Best colour seats

K

kiltyarse

New Member
Hallo all,
Just like to pick a few brains concerning interiors-leather ones. I`m wondering what are the most sought after colours, not only because they might be hard to find, just maybe because they are more pleasing to the eye???! What are you peeps` likes/dislikes please?

Cheers, Drew :D
 
There seems to be general consensus that box pleat leather (box pleat as 3500S and late 2200) is the most desirable type in preference to flat pleat (as 2000 and 3500 auto) and cloth.

As to colour - well!!

Black seems to be very 70's and suits strong colour S2's - say red, white or yellow body colour. For an early car I think flat pleat red leather suits the 60's character best.

My personal preference? Well, I like a light airy feel to the interior so I'm not keen on too much dark colour. On the other hand I've always been a fan of mid brown colour for seats. My solution to this conundrum has been to use Buckskin (cream) for shin bins, door cards, rear parcel shelf, rear 1/4 panels and B post trims with seats in Bronze. I'm currently debating putting buckskin backs (either as original plastic or recovered in vinyl) on the Bronze front seats. This combination looks really good in both my cars - the Thai car is Arden Green and the English car is Zircon Blue.

Chris
 
Chris,
My 1970 2000 TC is Tobacco Leaf but I have been seriously thinking of the pros & cons of painting it Black this summer. It originally had, and still has, flat pleat Buckskin...I think, leather seats. I want to change these, maybe dye them or replace with cloth as I quite like it, but it`s not easy to get a really nice complete set. I bought a set recently, and although it isn`t ripped or split anywhere, the drivers seat is fairly worn and appears to be showing a Grey-ish colour from underneath!? Also rear n/s squab is pretty stubbornly dirty and I`ve practically given up on that one! I also have two front seats in Black leather flat pleat which are a bit damp and need to dry out, feed, re-dye etc...then see what I want to keep and what to pass on.
Cheers for your input, Drew
 
I have an early 2000 in City Grey with 'Buscuit' leather. I thought this was like Buckskin until I cleaned a seat & looked at the underneath. It's actually quite a nice yellowy colour so will brighten the car up a bit when I get it matched with a recolour kit! :D

Quite a few colours look better in their original unfaded state. I've seen some adverts for Buckskin as White!

Cheers,

Phil.
 
chrisyork said:
There seems to be general consensus that box pleat leather (box pleat as 3500S and late 2200) is the most desirable type in preference to flat pleat (as 2000 and 3500 auto) and cloth.

As to colour - well!!

Black seems to be very 70's and suits strong colour S2's - say red, white or yellow body colour. For an early car I think flat pleat red leather suits the 60's character best.

My personal preference? Well, I like a light airy feel to the interior so I'm not keen on too much dark colour. On the other hand I've always been a fan of mid brown colour for seats. My solution to this conundrum has been to use Buckskin (cream) for shin bins, door cards, rear parcel shelf, rear 1/4 panels and B post trims with seats in Bronze. I'm currently debating putting buckskin backs (either as original plastic or recovered in vinyl) on the Bronze front seats. This combination looks really good in both my cars - the Thai car is Arden Green and the English car is Zircon Blue.

Chris
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Interesting how we all see things differently. From a lot of experience I'd say the original 'flat pleat' horseshoe shaped seats are far more comfortable to sit in, and more desireable. For absolute drool value a decent set of red in a car with the appropriate external colour is the number one.

You're right though in suggesting that black box pleat leather is the most sought after of them all, doesn't rattle my cage though, it makes the interior dark.

I like the cloth seats though...my absolute favourite among the cars I've owned was a 1973 Arctic White 2000 I had with bronze flatpleat herringbone cloth, plus the ET headrests (which are superb on long journeys). It was very attractive, and very comfortable!

Cheers
Nick

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Drew

I had a set of buckskin boxpleat leather that had been redyed. I really didn't like the result. It looked good from a distance, but up close the work done was obvious and my impression was that there was a risk of "stickiness" setting in on a long journey.

For this reason I would strenuously avoid any redyed seats or re-dying yourself. My choice would be to take the seats to a competent trimmer for them to clean feed and fettle. I can recommend an excellent one in Bristol who specialises in replacement leather interiors for modern cars.

For the minor components - door cards, 1/4 panels, B Posts etc etc - there's no substitute for recovering! I got a large roll of a very high quality ex Jaguar vinyl from Woolies which is a virtually perfect match for Buckskin. Talk to them and get them to send you samples in your chosen colour. I got new door cards (untrimmed) from Kingsdown at Farringdon and had them trimmed in this and the result was superb.

As to obtaining a decent replacement interior in whatever colour, they do exist - you just have to be patient and persistent.

The other way of obtaining material is to pick something you like in a current production vehicle and then go to the manufacturer for a roll. They do do this as there is a demand for when a tea leaf has wrecked something in the course of a theft or for if there has been a minor interior fire. An acquaintance of mine swears by MB material that is also a very good match for P6 originals.

Nick - I agree, flat pleat bronze herringbone would be reaaly nice - ultra rare though unless you recovered existing in something similar.

Chris
 
chrisyork said:
Drew

I had a set of buckskin boxpleat leather that had been redyed. I really didn't like the result. It looked good from a distance, but up close the work done was obvious and my impression was that there was a risk of "stickiness" setting in on a long journey.

For this reason I would strenuously avoid any redyed seats or re-dying yourself. My choice would be to take the seats to a competent trimmer for them to clean feed and fettle. I can recommend an excellent one in Bristol who specialises in replacement leather interiors for modern cars.

