1957 Chris Craft Capri "Mint Green" color??

[Clay Collins]

I have a 1957 19' Capri in need of new seats and was wondering if anyone could shed some light as what the original mint green color looks like. I don't have any remnants of the original vinyl and would greatly appreciate some help such as a color photo that I could use as a guide. Thanks!
Clay

[rhysaccess]

As a '56 Capri owner, I've been keeping as many photos of interiors as possible.

I grabbed this image of ebay, my recollection is that it was an example of an original green of a 55-56 Chris Craft - but don't recall what.

Sorry that isn't much help - but maybe someone can use it as a reference of what it is..... or aint.

[mattwells]

Funny, I posted the same question back in February of 2007. No one here seems to know. I have a '57 Capri that came with Mint Green upholstery and Decoray linolium (does your boat have Decoray?). However I have no seats and no remnants.

I have photos of two different '57 Capris with green upholstery, however I don't know if it is considered Mint Green. I managed to make contact with one of the owners - he doesn't have his hull card.

According to the Essential Guide, Mint Green was offered only in 1957. I emailed every '57 Capri owner in the ACBS directory. One fellow replied with having green interior, but again we don't know if it is Mint Green as he doesn't have a hull card. When the Mariners Museum gets back up and running, I plan to get a hull card for him.

Just recently, a fellow who posts here from Tupper and Twiggs said he did a Capri with Mint Green Upholstery. He sent me a sample - but it doesn't look like the green in the two boats I found photos of. I will scan and post a sample when I get to the office. I've attempted to contact the owner of that boat but haven't had any luck yet.

Here are the two boats I found online.

[mattwells]

So I scanned the sample of Mint Green I got from Tupper and Twiggs. I also took a photo and neither really give a true image of what it looks like in person.

It's actually amazing how different it looks on the computer - the monitor of course being a variable.

Both the scan and the photo make it look brighter. The scan is probably closer however.

[Clay Collins]

Thanks for your help. The photos of the boats you sent are similar to two green samples I got from a guy in Carson City NV that specialized in Chris Craft interiors. He later moved to Atwater CA, but appears to be out of business now.

I would have thought that mint green would be a lighter color - more like the sample you scanned, but maybe not.

I'm attaching scans of the material I got back in '95. The three reds are supposed to be typical of the '56 Capri and the greens are for the '57 only. I was surprised how dark they are. The jpg scan looks like the actual on my monitor.

Also the white piping is not mentioned on the hull card, but looks sharp. All the photos provided by the Mariners museum are B&W but it appears that a white piping was used.

Finally, I know for sure the lower portion of the back of the front seat is black allagator as are the front and back seat boxes, the vertical seat supports and crash rail. If I find a piece of my original hiding under the existing seats, I will let post here.

Clay

[mattwells]

The green swatch at the bottom of your picture does look similar to the green in the two boat photos I posted.

I agree the white piping is sharp. On one the boats, the seat bottom cushions have white piping in addition to the seat backs - the other boat just has piping on the seat backs.

The Upholsterer in Atwater is indeed gone - passed away.

The black alligator is common and around. I would be interested in getting a green sample like you have to see in person - and maybe have the Capri owner I've talked to look at to see if it matches his interior.

Closer to the mystery being solved....

[mattwells]

So I found a Chris Craft magazine ad for their 1957 model line on eBay. What caught my eye was that the Capri has green seats. It's a small photo and I'm sure the photo coloring methods were relatively crude, but if this what Mint Green is, it suggests a darker, almost forest green.

Attached is a cropped scan of the ad.

Thoughts?


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[Don Ayers]

Matt;

Did you ever figure out the Mint Green???

[Reginald Down]

Guys - This may not be much help, but if you ever get the green color swatch sorted out and are looking for a supplier, I was very pleased with SMS in Portland, Oregon.

http://www.smsautofabrics.com/

I searched for 8 months in an attempt to find a perfect sample of vinyl for my 1966 Century Fibersport 17. Century called it Platinum which was a green / gold blend. A few of the samples we found were very close but never a perfect match for the swatch I found hidden under the deck.

Click on the image to enlarge.



Finally, after all the sources were exhausted, we took the swatch to SMS in Portland and they had it made to exactly match the unusual Platinum color and heavy material grain. The product SMS produced was so good, that a number Century owners looking for the same material joined in and we all ordered a number of rolls from SMS which helped in terms of overall price.

The vinyl for my Century's correct interior and decks was around 900.00.

James Ferris also had some material made for Perlita Too by SMS in Portland.

[Captbob626]

FYI For what it is worth, Woodies Restorations in KY has a supplier that can duplicate old upholstry. He is making me some cerulean blue for my 56 Capri from a sample under my dash.

/www.woodiesrestorations.com/.

Thay have been very nice to deal with .