Interior door panel colors - two tone

[Pablo M]

I have a ‘72 2002tii. (build date march 1972). 
i have seen some early cars have two-tone interior panels and mine are same pattern but all black. I’ve researched and can’t find any definitive info on the two-tone. 
 

Was that just an option that was available? Was it specific to certain years or cars? 

I wouldn't mind having two tone to break up all the black and would even consider painting mine (with vinyl specific paint). 

[Conserv]

Pablo,

By “two tone”, I’m guessing you mean black trim along the tops of the door cards while the rest of the door cards match the seat color. That was the rule and your seats are actually following it.

 

The tops of the door cards were black on round taillight cars. From a design perspective, the black door card tops extended the black of the dashboard back around both sides of the interior, as seen in the first photo below. Similarly, the short elements of chrome trim at the front of the front door cards originated as visual extensions of the chrome dashboard trim, the chrome dashboard trim being found on all ‘02’s from March 1966 through October 1967 and on Euro-spec ‘02’s until April 1971, as shown in the close-up of the second photo below.

 

And if your interior was black, the top of the door card was black because your dashboard was still black! And the rest of the door card was black to match the seats.

Like two-tone door cards? Black interior owners are SOL. But the chrome trim is pretty snappy!

 

’02’s. Not flashy. 😉

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Mikesmalaga72]

What color is your car? We can start there. The two tone cards from between (1966>1973) (1974> solid color door panels). Some were options at BMW in Germany, but Max Hoffman prescribed the options and they were paid for options included on the Mulrony sticker for BMW to build for the US market as standard equipment since he was the sole importer because he had control. Except for U.S. service members and diplomats that had access to the European network for their market choices. The exterior color of the car usually dictated the interior color variations specified in the color combination brochure by year and part year. (Farben und polster) Farben being paint/polster being upholstery. The (U.S) importer requirements via Max and BMW agreed on what was to be standard interior packages for the US market. The European market had more flexibility on their orders as BMW was more independent there for the German tastes. Some materials and paint colors were restricted for some reason and not made available for the U.S. market. The only options were rear window defroster, dealer or port installed air conditioning, and dealer installed radios/antennas. If you really knew what you were doing (exceedingly rare tho) you could order at the dealer parts center a close ratio 5 speed, quick ratio steering box and limited slip differential ratio of choice take offs go home with you. Well,. not too many folks back then knew or could afford this and of all that availability until they owned the cars awhile anyway. Anyone know why the restrictions?        

Edited December 16, 2022 by Mikesmalaga72

[Pablo M]

8 minutes ago, Mikesmalaga72 said:

What color is your car? We can start there. The two tone cards and seat packages were not options. Some were options at BMW in Germany, but Max Hoffman prescribed the options and they were paid for options included on the Mulrony sticker for BMW to build for the US market as standard equipment since he was the sole importer and he had control.        

Ok. My car is Riviera. I ask because I think I saw a riviera with two tone black/caramel interior. Thought it looked good, but the seats were all caramel so it came down to the color of interior. Mine is all black inside. 

[Mikesmalaga72]

Yes, that is a rare but correct combo. A friend of mine has a tii that combo. Gorgeous! I am unsure what other combos were available with Riviera I dont have the catalog. Black may have been available for that Riviera. Some paint codes had more than one combination of interior colors usually 2 variations tho.

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Mikesmalaga72

[jgerock]

Perhaps you have seen my Riviera 69 which was originally Nevada on the outside. One other car I saw in New York was a 72 Riviera with custom leather interior. Note even the upper door panel portions were changed from the original black.

[jgerock]

Here’s my car with the stock seats and replacements 

[Conserv]

As Mike says, the paint and upholstery brochures — labeled Farb- und Polster kombinationen — generally offered two factory-default interiors for each exterior color. The first two photos below show two pages from the January 1972 version of the brochure: the exterior-interior concordance and a page illustrating the interior colors by model.

 

The first factory-default interior shown is for the cloth-and-vinyl interior, standard equipment on all global ‘02’s, but generally only found on Euro-spec ‘02’s because, as Mike also said, Hoffman Motors Corp, from virtually the beginning of the ‘02 run in March 1966, upgraded U.S.-delivered cars with the optional all-vinyl interior. If we take Riviera as an example, the factory default cloth-and-vinyl interior was S 70/92, with S = Stoff  or cloth, #70 the gray cloth infills, and #92 the black smooth vinyl.

