Irvin Foster G-1 from 1963

[dr.raul]

I just bought this Irvin B Foster G-1 jacket on ebay, B series from 1963 so it should be real goat and mouton collar, it seems in good conditions, below are pics from the auction as it is still in travel toward Italy. A guy from another forum told me that he zip fitted on it was probably shorter than the jacket, so it was stretched to the length, then it shrank over time, causing the 'pull' on the right hand panel, and it's proof of how-make-do-and-mend the construction of these things was. However the zip is a Talon, maybe not the most common on this jacket type?

 

[Flightengineer]

Nice one!

 

[Jorgeenriqueaguilera]

I just bought this Irvin B Foster G-1 jacket on ebay, B series from 1963 so it should be real goat and mouton collar, it seems in good conditions, below are pics from the auction as it is still in travel toward Italy. A guy from another forum told me that he zip fitted on it was probably shorter than the jacket, so it was stretched to the length, then it shrank over time, causing the 'pull' on the right hand panel, and it's proof of how-make-do-and-mend the construction of these things was. However the zip is a Talon, maybe not the most common on this jacket type?

Hi Raul
Originally this contract came with a blackened CONMAR Zipper, so the one on your jacket probably was replaced at some point. Below some pics of an original in mint condition that I had from that specific contract. Congrats and enjoy your G-1!
Jorge

 

[dr.raul]

Got the jacket, apart from the zip issue there is a problem with cuffs, one is a replacement, it's shorter and also of a different brown. There is a few small hole in cuffs and waistband and these can be fixed, but I don't know what to do with that cuff, looking for a replacement? I don't think one piece original of the same color is easily available, I know there are new replacement sets (waistband and cuffs) but I don't know which one would be the correct type and colour for my jacket [maybe rib-rack Seal Brown?] and I don't want ending to spend a lot to fix this issue. What would you do? Here it is:

 

[STEVE S.]

Got the jacket, apart from the zip issue there is a problem with cuffs, one is a replacement, it's shorter and also of a different brown. There is a few small hole in cuffs and waistband and these can be fixed, but I don't know what to do with that cuff, looking for a replacement? I don't think one piece original of the same color is easily available, I know there are new replacement sets (waistband and cuffs) but I don't know which one would be the correct type and colour for my jacket [maybe rib-rack Seal Brown?] and I don't want ending to spend a lot to fix this issue. What would you do? Here it is:

I would replace both cuffs & leave the waistband alone if it’s in good shape. Looks like the regular seal brown would be a pretty close match ( the dark seal looks almost on the edge of black) . Could also deal with the zipper replacement at the same time.

 

[dr.raul]

I would replace both cuffs & leave the waistband alone if it’s in good shape. Looks like the regular seal brown would be a pretty close match ( the dark seal looks almost on the edge of black) . Could also deal with the zipper replacement at the same time.

The waistband has a few holes that could be repaired but considering that a complete set from Mash japan is just €15 more than a cuffs pair I would buy the full set and then decide what to actually is worth to replace. The zipper is a different beast because many Conmar are out of stock from Mash, what could be a correct replacement?

 

[dr.raul]

Here it is after "restoration", I took apart the zipper, painted the green zip tape in dark brown and had it mounted again in a better way (as you can see in the first pic above zipper and leather were badly stretched and the leather didn't cover the zip when closed), replaced waistband and cuffs with Mash repros, and completed with some Lexol cream.

 

[MikeyB-17]

My first G-1 was a’63 Irvin B. It wasn’t the nicest one I’ve had, the underlying leather was a grey, cardboard-like stuff at the wear points. They obviously weren’t all like that, because yours seems fine. My collar was exactly the same colour as that. Nice job.