Ron Luchene Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 I purchased my 65' Riviera last year and later discovered that the interior door panels and seats had been installed from a 64'. I am working on the interior restoration now and intend to buy seat covers and carpet from Clark's. I am installing a deluxe interior using their Blue cloth/vinyl. My dash pad is a darker blue and I am curious as to whether or not anytghing else in the interior should be the darker blue as well, i.e. rear package tray. In addition, should I install Clark's light blue headliner or white? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Without seeing a picture of the interior, could it be that your Riviera has the Standard interior? The '65 standard interior is the same as the '64 Custom interior as far as the seats go, and the door panels would be the same for both standard interior models.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Luchene Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 The chrome trim around the wood grain on the door panels is painted black in the center vs. no paint in 1965. The seats have been recovered and the pattern is close to the 64' custom/65' standard style. My rear package tray is long gone and was replaced with plywood and covered in dark blue vinyl. I did speak with the guy I bought the car from and he stated that he was parting out a 64' Riv at the same time he was rebuilding the drive train in mine and he swapped the interior since it was in nicer condition. The original color of the car is Astro Blue and I intend to paint it pretty close to this color. I have a complete black deluxe interior but the more I have thought about it I really like the look of the the light blue fabric. I have a seen photo's of a couple of cars with the same color combination as mine but in both cases the rear package tray had been covered in carpet. It looked like both had a light blue headliner as well but it's hard to confirm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 There are Salesman's books out there that tell you the color of all of the things like headliner, dash, carpet, trim, etc. based on the color of the seats and the outside color. Hopefully someone out there will chime in and tell you what you need to know to complete your car. In case you weren't aware of it, Clarks has replacement package trays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 28, 2008 Share Posted March 28, 2008 Ron,My 63 had the original deluxe interior with light blue cloth / vinyl seats. The vinyl door panels and quarter panels match the seat color as does the headliner. The dash pad, kick panels, lower carpeted part of the door panels, floor carpet, package tray, and metal trim portions of the rear seat are all dark blue. I am not sure whether the 65 is the same. Clarks may be able to help you based on trim codes. I used their seat covers and carpet and can highly recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Luchene Posted March 28, 2008 Author Share Posted March 28, 2008 Don,You have described exactly what I have today with the exception of the headliner. I removed some chrome trim and sure enough, someone has painted the headliner. The original color was light blue. I guess the question now is whether or not the same light blue/dark blue coloring scheme was followed in 65 as well. Hopefully someone will chime in.Thanks,Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Luchene Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Don,I found some photo's of a 65' deluxe blue interior (attached) and it definitely shows the dark blue dash and trim as described in the 63' and 64'. Unfortunately it has the optional rear center armrest and the photo's I have of the back seat area do not show any of the surrounding trim or the package tray. I traded a couple of emails with Dick Sweeney and he believes the rear trim and package tray should be light blue. I have photo's of a saddle interior that would support this theory based on the fact that it shows a darker colored dash but all of the rear trim is the lighter shade. The problem of course is that you never know what has been modified over the years or during restoration but I definitely liked what I saw in the photo's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Ron,It seems a little strange to have dark blue two-tone in the front and not match it in the back but Dick is "the Man" when it comes to these cars, my only experience is my 63. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 My black '63 has white leather, white door panels, and a white headliner w/ white painted moldings. The dash and package tray are black, as is the carpet, the console, and the divider between the rear seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Luchene Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Don/Ed,When ordering a new Riviera in 1965 was it possible to dictate the color of specific trim pieces like the package tray and surrounding trim or was it already predetermined by the trim code i.e 611? It seems like there have been some inconsistencies in some of the interior pic's that I have seen but I realize that liberties may have been taken during the restoration phase of the cars in the pic's.The best advice Dick has provided so far is for me to restore the car the way I want it. My car will never be a concourse car but it will be a great looking driver. While I am leaning towards the light blue package tray and surrounding trim there is a part of me that just wants to know how it would have looked when the car was brand new. I am still hoping someone will chime in who has an unmolested 65' with the 611 trim. Thanks to both of you for responding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 When I was at an ROA event one year, I saw a book that detailed what all the accessory colors would be based on body color and seat color. It was pretty adamant about what you got with what. BUT, you all know that in those days, when you could order a car, Big Bucks had a way of talking. Ed Pentico - if you're monitoring this forum, what's in the ROA library that can help us here?Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 When I was at an ROA event one year, I saw a book that detailed what all the accessory colors would be based on body color and seat color. It was pretty adamant about what you got with what. BUT, you all know that in those days, when you could order a car, Big Bucks had a way of talking. Ed Pentico - if you're monitoring this forum, what's in the ROA library that can help us here?Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Luchene Posted April 8, 2008 Author Share Posted April 8, 2008 Ed,I was reading the thread on the Color for the 1950 Buick and followed the link you posted for the Auto Color Library. The info listed for 1965 Buick does not provide for a medium or light blue option on the rear package tray, only dark blue. If this is accurate for 1965 Riviera, and I assume it is I think this would indicate that the color combination of dark and light blue for the 611 interior was the same as 1963 and 1964. Do you think this is a safe assumption?Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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