Interior, How Far To Restore?

[dirtrack49]

Hi all, I have a 1966 or maybe 65 230SL that I acquired from the second owner with 76k miles. The vehicle is in nearly all original condition, which includes oxidized paint, cracked leather seats, and maybe a somewhat questionable repaint on the right rear panel.

From what I can gleam from the vehicles records, it has sat for well over 15 years.

When I first got to work on it, I spent my time reviving all of the mechanical aspects of the car. Now that it is running well, I need to consider what to do about the cosmetics.

I have come to a preliminary conclusion that this car will remain an unrestored driver.

I need to restore the seats at a minimum to make this vehicle comfortable to drive. All the interior dash pieces, as well as the rest of the interior leather, has faded considerably from the original cream color that it once was.

I believe that the closest color that now matches the rest of the interior is MBZ parchment.

My question is, should I just go ahead and restore the seats in parchment, or go back to the original color of cream in hopes that I might someday revive the rest of the interior in the same?

And yes, I am aware that nobody produces my original color as an aftermarket company. Therefore, part of my dilemma.

TIA
Tom L.
66 230SL

[Jonny B]

Tom,

Can you post some photos of the current condition of the leather? It would help to see what the cracks look like. With the light colors it may be kind of difficult to get a good shot of the fading.

However, the leather can be redid, with surprisingly good results.

I have a 1970 280 SL, with the original interior surfaces - red leather. The tops of the door cards are faded and there are faded spots on the leather seats (and the carpets). But the overall condition is excellent. I am just keeping them cleaned and treated.

I did get the seat pads replaced, which made a world of difference.

[dirtrack49]

Hi Jonny,

Thanks for the input. The seats are beyond saving. They are split open in several places from lack of upkeep. The splits are several inches long and had actually been taped together with duck tape! The seats are currently covered in early 70's fitted sheepskins. The sheep skins look so period, they are kind of cool. Funny, years ago, I always hated the look, but now I think I will have them dry cleaned and put new elastic hold downs on them.

The dash and door panels are badly faded with the drivers side panel worn through from using as a shoulder rest. However, with a lot of cleaning and applying leather conditioner, I have been able to save a good portion of the inside. At least enough to be serviceable for a driver.

I will try to get some pics posted to give folks a better idea of what I am dealing with.

Tom L.

[dirtrack49]

Here are some pics.

[dirtrack49]

And some more. Sorry, not so good with photo attachments!

[Jonny B]

Well, those seats do appear to be in a rather difficult state! Before scrapping the whole lot, I would suggest you speak with a pro upholstery outfit. They might be able to save parts of the covering.

My friend's car (it had vinyl seats) had a hole completely through the drivers side, seat back, left side bolster. The upholstery shop he used was able to replace just that section. It was not a perfect match, but he was not interested in a complete/concours restoration. It works for him and looks pretty good. He also had the piping around the seat replaced. Quite serviceable.

Dyeing of the seats would possibly work and that would render a match.

Replacing the basket weave section would be problematic as it is difficult to find the proper pattern.

The holes in the dash from the tonneau cover pins? (that is my guess on the pins sticking from the top) would be a problem.

On a plus note, the glovebox fit looks about as good as I have seen.

BTW - what is the small plate just below the radio face?

[Pawel66]

"Fasten Seat Belts".

I think the set up of your wiper blades contradicts the theory that the passenger side wiper should be above the driver's side wiper...

[dirtrack49]

Thanks Jonny and Pawel,

Yes, Pawel is correct, the plate or decal below the radio is "Fasten Seat Belts."

Pawel, very observant. I have never used the wipers since I need to get some refills. I will turn them around.

I have given replacement of some parts of the seats consideration. I think I will take it to an upholstery shop and see what they think. Might be easier versus replacement of the entire seat. I will need to take a closer look to see how much is salvageable.

Thanks again,
Tom L.
66 230SL

[merrill]

hi have a similar situation on my 66 230.

The interior is navy blue which I want to change to  parchment and light tan carpet.    The leather seats are totaled and the dash covering is gone.
my plan is to re do everything in MB tex.     

I am not concerned about originality since the car should be the creme white and was re sprayed in the pure white 40 years ago.
also, this is a family car so it will not be sold.

matt

[doitwright]

hi have a similar situation on my 66 230.

The interior is navy blue which I want to change to  parchment and light tan carpet.    The leather seats are totaled and the dash covering is gone.
my plan is to re do everything in MB tex.     

I am not concerned about originality since the car should be the creme white and was re sprayed in the pure white 40 years ago.
also, this is a family car so it will not be sold.

matt

Matt,

Is your interior currently MB Tex? If so, when doing your dash, my understanding is you will not have material to remove. You will apply new material over the existing padded components. If your interior is leather, you will remove the existing leather and if done so carefully, can use the pieces as templates.

