Thoughts about the interior.

[litsnsirn]

I am going to think about getting the correct interior fabrics for my car(82), so I have them around when I need them, especially since tan interior stuff seems to be so hard to come by, especially for the early cars. Can anyone tell me how much of the cloth and vinyl fabric I will need to buy to have the seat covers fabricated, and how much vinyl is needed for the door panels?

Thanks,
Jason

[ImEvil1]

I think 3 yards or so of each would be plenty....if you are going with the SMS stuff, they should be able to give you an idea when you order. As for the door panels...not sure. I've heard that SMS does repros of them, if you send them an original.

[litsnsirn]

That's who I was thinking of. I have several door panels, but none in the right color. I don't mind trying the dyes and paints on the smaller parts, but the door panels, I feel, should be in the correct material...

Is there still no carpet that is correct tan for an 82?

[litsnsirn]

Can anyone tell me if the 82 interior is a GL or L trim level? I worked up the nerve to call SMS and they have told me that the French Vanilla cloth is different between the two trim levels. From her description, I am going to guess that it is the GL trim, because she said that the L cloth is mostly white and tan, and the GL is white, black and tan.

[ImEvil1]

GL....cloth and vinyl for the seats.

[ImEvil1]

That's who I was thinking of. I have several door panels, but none in the right color. I don't mind trying the dyes and paints on the smaller parts, but the door panels, I feel, should be in the correct material...

Is there still no carpet that is correct tan for an 82?

I'm sure you could have a set reproduced. The carpet....I think depends on maufacturer. I have a non-faded setup in my car, if you need a look for the sake of color comparison.

[litsnsirn]

Well the material sample that SMS sent for the interior is wrong, it has a kind of fake suede feel to it. Does anyone have a good closeup shot of the fabric inserts for the 82? I looked at Kevin's hatchback at Ripon and took a ton of pictures, but I didn't shoot anything tight on the seat.

[ImEvil1]

Here you go:

[litsnsirn]

Thanks Mike, what colors are in the weave? Is it tan, white, and black?

[ImEvil1]

It looks like all three. Here's a better pic from the '82 Color/Trim book:

[chp1982]

Speaking of the '82 interior...I have been trying to find the correct colors for the headliner, carpet, and interior dye. Unfortunately all I have to go by are pictures, the remaining carpet on the bottom of my door panels, and a very tiny shred of headliner material that I found around the map light. Fox Body Restoration sent a ton of samples and one, Almond 1251 matches the carpet pretty well but no matches for the headliner yet.
Any thoughts or experience with this?

[ImEvil1]

Can you post up a few of your samples for us to take a look at. Does FMR have the correct-grain vinyl for the headliner?

[chp1982]

The picture is going to be delayed until after the weekend. FMR sent 2 headliners samples that were a felt-like material and not even close on color. 2 of the carpet samples were close, one being almost exact.

[ImEvil1]

No prob, post up the pics when you can. The headliner is definitely vinyl.

[litsnsirn]

No prob, post up the pics when you can. The headliner is definitely vinyl.

Great, something else I'll have to have made.

[ImEvil1]

I need to find the link...but there is a place that sells the correct vinyl (color and grain) in bulk.

[Mustang Matt]

Was helping Matt (FMR) move his shop yesterday and mentioned this post. The samples he sent out are the reproduction pieces- neither of which are correct. If you want the real deal he has all of the sample books from back in the day and the contacts to track it down for you so give him a call and he can find the correct vinyl. I know he has the coreect SVO and 82GT vinyl stuff in stock so worse case it could be matched to the grain and dyed to fit your cars color.

[ImEvil1]

Matt,

Tell him to register here. :)

Here is a link to Paddock Parts (correct grain, but not color):
http://www.paddockparts.com/Paddock/Product_Family.asp?family_id=555&0=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D3%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tree %3D%2CMustang&1=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D17%26menu%5Fid%3D%26Tre e%3D0%2CMustang%20Interior&mscssid=01D83B7CD4DD485787E4E09B8C928281Gift=false&GiftID=&position=0


A link to the vinyl place (the one I couldn't find...I think "tan" in the tier is pretty close, but I need to double-check):
http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/headliners_readymade/order_vinyl_material.htm


A link to another place...with ABS backers:
http://www.restoremustangs.com/AbsHeadliner-17437.html

[Mustang Matt]

All of the ABS headliners are made by Acme headliner company. I am not really impressed with the fit or their upholstery work either for that matter.

Matt is waaay too buried at work to be on the internet web sites. However, a little birdie told me that he may be hiring a very knowledgable someone on to help him with the business. ;) This and other websites will certainly get some more attention at that point.

He will hopefully put some more effort into SSPs, SVOs, Cobras etc. and really catering to the hard to find parts.

[jarhed123]

...ABS headliners... I am not really impressed with the fit...
The headliner that I had ordered for my '86 I had to do plenty of small trimmings so that it could fit correctly. It also brought the opening for my interior light farther back than it should have been.

[Mustang Matt]

Yep, We helped them to refine the sunroof headliner- by pulling the headliner out of my green Cobra twice !!! They still haven't got it right, even with a template headliner that was donated to them. The others (T-top and hardtop) were given the go ahead by another late model Mustang restoration company and they should not have been put out quite yet in my opinion. It is important to hold the manufacturers to high standards, those of you that are into the vintage cars know that from the past. Some Companies just want to sell the parts. Others want to see the cars done correctly first. It is all a matter of priority.