81 T/A INTERIOR PANEL COLORS
 

81 SE T/A,camel interior,was there this much difference in the camel colors on interior parts??

Even when new, the camel tan parts had slight variations of color. Your dry-rotted interior only enhances the differences (each part fades different than the other depending on the amount of sunlight exposure). The only way to achieve a perfect match is to use the same dye for all the interior parts. If you plan to restore your existing interior, I would replace the plastic panels. Panels that have seen as much sun damage as yours become brittle and "chalky". If found the SEM Camel Tan (available through Eastwood, part #15137) to be the best match and quality. Stay away from the Classic Industries OER paints (crap). Be sure to buy the plastic paint prep kit as well.

My observation is that the Tan/Camel/Saddle colors used on Firebird & T/A interiors were different for almost every year.
76/77 was very pale light brown/beige
78 was Ist year of Camel.
79/80 was just a few shades different than 78
81 (your interior) was actually called Doeskin (by Pontiac)
You'll notice that there is NO orange in the color like the 78- 80 Camel Tan.
The SEM Camel rattle can that TransAm525 mentions is a near PERFECT match to 78 Camel Tan but wouldn't work for your 81.
Your interior color is often referred to as the "chocolate & peanutbutter" interior because of the colors used on the dash/console & seats/panels.
If you take your interior trim code from your cowl tag into a SEM distributer,he can mix an exact match for you.
Make sure you clean EVERYTHING with silicone,wax & grease remover prior to painting.
An adhesion promotor should be used for the hard plastic parts.
Have Fun!

Doeskin is right,i plan on buying new panels or paint the good ones i have.Thanks for the info guys.The dash and console and wheel are dark also,like stated above.

What is the name for that seat material?

I have those in black, but cannot find it anywhere. The most popular catalogs do not list it.

The material is known as Hobnail. And you are correct, most suppliers do not carry it. You will need to find an upholstery shop and have them look for it.

Apparently the "81's do not have Hobnail, but use Pimlico cloth. This according to firebirdcrazy1959 in the PY Stuff forum, where they are announcing the availability of a new Hobsnail supplier.

There is a guy in my car club that just got a new Pimilco cloth interior, but it was the Camel interior colour.

Quality was quite good, not quite the same thickness but close.

Hi guys, I post here every now and then, but mostly on TAC.. so for those that do not know, I work auto upholstery for a living.

Having said that, The 81 fabrics are unique cause they were a one year only deal. That makes them rare but also extreamly hard to reproduce due to supply and demand and also hard to locate NOS material. Although NOS can be had from sources like SMS.

My supplier I deal with regularly, has only 3 colors left as of a little while ago. I will post a pic below showing the available colors but please keep in mind that not all of them were available for the firebird line.

The only 3 available through my supplier is black, burgandy, and light blue.

I recently ordered the black for a customer and although it is original Detroit NOS materil, the color has a blue tint to it. I do not know if it is due to age, dye lots, or other reasons, yet it is NOS.

You will have to have a reputable auto upholstery shop sew the covers up for you as they are not yet reproduced. here are the pics of the insert material and also the trimout...

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4...0/81insert.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4...c80/81trim.jpg