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I am going to swap out my black interior to a red interior, how is the quality of the aftermarket interior pieces?
Are they vinyl wrapped as the originals are? or painted plastic?
Can someone post up some pics of their aftermarket install and highlight the ares that don't fit well if that is the case.
I am going to swap out my black interior to a red interior, how is the quality of the aftermarket interior pieces?
Are they vinyl wrapped as the originals are? or painted plastic?
I would say the replacement interior parts, for the most part, are very good. Some are vinyl covered foam like the shift console, dash, and door panels, and some are either color molded or painted hard plastic like the kick panels and parking brake console. Most suppliers are attempting to provide reproduction pieces that match the originals -- though there is some lack of exactness if you are going for high-point judging with NCRS or Bloomington. There are also some slight misfit issues though that seems to have gotten better; regardless, there is a bit of custom fitting to take place to ensure good mating with your existing components.
The commonly difficult areas are the upper door panels matching the door's contour and the center consoles tying the dash parts, small gauges, and two consoles together.
There are only 3ish makers that I'm aware of: ACC (Auto Carpet Corp?), Corvette America, and Al Knoch. Each has their strong points and brand-believers. I've also had good success asking the vendors which maker supplies their specific part with every query being answered.
Last edited by barkingrats; Mar 30, 2021 at 10:37 AM.
I replaced my 69 Vert's original door cards with Corvette America repro's. They look great, but the fit is poor. Once you line up the extremities the door latch and window winder centers are nearly 1/2" out, and the fit between the card inner and the door does not quite match. It helps to install in the summertime midday heat. My guess is that the factory that manufactures them pulled the mold off an original, but did not allow for cooldown shrinkage.
Last edited by Ian Marshall; Mar 30, 2021 at 11:41 AM.
As stated above, the door panels tend to need some tweaking to a curved shape to fit better. But.....the one good thing about these new panels is that the inside of the door is plastic, instead of factory "cardboard". If your car ends up in the rain, that rain will not affect the plastic as it did "cardboard". I see that as an improvement. There are some fitment problems with aftermarket stuff, that may required some "tweaking", but its better than the alternative.......since GM no longer makes parts for our cars.
for the most part dying your existing pieces is the way to go. then just dye any new pieces that don't quite match. seat upholstery is allowed to be a little diff from the rest. don't dye new seats...
As stated above, the door panels tend to need some tweaking to a curved shape to fit better. But.....the one good thing about these new panels is that the inside of the door is plastic, instead of factory "cardboard". If your car ends up in the rain, that rain will not affect the plastic as it did "cardboard". I see that as an improvement. There are some fitment problems with aftermarket stuff, that may required some "tweaking", but its better than the alternative.......since GM no longer makes parts for our cars.
Last time I looked, repro door panels with cardboard liners, instead of plastic, were still available. Al Knoch?
I had purchased a set of used pLASTIC panels and they were not worth the money. No real shape to them, pretty flimsy and a few forum members had had issues with heat making the panels expand or buckle. Just my $.02. WHen the tim ecomes I plan on recovering my originals. As for the rain not affecting the plastic, all you need to do is put w plastic weather barrier between the panel and the door, like most OEMs do.
I did three complete interior restorations using aftermarket parts, two 65's and a 69. I used Corvette America parts and never had an issue with Fit, Form and Function that couldn't be overcome. End product was very nice but expensive. I rattle can a 74 interior using CA dye and that came out looking pretty good.
Excellent info guys.
Can you rattle can dye from black to red? The few rattle can jobs I have seen were too glossy.
Has anyone attempted to rewrap their interior pieces with vinyl, I am talking about the rear quarter trim, halo trim, T panel trim, roof panels.
Door panels, dash and console are not wrapable because of the exposed stitching
Excellent info guys.
Can you rattle can dye from black to red? The few rattle can jobs I have seen were too glossy.
Has anyone attempted to rewrap their interior pieces with vinyl, I am talking about the rear quarter trim, halo trim, T panel trim, roof panels.
Door panels, dash and console are not wrapable because of the exposed stitching
yes
What i did was, prime for dye than color.. I also used CA. I than sprayed with SEM satin clear. Finished product looks great. I did all my interior pieces this wY. However I did install new seat foam, covers and carpet.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods)
Hi and welcome!
My original door panels had cardboard backing and the rear top had warped so as not to touch the window and the front top screw had pulled thru.
On 10-2012 I ordered new panels from Willcox who shipped from CA. and they fit fine.
The new panels have a lip on the top inside that fits snugly on the door so no need for the front top screw.
I'll guess that the color is in the vinyl, I'm happy with the fit and finish.
I would like a little more bling so I'd like to change the plastic door pulls for the C-2 '67 style chrome ones but I'm not sure if that can be done.
If my old interior was in relatively good condition and I wanted to change from black to red, I would choose to remove all interior parts, clean them WELL of ALL grease/oil/dirt and recolor them with good quality vinyl dye. Using spray bombs labeled as "vinyl dye" is a cr@pshoot, IMO. Get the good stuff in liquid form at a pro auto body paint supply store.
If your seat covers need replacing anyway, buy the seat covers in the color of choice, then have vinyl dye mixed to match the new cover material and shoot the rest of the parts to make them the same color of red. Everything matches; everything looks like new. AND IT DIDN'T COST YOU THOUSANDS OF $$$$$$!!
I had my vinyl seats recovered in leather, as well as the sun visors. Looks great. Door panels are Corvette America. I listed the door card fitment issues above. I also found that the new panels were thicker than OE in the door latch and winder areas. Requires extra force to get everything to fit. Overall look is pretty good in spite of everything. BTW the re-upholstery in leather cost me around $350!
Last edited by Ian Marshall; Mar 31, 2021 at 05:29 AM.
Excellent info guys.
Can you rattle can dye from black to red? The few rattle can jobs I have seen were too glossy.
Has anyone attempted to rewrap their interior pieces with vinyl, I am talking about the rear quarter trim, halo trim, T panel trim, roof panels.
Door panels, dash and console are not wrapable because of the exposed stitching
Yes, use their primmer.
My experience with Corvette America rattle can is that no two cans are 100% the same shade. I was working with 65 saddle for the dash and console and ended up buying more only to have the same results. In the end I bought a 1 qt. can dye and used my spray gun to apply. That was the ticket to having an even coat of dye.
When I did my 74 many years ago using CA rattle can I took a tee shirt and rubbed the panels after they dried and it knocked down some of the shine. I don't think you will have this problem using the quart cans of dye.
Aftermarket interior panels, your experience
