Interior carpet 65 riv

[Rufcar]

Yesterday I saw fellow member mike lawsons perfect original 65 gs and his interior is an exact match to my 65 gs. The clarks vinyl saddle is very close but the carpet and headliner are not.clarks has one riv sample and its whitish they have a corvair gold and texture is way off. There saddle carpet is dark saddle and not close. Who has med saddle or lighter saddle samples based on riv owners past experuence?

Same goes for headliner?

Tkx jim f

[RivNut]

This gets into one of those areas where no one really has a reference to an exact match. Therefore, no one knows if your carpet is an exact match for the original, probably not even a BCA or AACA judge. Therefore you're judging your carpet against an unknown. Pick the best, or the one you like, from what's available and just make sure that all of the pieces in the car are the same.

About 30 years ago I worked for a company called 'Dr. Vinyl' - Vinyl repairs and other cosmetic operations. At that time we were replacing console lids in 10 - 15 eight to ten year old Camaros/Firebirds per day. They came from the factory in black and we dyed them to match the interior. One day I was redyeing one a shade of saddle. There were about 6 - 7 different shades of saddle in the interior - seat inserts, door panels, headliners, seat bolsters, dash boards, consoles, carpets, door pulls - each one a different material that took the dye differently or UV affected it differently. The person for whom I was doing the work didn't like the matches I was coming up with. After about 5 - 6 different attempts, I said 'enough of this' and dyed the old one to match the new one. The seller was very happy because the two matched. But it didn't match anything else in the car. Ask yourself "Am I being too critical of a judge on myrself? You'll probably never see two saddle interior cars parked next to each other so what's to compare? And I don't think anyone has a good enough eye to look at one, see another in a few weeks/months and remember exactly the shade of saddle they saw before.

My .02$

Edited November 3, 2014 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Rufcar]

Ed I have been restoring Rolls/Bentley cars for others for awhile and I am not trying t6o be anal. I am trying to be somewhat conservative. That said I have my doors perfect as I showed on line how to do the wood panels in pictures I took. If I can match closer to the door panels I wont need to change the door panel carpet or even the now restored kick panels. Same goes for the vinyl, if I could find a drivers seat not worn thru or torn Id replace that and nothing more. The headliner has a 2" tear and I will try and have a tailor hand sew it so it can remain original. The sun shades edging was almost off detached but in perfect shape. I took time and glued the edging on with many clamps and they now look like new and are 50 yrs old. You see what I am trying to do here? I do not want a show car or a body off restoration. I have been successful doing that for myself but it takes time and patience! I will probably email all the carpet folks and get samples of all the saddle colors and see which one is closest. I compared my car and Lawsons car yesterday and in every detail and in every area they are exactly the same shades.

[1965rivgs]

Yesterday I saw fellow member mike lawsons perfect original 65 gs and his interior is an exact match to my 65 gs. The clarks vinyl saddle is very close but the carpet and headliner are not.clarks has one riv sample and its whitish they have a corvair gold and texture is way off. There saddle carpet is dark saddle and not close. Who has med saddle or lighter saddle samples based on riv owners past experuence?

Same goes for headliner?

Tkx jim f

Jim,

Read my reply to your initial interior post! Auto Custom Carpets! ACC!

Tom

[1965rivgs]

This gets into one of those areas where no one really has a reference to an exact match. Therefore, no one knows if your carpet is an exact match for the original, probably not even a BCA or AACA judge. Therefore you're judging your carpet against an unknown. Pick the best, or the one you like, from what's available and just make sure that all of the pieces in the car are the same.

About 30 years ago I worked for a company called 'Dr. Vinyl' - Vinyl repairs and other cosmetic operations. At that time we were replacing console lids in 10 - 15 eight to ten year old Camaros/Firebirds per day. They came from the factory in black and we dyed them to match the interior. One day I was redyeing one a shade of saddle. There were about 6 - 7 different shades of saddle in the interior - seat inserts, door panels, headliners, seat bolsters, dash boards, consoles, carpets, door pulls - each one a different material that took the dye differently or UV affected it differently. The person for whom I was doing the work didn't like the matches I was coming up with. After about 5 - 6 different attempts, I said 'enough of this' and dyed the old one to match the new one. The seller was very happy because the two matched. But it didn't match anything else in the car. Ask yourself "Am I being too critical of a judge on myrself? You'll probably never see two saddle interior cars parked next to each other so what's to compare? And I don't think anyone has a good enough eye to look at one, see another in a few weeks/months and remember exactly the shade of saddle they saw before.

My .02$

Ed,

A sample of carpeting removed from beneath the sill plates is a legitimate sample.

Tom Mooney

PS My eye is good enough

[Buffalowed Bill]

SMS, I have the faith and I keep preaching. You don't have to go far in the hobby to find other believers, give them a try.-Bill

[Buffalowed Bill]

Sorry Rufcar, I reread your original question after I posted and realized that it was only carpet that you were trying to match. I have never used SMS for carpet nor do I know if they even carry it.

[RivNut]

Ed, A sample of carpeting removed from beneath the sill plates is a legitimate sample.

Tom Mooney

PS My eye is good enough

Tom, you're right about finding an unspoiled section of carpet for matching purposes. My point is that no one would be carrying samples to which to compare it too. If an unspoiled piece can be found and samples gathered from different vendors, then a match can be found.

If, however, a seat kit from Clarks is installed, wouldn't you want to use that same carpet in the rest of the car that Clarks uses on the lower part of the back of the seat bottom?

Ed

[Rufcar]

Ed that's exactly what I am trying to do. I called Clarks today and they have a few other saddle shade samples coming. If given the choice id still rather repair the front seat vinyl then replace both with new vinyl. Jim

[RivNut]

If you have any way of getting a small sample from your existing seat, send it to the guys at SMS Auto Fabrics - http://www.smsautofabrics.com/ - and ask them for samples that are close. Also make sure that you tell them the year, make, and model of your Riviera and your interior code. See what they may have left over from original bolts.

I did this with a '70 Skylark that I had a few years ago. They sent me the EXACT materials that I was needing. I got plain vinyl for the seat skirts, the insert material, and the back of the seats. I had an upholstery shop do the work and the entire interior looked like new. I also got carpeting and a vinyl roof from them. I could not have been happier. I regret now that I sold the car.

Ed

Here's something I found on their website using some basic information about 1965 Rivieras.

http://www.smsautofabrics.com/product-info.php?pid=L-2316&pcl=v&ino=3594

Edited November 4, 2014 by RivNut (see edit history)

[1965rivgs]

Tom, you're right about finding an unspoiled section of carpet for matching purposes. My point is that no one would be carrying samples to which to compare it too. If an unspoiled piece can be found and samples gathered from different vendors, then a match can be found.

If, however, a seat kit from Clarks is installed, wouldn't you want to use that same carpet in the rest of the car that Clarks uses on the lower part of the back of the seat bottom?

Ed

I did the job for a customer who had already purchased the seat cover kit from Clark`s and the wrong carpeting. I asked Clark`s to resew the ACC carpeting onto their seat covers and they complied. I informed Mark at Clarks that ACC had a perfect match but he said Clarks no longer does business with them...no explanation. I suspect they would use any carpet a customer requested and supplies.

BTW, great link to SMS. They truly are one of the only suppliers for correct obsolete materials but be prepared to wait, patience is definitely required. I highly doubt they would have original saddle material, most likely reproduced.

Tom