 

The second factory-default interior is for the optional all-vinyl interior, all-vinyl interiors being found on virtually every U.S.-spec car imported by Hoffman and delivered in the U.S. The concordance shows K 68/92 as the all-vinyl interior paired with Riviera, with K = Kunstleder or vinyl, #68 the gray molded-vinyl infills, and #92 the black smooth vinyl.

 

I’ve highlighted the samples with a blue box in the second photo.

 

So then the tale gets interesting. Gray vinyl, molded or smooth, is very rare on U.S.-spec cars — I don’t know how rare gray interiors are on Euro-spec cars. And I haven’t a clue why gray is rare. But most Riviera cars arrived here with black, all-vinyl interiors, not nearly as attractive as much rarer combinations such as Riviera with saddle, a rare combination indeed.

 

So the factory had its default combinations, and generally followed them, but not always! Rare, occasionally odd, combinations occurred. Dealers swapped interiors to appease customers. Owners swapped interiors to please themselves. There’s no factory evidence of a given car’s interior color until 1975, when BMW North America, successor U.S. sole importer to Hoffman Motors, began to list both exterior and interior colors on the window stickers. Before that time, verifying an original interior comes down to a careful analysis of (a.) the seat style — frames, recliners, headrests, and vinyl changed over time — and (b.) dated manufacturer’s tags originally found in 1966-1974 seats — the latter cannot definitively identify an original interior, due to interior swaps, but it can certainly eliminate an interior that could not possibly be original.

 

All of this said, even a careful “restorer” has a lot of leeway in choosing an interior that he/she prefers over the as-found interior — without running afoul of the originality police.

 

And if I had a Riviera ‘02, it would almost certainly wind up with a saddle interior. 😉

 

The third photo shows the window sticker from my ‘76 (VIN 2742541) illustrating the listing of both exterior color and interior: “POLARIS” with “LEATHERETTE UPHOLSTERY-NAVY BLUE”. The next car down the assembly line (VIN 2742542), for which I oddly found the window sticker, fourth photo, had the rare BMW NA cloth-and-vinyl interior: “CHAMONIX” with “CORDUROY/LEATHERETTE UPHOLSTERY-NAVY BLUE”.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[jgerock]

Another example is this lovely Riviera touring that Ray Korman brought to the Greenville CCA Oktoberfest in 2019.

[Conserv]

11 hours ago, jgerock said:

Another example is this lovely Riviera touring that Ray Korman brought to the Greenville CCA Oktoberfest in 2019.

Very nice! How’d I miss that?

Not the original cloth inserts — 10 versus the original 12 pleats — but I’ll bet they largely replicate the original cloth-and-vinyl, gray-and-black color scheme.

 

Still, I’d prefer saddle!

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

[Pablo M]

Great info. Thanks everyone. 

 

To be honest, my all black interior feels dull. Could use a second color, or textural changes. Reupholstery is low on my priority list though lol. Mechanicals first. 

 

[jgerock]

6 hours ago, Conserv said:

Very nice! How’d I miss that?

Not the original cloth inserts — 10 versus the original 12,pleats — but I’ll bet they largely replicate the original cloth-and-vinyl, gray-and-black color scheme.

 

Still, I’d prefer saddle!

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

This Riviera touring was for sale (maybe two times) at a Vintage NC event. Note the all black interior.

[Pablo M]

4 hours ago, jgerock said:

This Riviera touring was for sale (maybe two times) at a Vintage NC event. Note the all black interior.

Was the wood dash a 73 or 74 thing? My dash is all black. 

[jgerock]

8 hours ago, Pablo M said:

Was the wood dash a 73 or 74 thing? My dash is all black. 

74 introduced the wood trimmed dash and the cross hair gauge faces. Tourings always retained the round rear lights.

[Conserv]

41 minutes ago, jgerock said:

… Tourings always retained the round rear lights…

 

Which makes them hard to date for those of us who are not touring experts… 🙄

 

Regards,

 

Steve