W123 interior colour expertise sought! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

KAdams4458 · #1 01-30-2009, 12:01 AM

I'm about to go completely crazy trying to figure out what the colour of the salvaged interior pieces are that I'm slowly piecing together. The other day I pulled all of the MB-Tex seats out of an 81 240D. The donor car was manufacturered on 01/81, and the VIN is WDBAB23A4BB241225 manufactured 01/81. The Russian VIN site suggests interior colour code is 134 - an unknown colour.

The upholstery page at astralsilber.de ( http://www.astralsilber.de/polsterungen/polsterungen.htm ) suggests that colour code 134 spans only from September of 1979 through August of 1982. These new-to-me seats exactly match the set of door panels that I pulled from an '81 300D over a year ago, which I could also never identify.

I have no idea if these are "palomino" or not. I've seen verified palomimo interiors in both an '84 and an '85 W123 in person, and they both looked much darker than the door panels and seats that I have.

Anyone out there with an '80-'82 model year W123 with varified palomino interior want to post a photo for me, of help shed some light on this?

I'm including a photo of the passenger seat I picked up. It's a bit dirty as you can see, but you should still be able to get an idea of colour.

MBeige · #2 01-30-2009, 03:21 AM

134 means it's Palomino. The 3 indicates it's an earlier version of Palomino. Mine is also Palomino but 154 (1983 model).

1 means it's MB Tex as well. Leather started with 2. If that were leather it would have been 234.

http://www.jjproducts.net/jj_products_htm/products/Mercedes/ColorChart.html

Cal Learner · #3 01-30-2009, 08:34 AM

What MBeige said. Later version (my 1988 W124) palomino is 174. But I have to agree that the seat in the photo is a long ways from any palomino I've ever seen; more like beige.

deanyel · #4 01-30-2009, 09:19 AM

134 is light brown - not even close to palamino.

KAdams4458 · #5 01-30-2009, 09:30 AM

Well, then I'm not loosing my mind. This early version of palomino must not have been as common as the later, darker versions. It's no wonder I have never received a material sample that matched it! The companies that offer replacement MB upholstery all seem to simply ignore this version!

Back when I started picking up parts in this colour, I thought for sure I was doing myself a favour by picking what must have been a popular colour. So much for that idea! Finding the one seat bottom I need in order to have a completely perfect set of seats may prove difficult.

KAdams4458 · #6 01-30-2009, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanyel

134 is light brown - not even close to palamino.

Oops, your post came in before I had posted my last one. What is this light brown? I see no reference to any MB-Tex colour in the brown range at all besides the palomino for the '80 - '82 model years.

deanyel · #7 01-30-2009, 10:06 AM

Couple of websites that might be helpful:

http://www.amcon-luxled.com/mbcar/index.html

http://www.veteranco.com/

Probably better to just dye the whole interior.

KAdams4458 · #8 01-30-2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanyel

Couple of websites that might be helpful:

http://www.amcon-luxled.com/mbcar/index.html

http://www.veteranco.com/

Probably better to just dye the whole interior.

Ooh, that amcon site is a new one to me. I'll add it to my collection. Thanks!

You're right about recolouring, and it is unavoidable to a certain extent. I will be having some vinyl and plastic paint custom mixed for several bits and pieces by the time I am done. The soft MB-Tex is problematic, as is really not a solid colour, so spraying a fresh coat on things like the seats will take away much of the original depth. Unless, that is, I can develop a method for applying flecks of a darker colour or two on top of a solid base colour to better mimic the original appearance. Maybe I could cut the vinyl paint with a low flash thinner and mist a very thin coat on from a greater distance. I have bigger fish to fry at this point, but eventually I'll try to work something out.

Cal Learner · #9 02-04-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanyel

Couple of websites that might be helpful:

http://www.amcon-luxled.com/mbcar/index.html

http://www.veteranco.com/

Probably better to just dye the whole interior.

It's my impression that trim codes change over the years and refer to different color palattes at different periods in history. The upholstery listing shown in the amcon website is not correct for all periods, as the "light tan" designation for 174 does not fit my 1988 W124. Code 174 in my car officially refers to Safron in Euro models and called Palomino on USA versions. Just something to be aware of when doing research on older model cars.

MBeige · #10 02-04-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cal Learner

It's my impression that trim codes change over the years and refer to different color palattes at different periods in history. The upholstery listing shown in the amcon website is not correct for all periods, as the "light tan" designation for 174 does not fit my 1988 W124. Code 174 in my car officially refers to Safron in Euro models and called Palomino on USA versions. Just something to be aware of when doing research on older model cars.

Exactly, other markets used different names for the same upholstery type.

Those used in the w124 do not apply directly to the w123, but they're close. The palomino equivalent (java) in a w124 is a shade different.

bgkast · #11 02-07-2009, 03:05 AM

I had a '79 with a palomino interior and it was much darker than that. That looks like 'bamboo' to me

MBeige · #12 02-07-2009, 03:15 AM

The 79 palomino versions were called tobacco, it's a darker shade of w123 palomino. These came together with the pointed headrests and a different pleat design for the seats.

So rule of thumb is if you're getting parts from another car even if it's the same chassis might as well get from the same model year to be safe.

Then again fading from sun exposure and (ab)use also takes its toll...

KAdams4458 · #13 02-07-2009, 07:04 AM

Not bamboo. Bamboo didn't "exist" after the pointy headrest era.

These are the original bamboo seats from my '77.

And a bamboo door panel from '77.

Compared to the door panels from what apparently turns out to be Palomino from an '81.

For the record, this is a tobacco seat, from a '79 with a bamboo armrest. (My temporary seat constructed from a tobacco 240D passenger seat.)

sd300td · #14 02-18-2009, 11:58 PM

I have an '82 with palamino interior. Based on this website:

http://www.jjproducts.net/jj_product...olorChart.html

You've got a creme or creme beige seat from 1979-1992. I have an off color driver side map pocket which is either creme or creme beige installed on the wagon. Been looking for the right palamino color map pocket for quite some time; just know that your seat looks to be the same color as my map pocket, i.e. not palamino.

KAdams4458 · #15 02-19-2009, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sd300td

I have an '82 with palamino interior. Based on this website:

http://www.jjproducts.net/jj_product...olorChart.html

You've got a creme or creme beige seat from 1979-1992. I have an off color driver side map pocket which is either creme or creme beige installed on the wagon. Been looking for the right palamino color map pocket for quite some time; just know that your seat looks to be the same color as my map pocket, i.e. not palamino.

See, that just confuses me even more. On that site, I agree that the colour samples seem to suggest that Palomino in '81 was much darker than the seats that I have. To make things really interesting, the colour code that I pulled from the seat donor was 134, and the site you linked to indicates that code 134 is Palomino! Argh!

Maybe the Russian VIN site is wrong, and the donor car didn't have a 134 interior.

I'm about to just start calling it creamomino

I just looked at the interior of your wagon, and for sure, it looks to have a lot more red in it than my interior does. Your mismatched door pocket is visible, and I agree that it looks more like a match for my car. (When you finally find a Palomino door pocket, you now know who to sell your mis-matched one to!)