Trashed ELC B-3 is finally fixed

[bazelot]

I finally finished fixing the B-3 that had been cut up by a irate wife (not mine). I had to also reinstall the NOS zipper. Since pieces from the back were missing I had to replace one whole panel. I used shearling from naval winter flight pants and it does not look so bad. A labor of love really. I am actually quite pleased with the result and the jacket is very strong. I really did not think I would ever bring this project to completion.

 

[SuinBruin]

Amazing... I never would have thought the jacket could be wearable again. Great job.

 

[RCSignals]

it shows anything is possible with enough determination and effort. Great work

 

[Chris217]

I hope the woman that was responsible for this crime against repro flight wear was court martialed and received most severe punishment that could be issued by the command staff..

By the way, thats an excellent restoration!

 

[Clark J]

WOW Tman!!!!What size is that??

 

[bazelot]

It's a 44 so it's a shade too big for me . I could not try it on before as it was not wearable.

 

[dmar836]

Good job!

 

[navvet]

Well done! Now you need not hesitate in restoring other mishandled jackets.

 

[Peter Graham]

Nice work Tom. Why not do a depot re-dye experiment on it.....or maybe not ?

 

[Roughwear]

Excellent work Tom. The mis-matched back panel is fine for later jackets from this 1941 RW contract.

 

[RCSignals]

I think I would leave it as and not dye it

 

[MikeyB-17]

Yeah I think it looks better as it is. Great job.

 

[bazelot]

I have now been wearing the jacket for a week in Pittsburgh and it truly is an amazing jacket. It is very warm and comfortable. The repairs I made are also very sturdy and the panel I added is just as strong as the rest.
I will be listing it in the for sale section as soon as I get back to San Francisco as I will never ever wear it over there.

 

[dmar836]

Time to move this thread up. Took me 30 minutes to find it!
'Bout to stitch up the HH strips. A little nervous!
Dave

 

[atkins]

any outdoor photo of the jacket would be greatly appreciated Tom.

 

[Anonymous]

any outdoor photo of the jacket would be greatly appreciated Tom.

Any picture would be great, I see nothing?

 

[dmar836]

Sorry for the confusion guys. Tom repaired this one before and I now have it. I'm sure I deactivated the wrong thread. Tom did the repairs all by hand and it was quite impressive.
I disassembled the back panel and HH reinforcement strips and reattached the panel underneath by hand.
Today I hope to restitch the HH strips using the walking foot machine.
I hope Tom has some "before" shots as it was a true mess and he spend a lot if time getting it sorted.

Dave

 

[TankBuster]

I remember the first guy that had this one years back on a prior VLJ board. The jacket was cut up by his wife after a fight :? Tom bought it from him for next to nothing since it was almost completely shredded.

 

[dmar836]

Yeah, I read about it on other forums and old entries I found on the web. Should have screen grabbed them.

Dave

 

[bazelot]

Ahh Ahh I was just thinking about that jacket. I might have some old pics. I will look for them. It was completely trashed when I got it. It looked like road kill and I had to put it together like a puzzle. The main hurdle was that pieces from the back weer missing and I did not know about it until I received it. The whole thing was epic. I had to pay via Western Union (Of Nigerian scammer fame) as the seller did not have Paypal. The redskin shearling was the best quality possible and ohhh so warm.