Seats,dye,etc..

[ga.spyder]

OK,I need some opinions,and with all the opiniated people here there is no doubt I have come to the right place! My buddy kmac offered me a great deal on a couple of seats that have been redone,and look brand new.My seats are splitting at the seams and need to be re-upholstered.I got a estimate but the guy seems a little wishy washy on the price now although he does excellent work.The issue is that the seats from kmac are black.My interior has black and tan door panels,black carpet,black console,tan boot and tan top(new).All the tan in my interior is dye,actually a color called camel.It makes the car different from any other Spider I have seen.I am in a quandry as to whether
1] leave it alone and install the black seats and redye the boot black
2] go ahead and have the old seats redone in a camel theme(seats arent in good condition)
3]dye the new seats with the camel color..I have had good results with SEM dye,and dont have any reservations about doing this
So,what would you do? I will get some pics up of the interior now,and with the black seats installed.I dont worry about the top if I go black(they say you never go back),because when the top is up nobody sees the interior anyway!My top never goes up unless I hit a unexpected rainstorm.
Money is an issue also,as the reupholstery job will be around $500.Dye would be around $50,or less if I just dye the boot.So......any feedback is always appreciated
sorry,this old pic is the only one I can find that show sinterior/boot color(Denise and Alvon will appreciate it)

[johndemar]

Craig,

While I can't tell you what to do, I can say I just dyed a pair of seat with SEM and am pleased with the results. My original seats were split, with chunks of foam missing. I was toying with the idea of putting in Procar seats but feared they would not fit, or if they did would not look right. I found tan seats in good shape and dyed them black, but I understand it's easier going from a light to dark color. All the neighbors are waiting to see if comes off on my clothes after driving the car.

Use your best judgement, you have a nice car so any of your options would work. IMO it might work out best to leave the seats alone and dye what ever else is needed.

[124JOE]

if your wanting camel
and your foams are fine
you can get covers

i had mine recoved in grey lether
that costed $100 per pannel
then i went all grey but consolesare black

[aj81spider]

My opinion? (that and 1.25 will get you a coffee in the cafeteria) I would go with the tan seats one way or the other. I don't think the tan door panels will look good with black seats.

If it were me I would reupholster the ones you've got, but that's just because I would be worried about the dye wearing off and leaving black spots behind.

I'm redoing my 74 interior that had tan seats and black door panels with gray carpet. I like the tan interior and am converting it all over to tan.

[ga.spyder]

Thanks guys...keep em' coming.I have a little wrench thrown into the works.I brought the black seats home(they are perfect,thanks kmac!),and set them in the car.My wife took one look...and loves the black look.She says dye the door panel and boot black,and leave it like it is!
I did look into covers,but they are all tan .The camel is a much different shade,so I would have to dye the covers!I went by the upholstery shop with a seat ,and he had some great material and ideas.The problem is we are looking at almost $600.I just cant spend that right now.

[WYSpider]

You could buy a couple extra sets of everything. Have a camel set. Have a black set. Have a plaid set. Then tell your wife it is a Fiat barbie.

[ga.spyder]

Hmmmmmmm.......plaid?

[mdrburchette]

Just set the black seats in the car for now. Then you can decide if you like them before you start changing everything over to one color or the other.

[kmac33]

Craig,
Glad to hear the seats look good! I bet if you just have a black top boot, it will look great - even with the 2 tone door panels.

[ga.spyder]

Denise...sorry to break out that old picture My plan is to install the seats,dye my spare torn up boot cover black,and test look/drive it for a while. Rosemarie really likes the interior black,I kind of lean toward the color it is now.But,since I sold her last 2 cars......
Kevin,thanks again! The seats are awesome and I dont doubt you could have gotten a lot more for them.I really appreciate it.

[ga.spyder]

Here are a couple pics with the black seats in,and a hastily dyed black boot cover.I havent dyed the seat back,door panels,or anything else.I want to make a dcision first.

[WYSpider]

Your door panels complement the dash.

[ga.spyder]

I am leaning toward leaving the door panels the way they are.They are already black and tan and I,like you,think they match the wheel and dash.We shall see.

[124JOE]

it looks fine to me
i could live with it

[wikkid]

You'll be wanting Lee Parks gloves to go with that! OK, OK, sothey are motorcycling gloves - they're still cool. I like the two-tone. A lot.