Anthracite Interior... After the Fact?
 

So, I was wondering if anybody has done an anthracite interior conversion?

I was wondering because I have decided that I NEED one. :lol: Seriously though, for some reason, my headliner has become so filthy looking and my pillars are becoming smudgy, even though I wipe them down every time I was my car (Nobody touches them, or even sits in my back seat, so I have no idea why it looks like a dirty child has been let loose in the back of my car!)

Any way, I am aware that the doors are no game (Buying whole door card yadda yadda yadda) but has anybody actually bought the headliner and pillars and replaced them? If so was there anything that I should know before trying this? Thank you all!

-Chase

Do you drive with your windows down a lot?

TJM

I drive all the time with the windows down and my pillars are filthy looking! I wish they had an anthracite option for the 02's....

lol, I was thinking the same thing. windows down = nasty pillars.

Yup, windows down is my problem. I hate the way that the car runs when the air conditioning is on, so I barely ever use it! But yes, I was very sure that the Windows down was causing the problem. I figured anthracite would help hide all the crap the flies in between cleanings!

-Chase

I wanted to change to the anthracite interior also. It looks so much better in my opinion. I began looking into it, and realized there is actually a lot of things you would have to change, and I'd imagine it would get expensive real fast.

yeah i think it would almost be cheaper to do the stupid thing in suede.

I've done the doors, dash and downtubes, but not the pillars or headliner. Much better than the original alloy patina, IMO.

My alloy patina looks dirty even when it's clean!!! :mad::mad::mad:

Oh, yes, I am one of the poor souls with the alloy patina as well. I'm going to be Painting the dash soon, Buying anthracite downtubes, and I will be thinking about painting tach/speedo/aircon/speaker rings a grey that is really close to the Anthracite color.

Hey Eric Rowland, Did you actually buy the replacements, or did you have them painted? If you bought them, what did your door cards cost you?

-Chase

I found a set of door cards and dash on ebay for $255. :)

oh wow. That is cheap(er than I thought). I guess that I will have to keep my eye out for some! thanks!

-Chase

I've done the pillars. They were not that expensive, less then $200 for all the parts.

I haven't seen another set come up since, but by this time wrecking yards (:cry:) should have a few...

Wow, that isn't too bad either. this little project is looking to be a little more promising than I originally though.

Yeah, I am actually going to stop by a wrecking yard near me tomorrow. They have a couple of MINI's there, and I will see what type of interior they have. They weren't able to tell me...

-Chase

Chase, let me know what they have. I am in the process of doing this as well.

I have the Anthracite rings now and will be painting the Tach ring and downtubes soon. I bought leather door pulls from a NAM member and will be covering the edges of the door pulls with black vinyl and if I have enough will try and vinyl the front/rear pillar covers.

I installed the OEM Chromeline interior pieces and still have all the Anthracite rings that were replaced. If anyone wants them for the cost of shipping, just send me a PM.

Sadly, I wasn't able to go as planned. I planned to drop the MINI at the dealer to have inspection II done, they had promised me a loaner, however upon arriving, they discovered that I was not 21, and could not give me a loaner. Thus, I was unable to take a trip to the Yard to have a look at what they had. Plus there was the fact that I had to spend $1,100.00 more than I planned to, making it impossible for me to afford to purchase any parts from a junk yard at the time being. Ah, the joys of buying a used car. :impatient

-Chase

You have a PM.

I wanted to convert as well... Just the headliner and associated parts. I got a quote from Classic Mini who has excellent mail-order prices and the total was about $1600. Yeah, I have a dirty white headliner, and it'll stay that way for that price.

ouch..... Do you happen to have a sunroof? For some reason I can see that version of the headliner being more expensive...

was that the headliner, pillars, grab handles, clock surround, visors, audio sensor, and any of the other plastic-ey bits that are attached to the headliner?

On a side note, has anybody ever tried to dye their headliner? Or do you all think it might be like other BMW headliners where as soon as they get moist they begin to drop/sag? That is always an alternative...

-Chase

I was thinking of getting my headliner done in black and painting any gray parts black also. The headliner should be cheap enough (under $100) to get re-done since mine doesn't have a sunroof. Has anyone tried painting all the gray bits before like the handles, clock, and pillars? I'm going to give it a try in a couple of weeks when I have some time off and if anyone has any tips/tricks I'd appreciate it.

No tips unfortunately, however once you get it done or even start on it, post pictures and keep us updated! I am very interested in the outcome!

-Chase

You wouldn't have a photo of that would you G? also... i've been daydreaming of swapping out the inside a-pillars lately but thought it was too much work. now i don't feel so crazy! :)