White interior?

[24 Ounces]

Ok...new to the forum and have a question...is a white interior worth keeping? I must admit that with my limited 240Z experience I have seen few cars with white interiors and lots with black ones. My personal preference is a black interior, but I am also a "purist" (previous experience with Camaros and Mustangs...please don't hate me) and am leaning towards the white interior if it can be resurrected to look showroom new once more. The current interior looks like hell...white vinyl on the tunnel is streaked with brown, buckets are shot, and the rear plastic trim is basically tan and falling apart. Can the white vinyl pieces still be sourced, or can black pieces be dyed or painted to look halfway decent? I have already spent about $500 on Ebay buying black pieces and buckets, but they can be resold to recoup most of my outlay. The headliner is in great shape, and the door panels are only needing the chrome srips redone. My '72 is an original paint code 110 (red-orange), and I see that it is one of the few colors a white interior could be purchased with. I do not plan to have a concours car, but rather a very nice driver for shows and Sundays...it doesn't have to be perfect. Gentlemen, is a white interior worth saving?

[ChrisZ]

Of course it is, you can get almost all the black pieces you want as nepro from the vendors.

I have butterscotch and love it, only advantage i see in black is the avalability.

Chris

[Gary in NJ]

My car originally came with a white interior. The PO installed a black interior and I really wish he didn't. A white interior is a unique as the car itself (more so in NJ then OR).

If I was building a project from scratch (which I hope to soon), I'd choose butterscotch or tan. So white wouldn't be my first choice.

[Bonzi Lon]

The plastic panels in my 73 looked just like yours, until I sprayed them with SEM Vinyl Dye '15103 Super White', they turned out great. Covers well, very tough.

The staining on the tunnel is from the interaction of the glue and the fake jute / fake horse hair insulation under the vinyl. It may get destroyed when you take the vinyl off. The vinyl on mine was not as bad and cleaned up fairly well, but does not match the plastic. In time the rest of the interior will get SEM'd. (Still up in the air: white seats? or black seats?)

The least expensive route to go, or think about. Use your black buckets and SEM the plastic & vinyl on the white parts, may not need to do the headliner. The blue plastic strip could be done in the exterior color. Just a thought.

Bonzi Lon

[Travel'n Man]

I have used the SEM Dye in the past and it is excellent - it will not peel - scrape - flake. It is a great bond just so you prep it correctly. Keep the temp up and have fun!

[24 Ounces]

Guys, thanks for the great advice. Another question...does anyone produce really nice white bucket seat kits that look factory correct? Is there a good source for the white vinyl diamond pieces? I will have to replace several of the rear plastic pieces due to brittleness from sun exposure (this car spent its life in CA, WY, TX, and SC...first owner was a USAF officer who was at several duty stations before moving back home to SC). I would like to keep everything as factory correct as possible (probably including the 4-speed and the rev-happy 2.4). BTW, there is no "Z clunk" in the rear-end:)...good, yes?

[IdahoKidd]

Hi 24,

My opinion, and I am biased. Absolutely keep the white! 110 color code and white interior; nothing finer! (I have two of these cars). I recently bought as new reproduction every single piece of the white to go into the car I am restoring-refreshing. I purchased the plastics from Les Cannady at Classic Datsun and the seat coves, vinyl, head liner from Motorsports. I am VERY pleased with both. The 72's have an "white" and the later have an "off white" which DO NOT MATCH. Even though I bought from two vendors, the colors were a perfect match. You can't tell the seat covers from the orignals. The plastics were all black and were painted, but they are that way in my original car too. I bought new because they were so brittle and had bits and pieces broken away.

I'd be happy to share experiences and photos if you want to send a PM. Contrats on the car by the way, and welcome!

Leonard

[24 Ounces]

Leonard:

I saw your Z for sale in the classifieds...a beautiful car (and amazing mileage!). I will contact Les and get the seat covers first. My car's door panles are nearly perfect...they just need the chrome strips redone. I will post photos as the work prgresses.

Alex

[IdahoKidd]

It amazes me, I haven't gotten a single response on the car. I drove it last night to an out of town banquet. Awesome. If I didn't have both cars, I wouldn't try to sell this one. And still may not. I know I'll never find another like it. Even my 'pretty' one won't be the same as an "original one". I even have the original steel wheels and hubcaps (in well above average condition). Guess it is too much money?

Les has great stuff and my experience is pretty much the same as everyone else. He isn't the greatest communicator. I'd still absolutely work with him, just be prepared to accept it won't be overnight. Or two. Or three.

[Arne]

Guys, thanks for the great advice. Another question...does anyone produce really nice white bucket seat kits that look factory correct? Is there a good source for the white vinyl diamond pieces? I will have to replace several of the rear plastic pieces due to brittleness from sun exposure (this car spent its life in CA, WY, TX, and SC...first owner was a USAF officer who was at several duty stations before moving back home to SC). I would like to keep everything as factory correct as possible (probably including the 4-speed and the rev-happy 2.4). BTW, there is no "Z clunk" in the rear-end:)...good, yes?

Classic Datsun Motorsports (aka CDM, http://classicdatsun.com/ ) has white seat covers, replacement foam, diamond trim and replacement plastic all listed on their website.

I've not seen their white seat covers in person, but I have seen theirs in black, and they were a near perfect match to my originals. When I do replace mine, those are what I'll use. I imagine that the rest of the parts are probably of equal quality.

[Arne]

It amazes me, I haven't gotten a single response on the car. I drove it last night to an out of town banquet. Awesome. If I didn't have both cars, I wouldn't try to sell this one. And still may not. I know I'll never find another like it. Even my 'pretty' one won't be the same as an "original one". I even have the original steel wheels and hubcaps (in well above average condition). Guess it is too much money?

I don't think so. The price is right in the ball park. I think the issue is two things - one is the Northern Idaho location. The other is that - despite the fact that we all look at them, I don't think our classifieds here are widely read. For parts and such, they are a great deal. But for entire cars - maybe not so much. Have you posted it any where else?

[CDM]

Thanks for the kind words I think!! My apologies for both being slow to communicate and slow on some of the items. Being a smaller shop I cannot afford to inventory everything in every color and hope that someday I may sell it. Which leaves us dealing with vendors who also do not communicate well with us sometimes to tell us they are moving the factory and will be down for 6 weeks. All in all I try to create the best stuff possible and only stuff I would use on my restorations is what I would consider selling to my customers. We have been through a tough many months since thanksgiving when I nearly lost my sister and then lost an uncle 2 days after christmas and my aunt on feb 4th so all is better now and I will empty my answer machine and try to catch your calls as we finish a new orange 72 240Z.

Les