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I just picked up a Donnybrooke Green 70 with saddle interior that isn't that bad. Some of the interior pieces are in good shape and just need to be cleaned and dyed while others will need to be replaced. What I'm finding though is that I have a mixture of light and dark saddle pieces. My sunvisors, dash pad and carpet all seem to be dark while the remainder of the interior is light. Is this normal for saddle interior. It doesn't look bad at all and the contrast really breaks it up, I'm just curious as to how it came from the factory.
Hi SO,
The sun-visors are made from the comfort weave material that the seats are made from so I'd expect them to be the same shade as the seats.
The dash pad could be a slightly different shade… can you tell if it's the original or has been replaced?
The carpet could certainly been a slightly different shade than the vinyl soft parts.
During the 70 model year production some saddle interior cars had an unusual appearing vinyl… it's described as almost a 'marbled' look… the depressed areas of the embossed vinyl pattern are darker than the raised part of the pattern.
Is that what you're seeing and thinking may need to be cleaned or dyed?
Regards,
Alan
Hi SO,
The sun-visors are made from the comfort weave material that the seats are made from so I'd expect them to be the same shade as the seats.
The dash pad could be a slightly different shade… can you tell if it's the original or has been replaced?
The carpet could certainly been a slightly different shade than the vinyl soft parts.
During the 70 model year production some saddle interior cars had an unusual appearing vinyl… it's described as almost a 'marbled' look… the depressed areas of the embossed vinyl pattern are darker than the raised part of the pattern.
Is that what you're seeing and thinking may need to be cleaned or dyed?
Regards,
Alan
Alan,
You can see the different shades in this pic. I originally purchased the dark saddle sun-visors and when they came in they did not match the originals. The seats have been re-done so I have no idea what they originally looked like. As you can see, the dash pad has a gouge in it so I'm not sure if it was replaced already but you can see the difference in shades between it and the rest of the dash as well as how dark the carpet is. Even the steering wheel and shift console appear to be a lighter shade then the dash components.
Hi SO,
You're right about there being an assortment of shades!
Before you go through the work of re-dying things I think you need to assess the various pieces condition:
Obviously the upper dash pad is quite damaged.
It appears that on the lower dash pads at least some of the mounting screws have pulled through the vinyl damaging it.
The console extension seems to be installed in an odd way. If the car is a convertible it looks like the piece that screws to the extension is missing.
It might be wise to be realistic about what you can repair and what might need to be replaced.
Regards,
Alan
Hi SO,
You're right about there being an assortment of shades!
Before you go through the work of re-dying things I think you need to assess the various pieces condition:
Obviously the upper dash pad is quite damaged.
It appears that on the lower dash pads at least some of the mounting screws have pulled through the vinyl damaging it.
The console extension seems to be installed in an odd way. If the car is a convertible it looks like the piece that screws to the extension is missing.
It might be wise to be realistic about what you can repair and what might need to be replaced.
Regards,
Alan
Thanks for your suggestion/advice. I've already ordered new carpet and a new dash shield (I went with dark saddle on both.) I also ordered a new shift console and parking brake console as they were both cracked. I was hoping to save a few bucks by dying the lower dash pieces and will have to check them out more thoroughly once I remove them. The passenger side is already out and looks good.
Here is a picture of my interior. It's all original except for the rear console that was repaired and painted. Difficult to find matching paint.
I don't have any of the shade differences that you are finding with yours.
Saddle interior on both C2 & C3 is one of the hardest colors to match when you start mixing old with new and dying vice cleaning.
Case in point I have owned two Saddle interior 65's and the only way I got the interior to match was to replace both door and dash panels ($$$$) than use interior dye on all the plastic.
Looking at the picture in post #3 I would say you need to approach this as a complete interior restoration if you want a uniform color throughout. What panels do you feel need to be replaced due to damage?
On the subject of dye I have found Corvette America to be as good as any for product, BUT, have found the aerosol cans to be junk in that they spit out little globs of paint so I only use the Qt. and use a spray gun. Interesting also that the color tint was much more correct using a spray gun vice aerosol can.
Here is a picture of my interior. It's all original except for the rear console that was repaired and painted. Difficult to find matching paint.
I don't have any of the shade differences that you are finding with yours.
