'55 Coupe Continental Interior Conundrums

[Anthony Duncan]

Good Evening, Howdy, G'day....

I'm a long time lurker here on the registry site - having been a member & 356 owner since I bought my ’55 Continental Coupe in April 2000. It was a runner/driver when I bought it, and has remained so (some years more than others) during my ownership. The bodywork wasn't great when I bought the car, and it gently declined to a point where I could no longer ignore the issues. I finally decided to have the bodywork attended to this winter. Dave Clark (Ringwood, Hampshire) performed his usual miracles once again (not his first 356 rodeo) to bring the metalwork back up to a standard deserving of the car.

The car is now in the hands of a local painter being prep'd prior to painting in its’ original colour, 5406 Silver. The interior also needs a light refresh - again I’m aiming for the original colours (red leatherette with corduroy inserts). (Seats & door cards will stay as-is, with just a few gentle repairs)

And that really brings me to the point of this post. Over the years I've seen several members posting about various aspects of the restorations of their early cars, but I can't recall seeing anything definitive re the colours of both the carpet & headliner. The carpet in my car was a cheaper (red) replacement when I bought the car - so I don’t have any original carpet to help me. The headliner had also been replaced with a perforated vinyl, also in red, so again, I don’t have any original headliner to base my decisions on.

I have not yet ordered a Kardex, but I intend to. I believe my car was a Hoffman car and have heard that the Kardex details for Hoffman cars may well be a little light. I do have a CoA but of course, that provides limited info.

Years ago, whilst in LA for the LIT show & swap-meet - I picked up a synthetic headliner from Autos Intl in grey. But now that I’ve gone as far as I have with the bodywork & the car is soon to be painted, I’m starting to get cold feet & am wondering whether to source a more authentic fabric/headliner. I’m also unsure now whether it should be arey or a beige/sand colour.

For the carpet, is sounds like oatmeal was the default & that is probably what I’ll go for - unless the Kardex says different.

For both the carpet & the headliner I’d be very interested to hear from those members that have wrestled with similar decisions and how you went about making that decision. I’m planning to order a carpet kit & possibly the headliner in the next few weeks & it’ll more than likely be from Autos Intl.

Apologies for the long post, thanks for reading & I look forward to hearing from you.

Anthony Duncan

’55 Coupe

[Alan Hall]

I doubt the kardex will add much, if any, additional information that will help. A better bet would be to get the Reutter data that is available from Europe, I don't recall the details but if you search the forum I am sure you will find how to order one. They have detailed information on what the original interior materials and colors were.

[Jim Wayman]

The headliner should be a "fuzzy" wool material that was originally supplied by Happich. My guess is that your car would have had it in gray. The Kardex probably would not provide information on the headliner, but the Reutter Certificate of Production would. Autos International can supply a material that is visually close to the original.

Jim Wayman
'55 Continental Coupe

[George Kehler]

The website is Erlkoenig-Classic.de. It is definitely worth purchasing before you proceed further.

[Martin Benade]

Is that Reuter certificate something newly available? I never heard of it until the last couple of years.

[Spencer Harris]

I doubt the kardex will add much, if any, additional information that will help. A better bet would be to get the Reutter data that is available from Europe, I don't recall the details but if you search the forum I am sure you will find how to order one. They have detailed information on what the original interior materials and colors were.

Anthony,
The Kardex will likely only give you the code for the original color scheme: 5406A or 5406B for a '55 silver coupe. The Reutter certificate will as Alan notes give you more specifics for the carpet and headliner. I think oatmeal came along a few years later than '55. Your headliner would likely be tan wool "mouse fur" and the carpet tan square weave. This Reutter certificate is for my '53 shown for example. The photos are of my August '55 coupe color code 5401B (upgraded to leather).

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[Anthony Duncan]

Thanks All for your replies - I do very much appreciate you all taking the time to read & respond.

I had thought about the Reutter certificate, but I've allowed the cost to put me off thus far. Maybe I should reconsider - especially as the Kardex arrived today & contained very little info as suspected. Still, it is nice to have it :

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Spencer - thank you for posting your pics. Your post alone is almost enough to persuade me to plump for the Reutter certificate... Not least because you've suggested a carpet colour other than oatmeal & a headliner colour other than grey - both of which appear to be the 'default'. The Reutter certificate/book itself looks beautiful - but one thing that I noticed is that there doesn't appear to be a 'name' associated with each material, ie I might have expected to see the carpet called tan or oatmeal - but perhaps that is me missing the point. I also notice that your beautiful '55 has a tan headliner (mouse fur is a new one to me!)... and I presume tan carpet? They both look great & seem to work perfectly together.

Jim - I don't suppose you'd care to share a few pics or details of your car?

Again, thanks to all that have responded,

Anthony

[Dennis Molnar]

It sounds like your car may be a twin to my car. Check our the photos on a post I made.

Dennis
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36773&p=219059&hilit=1955#p219059

[Spencer Harris]

The Reutter certificate/book itself looks beautiful - but one thing that I noticed is that there doesn't appear to be a 'name' associated with each material, ie I might have expected to see the carpet called tan or oatmeal - but perhaps that is me missing the point. I also notice that your beautiful '55 has a tan headliner (mouse fur is a new one to me!)... and I presume tan carpet? They both look great & seem to work perfectly together.

I should've posted this page of the Reutter certificate as well that gives names & colors including as Jim points out the Happich supplied headliner material. I've known a couple of upholstery guys who used mouse fur to describe the old-style fuzzy material versus the newer perforated style headliners. Again this cert is for my '53 cab, so it has a few additional line items. I've owned the '55 coupe since 1972 so I had the benefit of original upholstery, tan headliner and tan carpet to match when I restored it. I don't have a Reutter cert for the '55, only a Kardex.

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[Spencer Harris]

It sounds like your car may be a twin to my car. Check our the photos on a post I made.

Dennis
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36773&p=219059&hilit=1955#p219059

Your car is gorgeous Dennis

[Spencer Harris]

Your headliner would likely be tan wool "mouse fur" and the carpet tan square weave.

I just looked at Dennis' photos again and see he has grey headliner and (I think) grey carpet. Both my 53 and 55 are black over red, so I guess I've never seen gray headliners - at least not for a long time! It does look stunning with the grey cord inserts! Anthony, you may want to pick up a carpet sample card from Stoddard before you make your final decision.

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[Dennis Molnar]

My carpet is gray. All the interior materials and colors match the remnants of the original material that were still present in the car when I got it. Knobs were all gray along with the steering wheel. Dash and trim rails were all graphite metallic ( Dark Gray)

[Spencer Harris]

Well, it's drop-dead gorgeous.
Two questions Dennis: what is the rectangular slot in the drip tray on the rear deck lid & are the mirrors Lucas brand?

[Dennis Molnar]

They are Lucas wing mirrors . They were originally on the car. I have seen these mirrors in many Pre-A photos. The slot in the drip tray is a mystery. It appears to have been made with a punch as it is perfectly formed with a circular middle and square ends. Almost like for a lock or other device to fit in . It took out one of the three serial number digits stamped in the panel .

[James Davies]

My '53 coupe has the grey headliner, same as Denis' car. It's not wool felt. It is cotton flannel twill. Mouse fur is a good description.

Get the Reutter certificate. It will be worth it, as it will answer the questions that you are asking definitively.