Bigpete123

So as I continue to labor on my new car stereo, I need to build custom fiberglass speaker enclosures on my doors. I want them to look factory, so I'm trying to find OEM vinyl to match my interior (door panels).

My interior color code is 265, my exterior color code is 702. I am having a hell of a time tracking down the vinyl name for code 265. The dealer is even confused because the database only lists the number (not the actual name). I have searched long and far and have come up with two possibilities:

Mushroom
Cream Beige

Not sure which one it is... Does anybody know of a resource I can use? Thanks!

Barrington1

There is a VIN number decoder that exists for our cars, it will tell you the color name Palomino, Mushroom, etc.. just run a search for it I can't remember the exact link

Bigpete123

cool, I think another member might've linked me to that on another forum. I'll have to wait til I can get to my car for my vin number. Thanks!

PaulX608

My '93 400E has exterior code 249 for Malachite Metallic, and interior 265 for Mushroom leather. Here is a good list of codes. Or you can go here and enter your VIN and it will list all the codes and things for your car. Two very helpful sites.

PaulX608

You know, now that I look at those sites again, I see your ext/int colors as:

702 Smoke Silver Metallic

265 Mushroom Leather

It looks as though they used different codes for other materials. At least as far as I can tell form the codes, your interior should be leather.

Bigpete123

hmm, that's true. it does say leather. I think my interior is MB Tex though... oh well!

Bigpete123

Okay, update. I looked up my VIN at this site (very cool):

http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/index.html?lng=eng

And it says it's "Mushroom Leather" just like that other one. Very interesting. I guess I do have leather!?! Thanks for your help, guys.

PaulX608

Anytime, man! Glad to be of service.

mgw_300e

Your leather could just be getting stiff, or someone has redone the upholstery in vinyl.
I have a Pathfinder with half-leather and half vinyl because the previous owner liked cheap fixes.

Bigpete123

Hey guys. So I called around to lots of MB-specialized upholstery shops and they are all confused. None of them are familiar with code 265 leather mushroom. They all tell me that the only two colors for my model and year are cream beige and palamino.

So I sent an email to classicparts@mbusa.com, and they sent me the following info sheet for my car. See the interior code in bold/underline:

VEHICLE IDENT. NO: WDB 124051 1B 192939
VEHICLE IDENT. NO: WDB EA51DX LB 192939
VEHICLE MODEL : 300 CE-24
TYPE OF BODY : COUPE
ORDER NUMBER : 0 0 705 20704 DISPATCH : 12 02 1990
PRODUCTION NUMBER: 5030427 8 PAINT 1 / 2: 702
ENGINE NUMBER : 104980 12 006930 _ TRIM : 265
TRANSMISSION NO. : 722359 03 346518 _ TIRES : MICHELIN
RADIO SERIAL NO. : BE1480A95161959 _ HEADLIGHTS : BOSCH
WIPERS : BOSCH
OPTION CODES : 222 240 241 301 412 420 430 446 461 494 519
524
531 543 551 570 581 592 600 639 800
CODE DESIGNATON
702U SMOKE SILVER - METALLIC
265A LEATHER CREAM BEIGE - MUSHROOM / QUARTZ
222 RIGHT FRONT SEAT, ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE
240 OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE INDICATOR
241 LEFT FRONT SEAT ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY
301 STORAGE BOX IN THE REAR
412 ELECTRIC TILTING/SLIDING ROOF IN STEEL VERSION
420 4-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
430 HEADRESTS IN THE REAR
446 440+441+442
440 TEMPOMAT (CRUISE CONTROL)
441 STEERING COLUMN, ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE (202/170/168 MECHANICALLY)
442 DRIVER'S AIRBAG
461 INSTRUMENT IN ENGLISH
494 CALIFORNIA VERSION
519 BECKER RADIO GRAND PRIX ELECTRONIC CASSETTE - USA
524 PAINTCOAT PRESERVATION
531 AUTOMATIC ANTENNA
543 SUN VISORS WITH VANITY MIRRORS, ILLUMINATED
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
570 FOLDING ARMREST FRONT
581 AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL
592 GREEN HEAT-INSUL. GLASS, ALL-AR., HEATED REAR WINDOW PANE, BAND
FILTER
600 HEADLAMP WIPER/WASHER
639 634+636
634 ELIMINATION OF FIRST AID BOX
636 ELIMINATION OF WARNING TRIANGLE
800 MODEL YEAR 1990

So Paul was right- they used different color names for the different materials... I'm assuming my leather is called mushroom, while the vinyl on the doors is called cream beige... and the color of the vinyl on my dash is quartz.

So I guess that settles it- the formal name for the vinyl I'm looking for is actually cream beige. Very interesting!

the Norwegian

I guess you know this site :
http://www.worlduph.com/

Bigpete123

yeah, I saw that one actually. The two I'm considering are as follows:

http://www.millermbz.com/
http://www.gahh.com/

GAHH is sending me a cream beige sample, so we'll see how well it matches and go from there. miller doesn't post prices...

Thanks for your help!

Hound

awesome info, how hard is it to do the re appolstering your self vs. getting a shop to do it?

Bigpete123

well, I'm not going to be completely reupholstering the interior. My interior is in great shape... I'm just going to be covering some custom door speakers that I'm making.

I talked to an auto upholstery shop and they charge like $80/hr. That's in downtown Seattle. The amount of time required really depends upon the shape of the enclosures I make. So that will definitely have an influence on my design (i.e. minimize sharp angles). The shop told me to use a heat gun to stretch the vinyl. But I've heard it's a huge PITA to do properly. All part of the fun!