interiors on Tri 5 Chevy's you'll be able to more accurately estimate times on Tri 5 Chevy's. There is not a big difference from a 55 to a 57. Those same times won't work for a 39 Packard, or a 70 Challanger. Just too many variables from one to the next.

Unless you only sell and install Alea leather kits, don't bother trying to get an estimate sheet built up for something as general as a bucket seat. Every job is different, and everyone has a different skill set. Experience is the only way to figure out the average hours for you. Don't give out round about estimates over the phone. Make sure you see what your estimating before you say anything about price. I've been in the business for 18 years and I would have to say that estimating over the phone was my biggest mistake.

I get the concept of trying to estimate how long things will take and charge accordingly. The flaw I see in that concept is, if you only charge by how long a job takes you, as you gain experience and get faster you will be making less money for doing the same job that took longer when you were not as fast. As you get faster you need to increase your hourly rate as well.

From start to finish, this took 38 hours.
When I do custom stuff, I never repeat myself. Every one of these projects is a one-off.
If the customer has no ideas, no real plan, no basic renderings, & only gives me general parameters, ("Can you make it look like buckets with a center area for my small dog?") then I'm making it up as I go along. When the customer dropped off the interior, the only plan for the seat that had been agreed upon by the time he left the shop, was the colors.
Now if he had asked how long it was going to take, even after doing this stuff for (cough-cough!) 40 years, my honest answer would of been..."I don't know." I've used the techniques I did on this seat before & I will again, but I'll never repeat the design.






"Full interiors tend to be around the hundred hour mark." ~Keith Mayne~
That's about what I figure, too. But I've spent w-a-y more. It ll depends on what the customer wants along with how deep his pockets are compared to the shortness of his arms.
One of my interiors was in a Ridler Award Great-8 finalist (1997) I have over 300 hours into that one.
All those minute details add up! I had no idea that that was the length of time I was going to spend on that at the beginning of the project. Especially when the only guideline was "Create! ...GO!"
Yea, the owner was beginning to kinda freak out at the 200 hour mark, but hey...Great-8 finalist! In the end it was worth it. After the car was judged to the level it was & recognized as such, the $$$ didn't matter to the owner any more. His vision for the vehicle had been achieved.
People will remember the quality long after they've forgotten the price.

"Every job is different, and everyone has a different skill set. Experience is the only way to figure out the average hours for you." ~Andy Laird~
Yes! A project that takes me 40 hours may take someone else 30 or maybe 50. But are those guys that are doing it faster sacrificing the quality? You're only as good as your last job. It takes a long time to build a reputation. One half-assed job can cut that rep off at the knees.

"Don't give out round about estimates over the phone. Make sure you see what your estimating before you say anything about price. I've been in the business for 18 years and I would have to say that estimating over the phone was my biggest mistake." ~Andy Laird~
Exactly! That's like phoning a body-shop & asking..."How much to fix the dent in my vehicle?"
Well...is it a 'dent, or is it a 'DENT'?