 I just ordered a leather interior today. This is after I had already installed new MB Tex seat covers and MB Tex material in place of what was originally leather. I did this because my original leather seats  were dark brown (also trashed) and I thought Cognac was a good combination with my light ivory (670) exterior. Had I not decided to do a full restoration and change my body color, I would have stayed with the MB Tex. It stretched just enough to produce excellent results on the dash pieces and I felt comfortable doing it myself. Also cheaper. With the color change of the body and doing the full restoration, plans have changed with the interior. Now going red leather. Not sure how much I will do myself since I recently met an outstanding interior guy who years ago did many W113's. Keep in mind that there are also pieces like the glove box, rear pillars, wind laces and door handles that will require sewing.

[specracer]

Might I ask which supplier you chose?

I just ordered a leather interior today. .

[114015]

Hello Tom,

Your question sounds so familar to me. 

Beautiful leather you have got - if it wasn't cracked.

Your interior color is not parchment but something else. White grey or light grey or so. There were about 23 different leather colors available for the 230 SL in the old days, e.g. among those at least four red shades.
What does your data card say in field/box no. "17 Ausstattung" (= interior trim code)? 207, 209, 219 or 221 or what else?

See also here:
https://www.sl113.org/wiki/DataCard/UpholsteryCodes

Basically,
 your interior can be rescued but it will be a long and tough story. 
Basically you need to replace  all broken parts (the outer bottoms of the seats or the inner perforated pipes on the other seat) with "as close as possible" "donor" leather you can find.
That "could" be either new one or parts from interiors of donor cars; i.e. old W108 or W111 interiors.
Colors could be slightly different from the donor interiors but should be "lighter" since it is very hard to redye leather from a darker to a lighter color.
There is a lot of effort, finding for the suitable donor parts, etc. and especially a strong will of your own necessary to go this route - which I think is worth it.
Old classic leather looks best in our cars; I personally find (brand) new leather with too coarse surfaces, flat shine and wrong (only standard available) colors ugly in our cars.

However, be aware that most interior shops are not keen doing this kind of job.     Most refuse that task or only want "to sell" you everything "brand new" because that is the much easier way for them, provides the best (most perfect looking) result and will not provide them with "bad experiences" of cracking old leather during the re-sewing process.

So..., it's all up to you.

This is what original leather can look like (not mine) - only carefully re-done.

Good luck, go that route & keep us updated !

Best,
Achim

[dirtrack49]

Achim, that is a novel idea that I had never given any thought to. I had been thinking that I would simply replace the entire seat in new leather. But now I am thinking repair, although that maybe extensive.

The original color of the interior is 209 Cream. You can see the difference in places like the glove box which is several shades deeper and more tan color than the part of the interior that has been exposed to sunlight. Most of the interior pieces are still in decent condition with the exception that some spots like on the dash have worn areas that show the underlying base leather. In other words, there are spots that have had the original cream color dye removed.

The thinking behind the "new" replacement of the leather in "parchment" was that the surrounding leather had faded out considerably. If I were to replace the seat covers in parchment, I might be able to dye them to match the existing leather on the rest of the car. The only other alternative that I had considered, was to replace all of the leather in an entirely new color.

Time to reevaluate.

Tom L.
230SL

[mbzse]

.../...that is a novel idea that I had never given any thought to. I had been thinking that I would simply replace the entire seat in new leather. But now I am thinking repair.../...

Once the leather fitted at the factory in Sindelfingen has been torn out of the car, the originality is gone...
This posting has the same built-in message
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=24624.msg176368#msg176368
 

[doitwright]

Might I ask which supplier you chose?

I chose to go with German Auto Tops (GAT). Several members here have purchased from John the owner and were satisfied by his follow-up with answering questions, providing samples and dealing with issues. I am going with red leather but waiting for a sample of Old Timer Red. Veterans seems to be a common supplier for most interior providers.

I think Heritage Trim puts out a nice product. He has several videos where he will wall you through what you can expect from him. Keep in mind, most suppliers will provide hide leather and you do the cutting. Heritage will precut the material and also offer labor services if you need a dash or glove box done. Their videos were quite compelling but when comparing the cost to GAT I just could not justify the cost. If I were not the DIY type, Heritage might have been the way to go.

GAHH was quick to provide samples, but a little more $$ than GAT.

Also, in my case, I am doing some unique customizations and John at GAT assured me that would not be a problem.

[specracer]

Thank you for the detailed response, Ill be starting the resurrection of a new to me SL that's been off the road for 5+ years, and the interior has been in need of attention for probably 20. Our interior is black, so a bit simpler than selecting a shade of red or parchment. Will start with seats and a deep cleaning, and see where the path takes me.

[merrill]

Frank
hi,
my 230 has leather seats and dash panels.

the rest of the car is MB tex.   Not sure if this is normal.

anyway,  m plan is to replace the entire interior with MB tex   tan-ish carpet and everything else parchment

Matt