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So, I have the dove grey interior in my black T/A. Black leather seats. The carpet is due to come out and be replaced. I was going to go with the grey, but the GF is saying to put black carpet in there. I'm just not sure if it will look right. It will be easier to keep clean though.
I will be eventually re-doing my door panels and could do black carpet on the bottom to tie in to a black carpet.
Thoughts?
Tough call. The black carpet would match the seats, but all your plastic trim pieces are gray. I would think that would look a little off, especially in the rear part of the car. I'm in the opposite boat, have an 85 TA with all black plastics and carpet that I am likely going to swap to gray so it matches a car I owned back in 93 while in college. Bought a parts car last year to strip for the complete interior and TPI setup.
New gray carpet will look a lot better than the old faded gray. Trouble with black is it has the possibility of looking like a generic replacement. Kind of like everybody with their black wheels, it could end up looking boring.
New gray carpet will look a lot better than the old faded gray. Trouble with black is it has the possibility of looking like a generic replacement. Kind of like everybody with their black wheels, it could end up looking boring.
I planned on grey until the GF said black... But, I think the black will look like an obvious replacement as well. I'm not too worried about keeping it clean because the car only gets driven a couple dozen times a year to cruise nights etc.
The comment about black wheels is spot on... I hate them. It was actually hard to find new wheels for this car because anything with a design I like was black!
Stock 3rdgen interiors are ripe with greys, charcoals and blacks, regardless of the selected interior color option. And you've already changed the factory seats in your grey interior to black leather seats, darkening the overall appearance of the interior. So new carpet in another, similar shade of grey, charcoal or black will coordinate equally well.
Here are four color samples I got from Stock Interiors last year.
These are the four "best matches" offered for 3rdgen grey and/or black interiors, not including black, which is not pictured. They're very different from each other, but each can work, depending upon your goal. Clockwise:
Upper left is Ultra Plush/Essex #1068 Medium Grey. It's the closest "match" available in the Ultra Plush/Essex line, It's also the poorest match of the four greys, having a greenish undertone. And due to that greenish nature, it comes with black foot pads, not grey, which is a pretty stark contrast. But given they'll be covered by floor mats, that's not likely to be an issue, especially if the greenish undertone isn't.
Upper right is Cut Pile #877 Dove Grey. It's offered as the "correct match," so that's what most people buy, just because, without investigating the possibility that there might be a better match.
Lower right is Cut Pile #8078 Dark Grey. Being the most "neutral" grey, it coordinates best with all of the other tones of greys, charcoals and blacks in grey 3rdgen interiors, especially with the grey plastics, shades of which vary all over the board.
Lower left is Ultra Plush/Essex #1097 Charcoal. It has rich color and tone, darker than grey, but obviously not black. It would blend nicely into an interior, such as yours, where you've added black, but want to retain a grey appearance.
So the top two are the offered "matches" in each carpet line, yet their undertones are completely opposite from each other--good ole ACC. The bottom right is a happy medium between the two "matching" colors and plays well with all of the other tones in the interior. And the bottom left has a rich tone for darkening the interior, without going black.
And just so you know, ACC's workmanship can be as poor as its color-matching skills. Just so you know...
I don't care for grey, but I'd rather have grey carpet in your case. ....I think with the grey trim plastics, it'll look like a replacement carpet as you mentioned.
And just so you know, ACC's workmanship can be as poor as its color-matching skills. Just so you know...
Yeah, I've seen the complaints about it, but it's what we have offered to us unfortunately... I'm hoping that doing it in a cold garage isn't going to make it even worse going in. I can't wait for summer to get it done, since my garage is being pulled down and re-built this year and I'll essentially be unable to do any projects for months.
I don't care for grey, but I'd rather have grey carpet in your case. ....I think with the grey trim plastics, it'll look like a replacement carpet as you mentioned.
Yeah, the plastics will probably really stick out, and something will seem off about it. Dove grey it is. Just have to tell the gf no spills in the car!
The Dove gray from ACC was an almost perfect match to the un-faded area under the rear seat on my '87 Z28. Try to lay the new carpet indoors for a few days so it can settle down a bit. Then prepare for a struggle!
The Dove gray from ACC was an almost perfect match to the un-faded area under the rear seat on my '87 Z28. Try to lay the new carpet indoors for a few days so it can settle down a bit. Then prepare for a struggle!
I'll set it down in the basement for a few days and then get the garage as warm as possible.
