Help! Please help me choose the right Oyster carpet for my 79

[speedbird1229]

Hi mates,
I placed my order for the 79 Oyster carpet set from Willcox, but they're asking which one of the two tones I prefer: Willcox Corvette, Inc. - Parts, Restoration, Help - "When you're not the biggest, You try harder" They say that the 8023 color is the most common and 7075 should be on some very early 79's. I believe my Corvette is rather late, the VIN is 1Z8789S449739 and the 79 year VINs range is 1Z8789S400001 to 1Z8789S453807. At least by the Willcox sample it seems like my old carpet is still more like the rare 7075. My car was restored about 10 or more years ago by somebody in USA and maybe the carpet is not even the color it's supposed to be, I have no idea. I don't have any other Corvettes to compare it to because I believe my 79 might be the only one from that year in our country and it's quite difficult to find someone with another C3 so that I could have a look at it, even more impossible to catch one with Oyster interior.
So please tell me which way I should go. Thanks!

Here I have already partly pulled out the old carpet, but the color is clearly visible:

 

[White75]

I like the lighter with your interior color but the darker will show less dirt, although with that light of an interior it's not going to make that much of a difference. Good luck!

Hi mates,
I placed my order for the 79 Oyster carpet set from Willcox, but they're asking which one of the two tones I prefer: Willcox Corvette, Inc. - Parts, Restoration, Help - "When you're not the biggest, You try harder" They say that the 8023 color is the most common and 7075 should be on some very early 79's. I believe my Corvette is rather late, the VIN is 1Z8789S449739 and the 79 year VINs range is 1Z8789S400001 to 1Z8789S453807. At least by the Willcox sample it seems like my old carpet is still more like the rare 7075. My car was restored about 10 or more years ago by somebody in USA and maybe the carpet is not even the color it's supposed to be, I have no idea. I don't have any other Corvettes to compare it to because I believe my 79 might be the only one from that year in our country and it's quite difficult to find someone with another C3 so that I could have a look at it, even more impossible to catch one with Oyster interior.
So please tell me which way I should go. Thanks!

Here I have already partly pulled out the old carpet, but the color is clearly visible:

 

[earlymodel]

Hi mates,
I placed my order for the 79 Oyster carpet set from Willcox, but they're asking which one of the two tones I prefer: Willcox Corvette, Inc. - Parts, Restoration, Help - "When you're not the biggest, You try harder" They say that the 8023 color is the most common and 7075 should be on some very early 79's. I believe my Corvette is rather late, the VIN is 1Z8789S449739 and the 79 year VINs range is 1Z8789S400001 to 1Z8789S453807. At least by the Willcox sample it seems like my old carpet is still more like the rare 7075. My car was restored about 10 or more years ago by somebody in USA and maybe the carpet is not even the color it's supposed to be, I have no idea. I don't have any other Corvettes to compare it to because I believe my 79 might be the only one from that year in our country and it's quite difficult to find someone with another C3 so that I could have a look at it, even more impossible to catch one with Oyster interior.
So please tell me which way I should go. Thanks!


G'day mate,
I don't know if I am going to help you or make your task harder. I too have a 79 with Oyster interior which has been replaced at some time, but like you, I have no idea if it is to the production spec. Mine is about three thousand units later production than yours.

From what I have learned so far by trawling through pictures on the internet, I think there must have been two colors of carpet used in cars with a Trim code of 122 Oyster. The first one appears to almost a grey or greyish and the second I would describe as more of a beige look.

I have seen pics low mileage cars (which I think would still have there original trim), with both colors in them. I know exactly how you feel in trying to determine exactly what to order when you are so far from the source. The cost of purchasing something, shipping it accross the world and then finding it is not what you needed is not worth thinking about.

For what it is worth, here is a picture of what I have. Very hard to keep clean.
My only other suggestion is if you are happy with the color you have (looks greyish to me in the pics), then maybe cut a little off and send it to a specific person so as to have done your best to get exactly what you want.

Good Luck

 

[speedbird1229]

That's very interesting information, "earlymodel"! Thanks for sharing it. Before I thought that the older people who are in these forums and also other Corvette professionals know every little detail about how each one of these cars came out from the factory, but apparently nobody really knows FOR SURE what GM created. Seems like this information hasn't been published and we can therefore only rely on things that we or the other people have seen.

Willcox Corvette has published photo samples of different carpets available for every year C3's. Can you recognize your carpet from any of these: Willcox Corvette, Inc. - Parts, Restoration, Help - "When you're not the biggest, You try harder"

Judging by the photo you included, your door carpet seems like the one I have or maybe even more beige. Can you share some more photos of your interior?

Is it possible that individuals who ordered these cars could design their interior in details, including the carpet colors, as you can design nowadays?

 

[earlymodel]

Hi there,

I think there is a huge amount of infomation on these cars available from the members of this forum and in some ways it may be difficult to reach all of that knowledge as some if not many may have moved from C3's on to later models and therefore might not necessarily be looking at enquiries in the C3 area nowadays.

Anyway, with all of these things we can only do our best. I have looked at the Wilcox site and I have to say that both Oyster options appear greyish to me, one just lighter than the other. I'm not sure, but if I was forced to say what is in this car I would say it is 7087-50 Light Doeskin that is to say that it has no grey in it at all that I can see. Again I have to stress that this may not be the original in any way.

I still think that the best option is to get a contact at Willcox and send a small sample to them direct.

Here is another pic. Hope that it is all of some help or that you receive more input from others.

Kind regards,




Please don't hold me to this interpretation as we all know how

That's very interesting information, "earlymodel"! Thanks for sharing it. Before I thought that the older people who are in these forums and also other Corvette professionals know every little detail about how each one of these cars came out from the factory, but apparently nobody really knows FOR SURE what GM created. Seems like this information hasn't been published and we can therefore only rely on things that we or the other people have seen.

Willcox Corvette has published photo samples of different carpets available for every year C3's. Can you recognize your carpet from any of these: Willcox Corvette, Inc. - Parts, Restoration, Help - "When you're not the biggest, You try harder"

Judging by the photo you included, your door carpet seems like the one I have or maybe even more beige. Can you share some more photos of your interior?

Is it possible that individuals who ordered these cars could design their interior in details, including the carpet colors, as you can design nowadays?