I'm doing a "Sympathetic Restoration" on my 63' SC. Very little rust in the front interior floor pan. No other rust!
I just finished the front-end and the back-end bumpers, external lights and chrome. (See photos above)
- The short history is that I purchased the car this year, it was painted sometime in the past 35 years and never was put back together (Paint is kind of rough in some areas). All the parts were in boxes and labeled. The engine, transmission and body are original matching numbers and have never been out of the car as far as I can tell. All the suspension and drive train are intact. Original wheels dated 7/63 and tires are date coded 10-1974.
Last State sheriff inspection date = Dec. 75'.
- I'm replacing/restoring everything that is bad including the carpet. Since the car was painted a different color (Orig. Color = Champaigne Yellow) (New Color = Ivory Light, German original color for a 63') the car is already not completely original/stock. The seats are in great condition and original.
All that in mind, for the purists out there, should I replace the carpet with the original color?
Car Original Info:
- 1963 - 356C/SC Karmann Coupe
External Color: Champaigne Yellow (Now, Ivory Light)
Carpet Color: Dark Blue
Interior Color: Black Seats, doors panels, etc...
Headliner Color: White
I was going to purchase the Charcoal Black Carpet German Weave from H&K, (Which I think looks very nice with the other black interior items, (I received a sample of it and the dark blue), but after reading about some restoration processes out there and them talking about keeping the original interior aluminum thresholds, speakers, knobs, etc..., I'm leaning towards putting the original carpet color back in and keeping some of the "not so nice" items just because they are original. I haven't started on the brakes, suspension or engine yet.
Any thoughts out there?
Thx -Monte