Mine sure does look a lot different than yours. It would appear that a few of my pieces have been replaced incorrectly.
Originally Posted by Mr D.
Case in point I have owned two Saddle interior 65's and the only way I got the interior to match was to replace both door and dash panels ($$$$) than use interior dye on all the plastic.
Looks like I'll clean and dye the pieces I think I can salvage and hope they match the new stuff i bought. If not, then I'll have to dye the new pieces as well. And, as you mentioned, I've already bought a quart of dye from Corvette America.
My recollection is that in 1970, the 'saddle' vinyl interiors were much lighter than the 'saddle' leather interiors. I just went to Google and called up "Images of 1970 Corvette interiors". If you do that and go down to the 8th row of photos, you will see the saddle vinyl and saddle leather interiors side-by-side. One is dark and the other is light.
I think you have a mixture of both. If you have leather seats, they should be darker. If you have vinyl, then the visors you purchased were the wrong color (for your car).
Changing the color of the interior pieces is very easy...ONCE YOU REMOVE THEM!. That's the rub. If you want to make all parts the same color, I suggest that you make them the same color as your upper dash pad, as THAT is the most difficult piece to remove.
P.S. I think the darker saddle interior looks MUCH better with Donnybrook green than the lighter saddle color.
I just went to Google and called up "Images of 1970 Corvette interiors"......
If you have leather seats, they should be darker. If you have vinyl, then the visors you purchased were the wrong color (for your car)....
I suggest that you make them the same color as your upper dash pad, as THAT is the most difficult piece to remove....
P.S. I think the darker saddle interior looks MUCH better with Donnybrook green than the lighter saddle color.
Wow. I did the Google search and that is quite a difference.
My seats have been recovered and are the lighter of the two shades and I assume they are vinyl. The dark visors I bought were "madrid grain" and they have been replaced with "comfort weave" in light saddle so the only thing dark is the dash pad and carpet. I bought a dash shield which is designed to cover the dash pad and it is dark as well. First I'll try to send that back and get the light saddle; if not, then I'll just dye it with the light saddle dye I already bought.
I agree but I led everyone down the wrong path. The car I bought was Donnybrook green when it was manufactured but somewhere along the line it has been painted Monza red.
Be aware that 1970 was special. My interior is original, and is different than the reproduction ones.
This finish is on the dash pad, shift console, side pieces that cover radio, gauge and map area, but not on A-pillar, door panel, seats, parking brake cover, roof and window trim. No one is making it, and initially thought it was dirty. After attempting to clean it, it was as delivered new. There was some discussion on NCRS message board as well with one of the judging manual contributors at Bloomington Gold last year.
I suspect (no basis in fact, I assure you) that the manufacturer of those parts 'tried' to re-dye some dark saddle parts back to the light saddle color. Maybe they had more dark panels than leather seats and tried to save 'available stock' rather than discard it.
I feel certain (but not "absolutely") that those parts were not intended to be two different shades of brown. I can't imagine a process by which that could have been done repeatedly.
I think your idea of returning the dark dash cap or doing a re-dye to the lighter saddle color is the way to go. Once all the plastic parts are similar color, I think the darker carpet would still go fine with it. You can change it if you want....but the darker shade won't show dirt as well as the lighter shade.
I just picked up a Donnybrooke Green 70 with saddle interior that isn't that bad. Some of the interior pieces are in good shape and just need to be cleaned and dyed while others will need to be replaced. What I'm finding though is that I have a mixture of light and dark saddle pieces. My sunvisors, dash pad and carpet all seem to be dark while the remainder of the interior is light. Is this normal for saddle interior. It doesn't look bad at all and the contrast really breaks it up, I'm just curious as to how it came from the factory.
My favorite combo. Changed it back in 78 to black /silver Think those cars across the street are new
Went back to saddle in 04 The driver door panel is original unpainted. The rest was painted with dupont interior color, which is what GM use for touch up and such.. Once the different colored pieces were depleted, the parts were supplied for SERVICE in black, with instructions to "paint to match"
Had a pint for the upper dash and a quart for the rest made.
Dont think The dupont is available anymore, But venders carry elastomeric paint. SEM comes to mind. My silver was R&M.
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70 saddle interior question