Nick - I agree, flat pleat bronze herringbone would be reaaly nice - ultra rare though unless you recovered existing in something similar.

Chris
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Several years ago I did the seats in my late lamented 2000 auto with the Woolies colouring kit. It took a lot of work, but the result, whilst not show winning, was very acceptable, and the interior is still giving good use in a friend's 3500S. There were no problems with dye coming off or similar. On a budget you could do worse.

The Bronze Herringbone is super-rare. It was only available, theoretically, for the 1973 model year, and even then wasn't taken up much. More common is the Ebony (available from the 1972 Model year) and the Sandalwood (from 1970 onwards, which is easy to tell from the Bronze as the Bronze is two tone in effect, the Sandalwood all one colour, and not as nice IMHO).

Rarer than that still on UK cars is flat pleat Ambla (plastic). Only seen that once, on a 1971 Series II 2000 once owned by JR Wadhams, then in the possession of Jim Brown.

Here's another rare one. My 1964 pride and joy has London Tan, including the carpets. Love it.



Cheers
Nick



londontan.jpg
 
The ONLY colour scheme for a black car has to be red leather. :D
Its the automotive equivelent of porn!
 
JC. said:
The ONLY colour scheme for a black car has to be red leather. :D
Its the automotive equivelent of porn!
Click to expand...
I know I'm well in a minority but I am not at all keen on black P6's, they just do not look right.

Rover, of course, DID do some black cars, mostly Series I, and mostly, apparently for export. In the records there is a batch of about 20 black 2000's all produced in about Feb. 1970, all for Eastern Europe...I wonder what happened to them. I think they may have been playing with having black as a Series II colour, but went with Mexico instead (good move in my opinion).

On the subject of obscure colours...I've just got an ex-factory 2000, which, according to the records, was 'Arabian Red' when built (March 1966). I'll have some more on this one in 'Driving Force'.

Cheers
Nick
 
Series 1 V8's look well cool in black IMHO :;):

I can't help wondering what a series 2 would look like in black, with a Huntsman roof and sills? I think it would work! :D I'm tempted

Personally, I prefer cloth seats. far more comfortable, and you don't get frost bite in the winter, and roasted alive in the summer!! :;):

One of my favourite P6 colour combo's has to be Arctic White, with Huntsman roof and sills, and a Bronze interior. This I am seriously tempted by!!
 
Erik The Viking said:
One of my favourite P6 colour combo's has to be Arctic White, with Huntsman roof and sills, and a Bronze interior. This I am seriously tempted by!!
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Better keep mine locked away then! :D
 
There's now three of us out here in Derbyshire who have V8's in Mexico and Huntsman! Although mine is the only one with the Bronze interior. The other two have buckskin leather :;):

I'm about ready to start doing some paintwork now, and as I'm replacing pretty much everything, I'm very tempted to go Arctic White. Erik has been painted at sometime before, and I'm pretty sure that he has been painted Ford Rio Brown!! ??? He's way too dark for Mexico. Besides, in white, it might present the opportunity to do a few weddings :;):

Another colour combo I like is good old Monza Red, with a black vinyl roof, and a black interior. Very nice :cool:
 
Well.......cheers for all that. I`m still tempted to change from `baccy leaf to Black, and still undecided on which type, or colour of interior to go for. I`ve got the seats I mentioned previously, plus a spot on set of rears in boxpleat Ambla, not sure of the colour but very light and would be easily changed. So.......I could end up with three different materials, and styles to choose from! Who knows, with the right exterior colour I could change the cars interior with the seasons!! (But then there`s Mango.....)

Cheers, Drew :cool:
 
Have to say I have always thought the P6 was an exuberent design, especially with the extra chrome in S2 guise, and is suited to interesting colours. The P4 and P5 are intrinsically more conservative, so all black is OK. For a P6 to wear black with conviction it needs "tarty" bits to set it off; perhaps a maroon (vinyl) roof and 1/4 panels?? The red interior would be a must!!! How about picking out elements of the grille and h/lt surrounds in red / maroon as well??? - or am I just getting too silly?

Must say I'm intrigued by the thought of an eastern european aparatchik being Rovered to the Kremin!

Chris
 
Mine is a Series 1 so I couldn`t paint the grille or light surrounds...well I could but wouldn`t anyway. I might go for re-colouring the seats Red though, but which ones, the cloth or the leather???!! Is there a good fabric seat dye around?

Drew :p
 
"Black body, with maroon vinyl roof and 1/4 panels"? You're not an ageing goth are you Chris? :D I suppose to set that scheme off you could have a purple velvet interior, and a skull on the gear shift :;):

Still love a series 1 in black. I'd go for either Buckskin, or Toledo red inside, with a set of Rostyles to finish it off :cool:

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Richard,
Well that might just clinch it for me then, that one looks pretty smart, and mine`s a S1. Doing the interior Red shouldn`t pose too big a problem I shouldn`t think. I`ll get the paint tomorrow!! :;):
 
Nice one Drew!

I think that black is a colour they should have offered on the P6. I think that with some LR8's, or tasteful period lamps on the front, and a nice set of wheels, it should look harder than a coffin nail! :;):
 
Richard,
I really don`t mind `baccy leaf, or I wouldn`t have gone to look at the car in the first place. I think it really suits the car, especially now that it`s old...if that makes sense ???
Main reason for the colour change is that the paint doesn`t keep its gloss for long, even in the not too sunny weather it goes a bit dull and chalky and needs cut back and repolished and it`s started to get on my thrupenny-bits! I`ve never had a black classic, so I`ll give it a go.

Cheers, Drew :p
 
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