my interior gives me a headache...

[Steve73tii]

I'm not very good with cosmetics, so I'm going to throw myself on the mercy of the faq here and ask for suggestions for my should-be-late saddle-brown* interior. As many know the factory colors are NLA, so this isn't easy.

The door cards are out of a '71/'72 so they're the earlier saddle.

The rear seat and panels are the 'right' color but a little rough.

The seats are e21 Recaros with generic brown tweed centers.

The carpet is some other shade of saddle-type brown.

The black & tan coco mats were a very nice gift, but they throw another color into the mix.

So... I have enough shades of brown here to cause a disco-era flashback!

The car is a tii with stock setup and I'm trying to keep it kind of low-key, so nice stuff like 6-series rear seats is out for now.

Options I'm considering:

Redone front Recaros and/or rear seats from Aardvark Racing in close-to-factory saddle brown vinyl.

Trade around for decent factory front seats and door cards (goodbye lateral support)

Some kind of cloth seats similar to a euro factory material?

Forget brown altogether and redo everything in factory black basketweave.

Suggestions anyone? (Other than 'ignore it and drive' - that's what I've been doing.)

Thanks,

Steve

* see my other post for early vs. late saddle brown pics

[Kidasters]

I don't think it looks that bad. Swap the bus wheel to something else, and I think it would be fine.

[c.d.iesel]

pitch that brown stuff into the neighbors pool !

and switch to all black, with black/white speck coco mats

[Guest Anonymous]

Swap out the multi-color matts and replace with a single color - brown or tan or black. Consider getting back to solid colors - less complex and fewer headaches. FWIW. Otherwise it looks great.

__________________________

Roger

'72 Malaga

[02hobiedave]

i like it but i'm partial to that color anyway. I have a 72 with the same interior minus the recaros seats. I'm at the same point with mine what to do chge the seats or redo the seat coverings?[/img][/url]

[Julio]

my 2cents is redo front and rear seats in black (Dave V kit is soild) with the same pattern then get all black mats. your panels are two tone w/ black so it will go.A nice 320 sports wheel or Proto-Momo would be a very nice touch too.

Jb

[Steve73tii]

Thanks everybody for the comments - keep 'em coming!

The black coco mats look awesome... C.D. - If I lived in a neighborhood with pools, I could probably afford a perfect interior. Even the Cheektovegas (NY) above-ground pool would be a step up from from my 'hood. This is Barfalo, after all, not Darien :-)

A note on the bus wheel - it's the euro-bus with metal spokes, center horn button, leather rim, and slightly smaller, like the '70 "fire sale" ti wheel. It's probably a relic from my car being driven around Germany for several months before being shipped over. I have a 320is wheel, but I guess I'm a little attached to this one.

--Steve

[robsanab]

I've been thinking about interior combos myself....

It's hard to tell accurately just what shades those colors are in the pictures... but I clearly see the problem.

my thoughts... I think the main problem are the seats and the mats... I don't really care for all black interior... the saddle is cool, but since it does have black in the panel and dash it with make the saddle 'pop' more if you have more contrast... consider black seats, front and rear and a solid mat.... some vendors have quite a variety of shades that might complement the carpet... or maybe just those black as well.

[robsanab]

I've been thinking about interior combos myself....

It's hard to tell accurately just what shades those colors are in the pictures... but I clearly see the problem.

my thoughts... I think the main problem are the seats and the mats... I don't really care for all black interior... the saddle is cool, but since it does have black in the panel and dash it with make the saddle 'pop' more if you have more contrast... consider black seats, front and rear and a solid mat.... some vendors have quite a variety of shades that might complement the carpet... or maybe just those black as well.

[Jack]

I think the two tone door panels look great. Not crazy about the two tone seats, but getting those re-done is big money. I'm with CD. Do the floor mats. Enjoy the rest. It looks great.

[esty]

steve....food for thought....if you decide to change out your front seats, i have a mint set of black e21 recaro's (like yours)...I'd jump at the chance to make a trade....i'm working on a car that those fronts would be to die for in

each to their own but they could easily be dyed to match your rear seat for under $50.00

i happen to love your fronts but with the rest of the interior, i feel your pain...it is a bit busy

[Steve73tii]

Esty,

Thanks for the suggestions and the offer - a definite possibility. I'm going to check out some fabric samples before I do anything, but I'll let you know in a couple weeks if that's okay with you.

--Steve

[ray_]

Where's yer clock?

:-o

Cheers,

Ray

[ifayeoh]

Loose the floor mats for a solid color, black or brown. probably brown. other than that interior looks ok.

[speyguy]

I agree with the suggestion to loose the coco mats. They send the interior over the top. I would be interested to see how it would look with some mats that match the carpet.