I’m wanting to purchase some new interior for my 81. I can’t go by the door tag because someone told me it says it used to be blue.
I didn’t know if this was grey or silver or what. The rear carpet is good. Thinking about seat covers, door handles and possibly front carpet.
Can anyone help me with this color?

 

That interior color is commonly referred to as both Silver Gray or Slate Gray. The trim code for it was 13I, and it was only offered in 81's built in Bowling Green. Silver (trim code 15I) was available on 81 Corvettes built in St Louis, but it was a true silver, similar to the 78 Pace Car, and nothing like the Slate Gray in appearance.

 

Why am I not seeing that color option on any of the sites you can order from?

 

You need to order what most of the vendors only offer as 1982 Gray, or 1982 Slate Gray. For some reason, many companies in the hobby have never figured out that Corvettes were built in two different plants in 81, and the colors and interiors offered were different for each plant.

If you weren't aware, Corvettes were built in two plants in 81, St. Louis MO, and Bowling Green KY. GM built a new plant in Bowling Green in 81. Corvette production began in St. Louis in September 80. The new plant in Bowling Green came on line in June 81. From June through September, Corvettes were built in both locations, and from September through November, Corvettes were only built in Bowling Green. After June 1st, all new orders placed went to Bowling Green, while St. Louis was winding down, building cars for orders placed prior to June. All seven exterior colors offered on 81 Bowling Green Corvettes, and three of the five interior colors, were new and unique to cars built in Bowling Green.

I have an Bowling Green 81 that I bought new in November 81. It is Charcoal Gray with a Slate Gray interior. The car is all original, and unrestored, and has received an NCRS Top Flight award. I was on the team that created the 80-82 NCRS Judging Manual, and did quite a bit of research into the Bowling Green paints and interiors, during the creation of the judging manual. Besides the original trim tag, window sticker, build sheet and dealer invoice for my car, that all show the trim code as 13I, Slate Leather Interior Trim, I also have a 1981 Dealer Ordering Guide, that also shows the 13I Gray Leather.

It appears that your 81 was built in Bowling Green, as yours has the Slate interior, and from the pictures, looks to be Two-Tone Silver over Charcoal (or is it Silver over Dark Blue?). The Two-Tone paint option was only available on 81's built in Bowling Green.

 

Good info gb.
The OP posted a pic of his trim tag in another thread.
Paint codes are 33L, 33U, 38M. Sliver over Blue with an interior code of 29I, Dark Blue. The car looks to have had a complete interior change over to the Slate Gray.
G.

 

GB
i was about to post what Greg posted but he beat me to it. Lol

 

I got to looking today and the dash is a different color. It looks charcoal to me. I took a few pictures in hopes someone can tell me that’s what it is. I’d rather buy everything charcoal to match the dash.

 

You know GMs quality control had really dropped at this point. My 1979 10th anniversary TA had 10 different shades of silver that in theory were supposed to be the same. Each vendor had a different shade and GM did nothing to unify them..So I assume your 81 Vette is no different. I'll bet you that even when new the Dash, Carpet,Panels and Seats never matched!! I think match the item that is the most difficult to restain. Ike

 

That dash is not charcoal, the 81 Charcoal interior is very dark, so dark that it's almost black. I can't tell you why the dash is a different color, but it's not charcoal. Since it appears that the interior of your car was changed by a previous owner, I don't know if it's a repro dash and the color's wrong, or if it's an 81 St Louis silver dash, or if something else is going on there. From the factory, the Slate Gray dash is the exact same color as the rest of the interior.

For reference, the car in this link, has the Charcoal interior. https://corvettemikemidwest.com/used...-red-corvette/

 

66ca,
Is there a chance that dash pad could have been the orig. blue dash re-dyed to gray?
That could account for the color mismatch.
Greg

 

GB...yes that charcoal definitely looks black, so that’s for sure not what my dash is.

Greg...I have no idea if someone changed the color of the dash or not.

I really liked the the color of the dash, and from what I’ve heard they are a pain to get out. I figured I’d get new seats to match and just dye everything else to match the dash. But just have no idea what color to order. In the sunlight the seats and door panels have such a strange bluish/whitish/greyish color. Not sure if that’s what that color is supposed to look like.
The door panels are actually in good shape, that’s why I just thought if I knew what the dash was I could dye them and the other trim pieces and get seat covers to match.
So in your opinion is the slate grey closer to the dash color or the color of my door panels?

 

Your doors and seat covers are the correct shade of gray, for an 81 Slate Gray interior, not the dash.

Here is a picture of the factory installed interior in my 81. Everything in the interior is original, none of it has ever been replaced. The picture's a few years old, and the quality's not the best, because I took a digital picture of a print, to post it here, but you can still see that the dash, seats, door panels,etc, are all the same shade of gray.

 

GB....are yours a solid color? I took some close ups just now and maybe you can see what I’m asking. I think mine are just really faded. I would need to take the dash out to dye it so it will look like the rest of the car. I’ve read it’s quite a chore, have you taken one out before?

 

Yes, it is quite a chore to R & R that dash. That's another reason I thought it may have been stripped, masked and dyed in place.

 

Greg..I was wondering if that was possible. To disassemble as much as you can and leave it actually in place and dye it where it sits. Didn’t know if anyone has ever attempted that

 

No, it's not solid, my door panels and seat covers look just like yours, with that cloudy light and dark sort of look to it.

 

Yes, I have dyed the later style C3 dash in place before, with good results.
If you remove as much of the extraneous parts as possible then mask well, it's not that bad of a job.
Greg

 

GB... thank you very much. I’ll go ahead and order the new stuff I need in the slate grey.

Greg...thanks for the info. I think I may give it a try