308 Seat Refinishing Question

So I'm trying to work up the courage to refinish the seats in my '85 308 QV. I've read Mike Charnes' wonderful write-ups online and am gaining the confidence to do a good job.

I am a little concerned as my seats are tan but have red/maroon piping... I'm not sure if the seats came from the factory like this or were altered at some point in the cars life before me.

I am assuming if I strip the seats first it will remove this piping as well... which will complicate the refinishing process.

My seats are not in horrible shape but the drivers side has the usual wear on the side bolster from people getting in and out. So I may put it off a bit more.

Is there a way to tell if the seats are original? Should I be concerned about the piping? Is it just a matter of color matching to get the piping correct? Should the piping be more red to match the car? Or is this Maroonish color more correct?

Here are some pics I have of the seats.. they were taken almost 6 years ago when I bought the car.
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Scott,
As far as I know your piping and embossed cavallino colour, red, is not original. The piping and the cavallino must be in the same colour of the seats. In my case the colour of the seats is the saddle 3218 (US 83 QV). But if you want to keep the red piping, go ahead with a red; matching the car colour is not necessary.

Cheers

 

Thanks for the input... Maybe I will go back to original or find a better complimenting color for the piping.

Scott

 

My US Spec '84 308 has beige seats with red piping, original, came from the factory that way. However, the embossed cavallino is beige, not red. I've seen a few 308s this way, I prefer it as it is a bit different.

Phil

 

First, your seats look OK in those photos. I would clean them before thinking about stripping them.

You can tell if the seats have been re-dyed by looking at the stitching. The hides on these cars were dyed prior to being cut and stitched. If they were dyed subsequent to leaving the factory, the texture of the stitching (look closely at the thread) will be different.

I posted photos here in 2007 when I had my ex-328 done for Monterey:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167130

I wouldn't recommend aftermarket dye products except as a stopgap to make truly bad-looking seats presentable prior to a proper redo. If your seats are in good shape, other than the usual spots, a skilled professional upholsterer (I know one in San Diego, but that probably doesn't help you...) is your best bet.

The piping may be original. There are quite a few 308s with contrasting piping.

The embossed cavallino almost certainly is not, unless it was a special order item that I have not yet seen.

 

...the seats are stunning looking

 

My Camel (not creme, though maybe saddle) leather piping is shot. Anybody have a source? Most of the local shops in the area use vinyl, but they'll happily stitch in whatever I supply.

Oops. Checked the original window sticker. the interior is Tobacco.

 

Thanks for the input Bullfighter... Your 328 turned out fantastic, that is what I would only hope to have mine look like someday. I agree looking at mine they aren't bad. The drivers seat shows wear similar to your original 328 seat did. Maybe I will just give them a good cleaning and see how that does for now.

I understand that my colored Cavallino is not original but I do like the look.