Firstly a hello from a long time lurker in the shadows. I've found many bits of vital information on the forum via the search, so a massive thank you for that.

I am the custodian of this 1937 Ruby which I am slowly recommissioning.

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I've dealt with snapped head studs ( I can recommend plumbers freeze spray for this ), faulty Dynamo, had carb refurbished and encountered the frustration of modern fuel deterioration.
Hopefully l will soon get time to make local a meeting or two.

Unfortunately or fortunately as the case maybe it has been painted by a previous owner in the not too distant past and has a cream fine line.

What colour would or should the upholstery have been upon manufacturer. It is blue at the moment and in good fettle ( albeit vinyl replacement) apart from the passenger seat which needs replacing. I have an upholster in the family who can sort that but I wanted to check what colour it should be.

The registration number is EVW 85. If anyone has any other knowledge of it to pass on to me I would really appreciate it.

Cheers

Pricey

Location: Near t' Spire of Crookedness

The good news is that, for a small extra charge, the original owner could have ordered your car in any colour combination!

What I believe to be stock colours that I have seen on unrestored black cars are: Apple Green upholstery with green lining, Dark Tan upholstery with either red or beige (maybe cream) lining, and Royal Blue upholstery with light blue lining.

The bad news if you are considering re-upholstering your car: the seats would be in 'best quality' leather (fixed-head models had leather-cloth door trims, sliding-head models had leather throughout).

My advice is to go with whatever you fancy and within budget; as long as you keep a period look and don't go for something like white upholstery, you can't go wrong!

I am having my upholstery being done at the moment , the rear seat backrest was serviceable after being treated with a Woolies leather seat renovation kit, the front seats and rear squab are being recovered in in Isis Blue vinyl which was the same colour as the backrest . I got the material from Martrim rather than Woolies as they were cheaper by far.

Coach lines would have matched the upholstery according to factory information - see here:


My personal preference for black on your car is the dark tan upholstery mentioned above. " target="_blank">

My personal preference for black on your car is the dark tan upholstery mentioned above. " target="_blank">http://archive.a7ca.org/collections/paints-and-colours/item/PC0026/

My personal preference for black on your car is the dark tan upholstery mentioned above.

Hello Mike, Nigel & Ruairidh,

Thank you for the swift replies and information gained.

So my interpretation of your info is that my grey headlining ( fitted by P/O & looks to be quite new ) appears to have been chosen to compliment the replacement blue upholstery which is at odds with the cream fine line but then again it may be true to the original.

My own personal choice would be tan upholstery but the headlining in grey would be at odds with that and changing it will place pressure on my budget. So it looks like a repair or replacement in blue to the passenger seat then for the time being.

....and to digress from the original topic ;Fixed head is mentioned. Does a fixed head model have a solid roof or just a cover panel ?

My Ruby appears to have the sun roof covered over with a vinyl/ply panel with a beading fixed around it with screws.
How do I tell if that was original or not without removing the headlining ?

Cheers

Pricey

Location: Near t'Spire of Crookedness

Location: Piddle Valley

Your car certainly looks as though someone covered the old sliding roof hole, rather than dealing with the problem. If you ever think about re-instatement you will need a sliding panel and runners, which are difficult but not impossible to make. As far as I know all headlinings irrespective of body and upholstery colours were beige from the factory, but replacements get done according to what is available or chosen; my last Ruby had it done with patterned uncut moquette!

Location: just north of Cambridge