Help with interior trim selection

[440]

I've recently purchased a 69 Charger for which I'm not satisfied with a few things regarding the interior. The interior was originally black and the previous owner had most of it reupholstered in Saddle Tan in 2007. The rest of it was left black. The upper door panels were dyed tan and it appears the prep was pretty poor as some of the tan is starting to flake off in a few places, so I'd rather replace all of the upper panels with proper saddle tan pieces. The dash itself needs to be professionally redyed or repro'd in Saddle.   

From what I can tell most of the interior, seat covers, door panels and carpet are from Legendary. The quality of their seat covers and door panels are pretty impressive.

In short I'm looking to replace/recolor the remaining "black" pieces and would like everything to match in color and in quality. The upper door panels and arm rests are what I'm after straight away

I'm sort of at a loss as to which companies to source parts from. Legendary seems to be the best bet but their upper door panels are also the most expensive of the reproductions. Their front uppers are $475 and rears are $425 while BEA's are only $325 including medallions for front uppers and $295 for rears. I haven't been able to find front and rear saddle armrest pads. 

Anyone have any experiences good or bad with either parts/company/color, or any other sources for Saddle tan upper door panels or other interior trim pieces for that matter?

I'll eventually have to get the front kick panels, A pillar moldings etc dyed, re-trimmed or remolded unless they are offered in saddle. Initially I need the upper door panels to color match to. All of the panels/trim pieces I have are nearly perfect, just black instead of saddle. I can attach a picture of my interior if it helps.
   

[BananaDan]

I'm doing my interior on my 70 right now.  What I have learned is, Legendary is the tops if you want to spend the money.  BEA's upper pads are good and priced better but they don't come in a lot of colors.  If they have the color you want, do it.  I didn't get theirs because my car is coded for a charcoal interior and they don't carry charcoal, but Legendary did.  If you're doing everything in black, BEA's should be fine. I am getting my dashpad from them and have heard good things.  As far as matching in color/quality, the only way to do that is get everything from the same place, or at least the things that will sit near each other.  Like the upper door pads and lower door panels, get them all from either Legendary or BEA, don't mix (if you want the best match).

I got my seat covers, console shell, door panels and door pads from Legendary, and my dashpad and door pad medallions from BEA.

Dan

[Troy]

As for upper door pads, neither are exactly correct. BE&A will tell you this straight up but Legendary will just complain about where the competition is made (my experience so far at every show I've talked to them). Both are better than crusty, cracked, dented, and ripped originals though. I agree that the vinyl color is more likely to match through Legendary but I haven't inspected the tan ones close enough to tell if there would be a problem.

Troy

[440]

Hmmm, Sounds like Legendary is the go at the extra expense. Most of the interior that is saddle is legendary from what I can tell. Unfortunately nothing is cracked, crusty or in bad shape, in fact it's in such good shape I'd say most of it has been replaced with repro, just the wrong color.

The only other option is to send the originals off and have them re-skinned.

I guess it doesn't matter if they are perfectly original or not but it would be nice to have them as close as possible to the originals. 

[BananaDan]

If the saddle ones are in good shape and you're swapping just to get back to charcoal or black, you should be able to sell  your saddle ones for a good price and reclaim some of the cost for the new.  Maybe a General Lee guy would want them.

Dan

[440]

I'm trying to change from Black to Saddle. I assume black is the most common color, I thought about selling the black items to counter some of the outlay for new saddle ones. Either that or have the existing trim dyed, but I'm not sold on the longevity of dyes. I've heard and read that with the right prep dye could have the same lifespan as the original part itself. Also from what I've been told the age of the part has a lot to do with it, the older and more dried out/ brittle the part is then it's less likely that the dye will bond properly and last.

I also came across Just Dashes a while back that rebuilt dashes and pads etc with new foam and re-skinned them with new vacuum formed vinyl. From what I remember regardless of color the initial skin was black vinyl and then color dyed. Wonder if it's the same across the industry?

[BananaDan]

I spoke with Just Dashes for my dash pad, but they wanted $400 and $110 for two-way shipping, so I'm going repro.  You can dye, and I have been told to use SEM's vinyl prep which softens the vinyl to receive the paint/dye.  Herb's Parts makes vinyl/plastic paints that come in all of Mopar's official interior colors.  They have a video about it on their main page.  I haven't used them or spoken to anyone that has used them because they are new, but that could be your cheapest option.

Dan

[440]

I'd rather spend a little bit more and get OEM quality or a better part then buy something a bit cheaper that wont last as long, however, I also think that $475 for a pair of repro front upper door panels is leaning a bit towards robbery. Most repro mirrors and bumpers are a perfect example as the cheap Chinese chrome quality is poor and doesn't hold up well compared to OEM, looks good but doesn't last.

I wonder how far off the BE&A panels are compared to original?

Hopefully someone will comment on here who has used Herbs parts vinyl dyes. I know SEM is the way to go but unfortunately their colors are a bit off. There also isn't a one stop shop for all your interior needs.

I've sent a few feelers out through emails etc about sending in a bunch of parts to be professionally re-colored and the responses have been mixed. I'd rather send everything off and have it all come back matched ready for install rather then get this bit here, that bit there etc. It's giving me a headache trying to figure out which path to pursue. Still waiting on a response from another company to reskin the upper door panels etc. From what I hear their quality is superb but their turnaround time is slow.

Has anyone used the Just Dashes dye kit or is SEM hands down the best?

What would we all do if we couldn't put resources together and learn from each other?     

