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MG MGA - Interior Colours

The end of my rebuild is in sight and I am now looking at the interior. Having obtained samples of leather etc from a number of MGA interior suppliers the chosen colour of red seems to vary from bright scarlet to a dark maroon. Was there an MGA colour reference (or some other way of identifying the colour) for the interior as for the body colour? The hood which will be grey is easier and the colour variances are not as great.
P B Chappell

Hi, According to "Original MGA" by Clausager, there is a note in the Colour Schemes section at the back that lists some colour codes. For Connolly leather, the reference code is "Red 3365". The ICI reference code for Vynide leathercloth is "Red RE.138". Hope that helps.
Bobby

The original red upholstery in my black 1500 wasn't restorable so I took it all out--seats, cockpit rail covering, etc.
Especially on vinyl peices, any material that had been covered, and not exposed to light and soiling, was a bright, clear, deep cherry-red, whether it was from a door panel or a piece of c-pit rail trim.
Where old, exposed vinyl and leather had weathered, it had discolored considerably. The vinyl had darkeded towards maroon. Looked like the red color component was more fugitive in light than some blue element. The leather had darkened to a redish-brown
The red leather and vinyl replacement I got from Moss at the time, maybe the late 90's, was not close to the original--it was a mahogany, brownish-red that looked like they duplicated the color of weathered material. It isn't a bad color, but it is quite subdued.
I think they have a choice of 2 reds now, and I'm pretty sure others have a cherry-red, too.
I wish I'd waited. The brighter red is quite striking with the black paint.
John Vallely


John Vallely

I have a 60 MGA, Dove Grey with an original interior,It is definetly bright red not the reddish burgundy that you seem to see alot of.I can E-mail photos if that would help. Duncan
A Dickinson

Contact Newton Commercial - they make VERY nice interior stuff for the MGA, even if it isn't listed on their website. Several prominent UK suppliers source their interiors from Newton.

If you want a special colour, try Moto-Build

My original seats are a very bright red.
dominic clancy

I think John V has hit the nail on the head - it is difficult to actually see what the original red actually was - weathering and fading all take their toll. My black car has , I think, the original red leather but I am sure it's not the same colour as it was in 1960.The same with photos - you will never get a true reproduction of the actual colour from a photo. I saw an ebay auction recently for an original brochure of a colour chart of paint and interior colours - which might just give a clue - but who knows if those colours have faded over the years. Your best bet is as you have done, to get samples from different suppliers & go to a couple of shows/club meets and compare to see which you like best = - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Not only that Cam but the colour Abingdon were putting in their cars one week would be totally different the next! Even with todays technology leather companies state to buy ALL your interior at the same time from the same batch otherwise shades would DEFINATELY vary. Thus in the 60s the differencies week to week would probably have been enormous.
Bob (robert) yes I own an MG Dwarf!

Thanks for the information - I think I am going for a poppy red which against the OEW body should look stunning. I am likely to get the covers etc from Bob West, but haven't received the colour samples yet.

This is worse than trying to agree the house decorating colours with my other half!

Duncan a photo would be appreciated. Peter
P B Chappell

Peter,
Don't try to agree,
Just nod your head and bite your lip!

Cheers,
Rich
Rich McKIe

This thread was discussed between 19/01/2007 and 21/01/2007

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