[BananaDan]

I was talking to Michael at BEA today and  he says his upper door pads are hands-down better than Legendary's.  My issue was his pads don't come in my interior color and I didn't want to dye, I opted for Legendary b/c they produce them in the OEM-correct charcoal color.  Also, realize that Legendary would likely say the same thing about PGC/BEA's pads, so you have to take what these vendors say with a grain of salt.  My choice for Legendary was based on other car owner's recommendation, not what either vendor said about each other's product.

Dan

[jaak]

I know there isn't one locally here, but they are some SEM jobbers out there that actually mix it the color you need and sell it in sprayable quarts (no thinning required), to get factory colors. Might find one online somewhere if there isn't one close.

Jason

[Troy]

The Just Dashes pads are what was available for a long time and, if they were anywhere close to being correct, the other two manufacturers wouldn't have made them. Basically, all three are incorrect in one way or another (I'd say Just Dashes would be the worst when it comes to originality). I'd personally use BE&A for pads but, like I said, I have no idea if their tan would match Legendary's tan. In that case I'd choose Legendary just to avoid the hassle of a mismatch. Yes, the prices are higher and the medallions aren't included but my time is worth something and I hate to do things multiple times.

Troy

[440]

Thanks for all the help and info. I think I'll ring BE&A tomorrow to see if they can send me out a color sample. Seems from what people say the BEA panels are the same as the PG panels found on ebay.

I agree with Troy, I hate doing things multiple times. 

[BananaDan]

PG Classics is the manufacturer, they're based in Canada.  B/E & A sells their stuff, but also has the Pentastar license and puts the Pentastar logo on a lot of their parts.  PGC doesn't have the license, so their prices are a touch lower in some areas and won't have Pentastar logos on them.  B/E & A is based in Ohio. Michael's a good guy, I just bought my dash bezel kits from him today.

Dan

[440]

Well, I spoke with Mike from BE&A for the first time today and I have to say he seems to be the most laid back easy going guy I've spoken to.  

When I asked Mike what shade of tan their pads were he said they were saddle. I also requested a color sample for which he could not supply, he then asked if I could send a photo of my interior. His response was that their tan looks pretty darn close to my interior. Pictures can be deceiving so I'm leery to just jump in and buy the upper door panels and dash pad.

Are the upper door panels supposed to be slightly darker then the lower door panels?

Has anyone seen BE&A's tan pads with/next to a "saddle" interior ?

[BananaDan]

You could always order them and return them if you don't like them and then go with Legendary.  But if they work they'll save you $$.

Dan

[440]

If only it were that easy to send them back if they weren't right. I'm currently in Australia so freight back would be horrendous. Mike said it would only be about $50 to ship the pads out. If I needed to send them back it would be 4x that to send back.

Another thing he mentioned that got me thinking was he said they are the only ones who really do a proper pad instead of cap. I went back to look at Legendary and they are only caps.

I think I'll go with BE&A's upper door panels and dash pad, and everything else will have to be dye matched to those pieces. I'll order the door pads first to see color and if their ok I'll order the dash pad after.

It's a really tidy car but not a concourse car so I guess it will have to do.     

[BananaDan]

Definitely agree on the dash pad, you want BEA/PGC's pad.

[440]

I just ordered both front and rear upper door panels and dash pad as well as a few other fiddly bits, so we'll see in a couple of weeks. When I rang back to order them Mike said they more-so matched the lower panels instead of the uppers, I know the lowers are proper saddle and also match the seats so that was the icing on the cake for me.

Anyone have any pictures of what the correct mirror delete button looks like or should look like?

[440]

Well, I received my catalog from Legendary today and there's a fair bit of good stuff in the catalog.

I noticed they have Kick Panels and A pillar moldings in saddle and am thinking of ordering them. I'll ask for a color sample to see how they match up to the BE&A parts that I've just ordered.

Anyone have any experiences with these pieces from Legendary? Good, bad or indifferent?

[jaak]

Anyone have any pictures of what the correct mirror delete button looks like or should look like?

I have a blue one....

Jason

[440]

Someone put the wrong one/thing in its place on mine then. It has a small medallion that I assume is off another Chrysler. I ordered the BE&A delete button which looks the same, just needs to be painted the right color.

[BananaDan]

Check out Herb's Parts, they have a new line of interior paints that they say are exact matches to all of Mopar's factory interior colors.  Haven't tried them myself but I'm sure the people on this thread would love to hear from the first guinea pig. 



Dan

[440]

Well, today I received my door pads from BE&A and I can say their brown is pretty close to Saddle. Not 100% exact but pretty darn close (just a fraction lighter)... With age they might darken a bit. For the price I'd say their pretty good. I'd like to see a set of Legendary's next to the BE&As to compare. Overall I'm pretty happy with them. The next question is if they fit well. I'll post pics and my thoughts when I install them.

I thought I ordered a dash pad but I guess I didn't, which might be a good thing as everywhere I read none of the repops are long enough and leave gaps at the edges. I'll ring BE&A and if they are too short I'll send mine off to get redone.

I also received some front armrest pads from BE&A and they claim theirs are the softest. Whatever is in my car is softer yet again. I think I'll have to order a set of rears as the grain is slightly different to the existing ones.

[440]

I just got off the phone with Mike from BE&A regarding the dash pads for 69 chargers. I asked about the pads being short and gaps between the end of the pad and the A pillar moldings, his response was that this was the first he's heard of it. I know BananaDan is at roughly the same spot with dash pads and according to Mike they are the same dimensions as originals, so if your car has an original with a metal frame and it's fine then theirs will too, otherwise if yours has a gap ironically theirs will be too...

I just ordered one based on their upper door pads so fingers crossed it's the same  

[BananaDan]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,78522.0.html

Dan