Interior Trim Introduction



‘Just In Time’ Trim Manufacturing
The adoption of the Honda-inspired Just In Time or ‘JIT’ delivery system at the Longbridge car plant meant that the specifically required trim assemblies for the next shift in car production arrived at the trackside at the start of and during that shift, freshly built from nearby factories (for example, the nearby Kings Norton seat factory). While being a very efficient and financially expedient way of Longbridge receiving components for production, it also allowed and encouraged a wide range of trim options to be offered on the cars without the factory storage facilities being overwhelmed with huge numbers of bulky, damage-prone seat assemblies, door trim panels etc.

As a result, in common with other MG Rover cars of the time (and those of most other volume car manufacturers) the MGF and MG TF models were offered with an increasingly wide range of seats and interior trim as the marketing department and production planners realised the great potentials offered by Just In Time deliveries.

MGF & MG TF Trim Identification
n theory, establishing the interior trim material/colour specification of your car may be done by reading the three letter trim code from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate, under the bonnet. Unfortunately (as always with interior trim) it’s not that simple.

For a start, there is no published definitive list of VIN plate trim codes, outside of the in-house factory production records for each car. The charts in the factory parts catalogues are incomplete: the MGF parts catalogue microfiche fails to list several of the trim codes introduced between 1999 and 2001, for example Trophy trim. Frustratingly the later MG Rover electronic parts catalogues only show 2003 model year MG TF as an example to explain how the codes work and show nothing for MGF at all. One day no doubt some enthusiastic individual, probably from one of the car clubs or registers, will take a commendable amount of time and effort to research a definitive list, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Secondly, in many instances the trim code allocation system broke down and the same codes were given to different materials, or even in some cases to different colour schemes (e.g. MGF Fusion Fabric, Mirage Fabric and leather trim in Black/Green all share the same trim code LQP, while Red leather and Ash Grey/Red leather are both CEN).

Thirdly, many cars by now have been retrimmed at some point in their lives, usually using one of the aftermarket upgrades available or using trim from other cars, so the trim code may well be irrelevant anyway. In the case of MGFs, retrimming may even have been done by the car’s manufacturer. Every ‘F Heritage’ option car was retrimmed after leaving the Longbridge production line. The trim code on the VIN plate was not altered to reflect the new material and colour; it still described the trim with which the car was originally built.

The conclusion has to be that the VIN trim code is of very limited use; it may in some instances help you to establish the original trim spec. for your car, but even then usually only up to a point.

We’d like to help you work out what your car has as far as we possibly can, so the following is the list is of original trim materials and colours, based on seat specifications:

MGF to VIN XD511058 (1995 to 1999)
Often referred to as ‘Mk 1’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
Fusion fabric - Black/Green & Red/Red
Leather/Fusion Fabric - Black/Green & Red/Red
Leather (F Heritage option) - Cream/Parchment, Granite/Ash Grey, Ash Grey/Red & Red/Ash Grey
Leather (factory fitment) - Black, Ash Grey/Green, Ash Grey/Red, Ash Grey/Grenadine, Red (75th Anniversary), Walnut/Green (Brooklands Green LE) & Light Stone Beige/Black

MGF from VIN XD511059 (2000 to 2001)
Often referred to as ‘Mk 2’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
PVC/Mirage Fabric - Black & Walnut/Black
Mirage fabric - Black & Walnut
Leather/Mirage fabric - Black & Walnut
Silverstone fabric - Black/Blue/Yellow (Trophy)
Full leather - Black, Walnut/Cream, Green, Tartan Red & Tartan Red/Cream
Oxford Leather option - Ebony & Alpaca

MG TF to VIN 5D639630 (2002 to 2005)
As per and often referred to as ‘Mk 2’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
Sebring fabric (non-fluted) - Black & Light Tan
Sebring fabric (fluted) - Black, Light Tan & Grenadine Red
Daytona fabric - Black Grenadine Red
Full leather - Black, Blue/Black, Alpaca/Tan
Oxford Leather option - Ebony & Champagne
Alcantara and leather - Black/Tan, Black/Tan (80th Anniversary LE), Gunsmoke/Black, Gunsmoke/Black (Spark SE), Blue/Black (Cool Blue SE), Grenadine Red/Black & Grenadine Red/Black (80th Anniversary LE)

Trim Fabric Recognition
As a further aid to customers trying to work out what they have in their car, the following photographs should unlock the secrets of the fabric names:

Trim Fabric Recognition

Availability of Original Interior Trim
Unfortunately MG Rover failed to get to grips with what the knock-on effects of their diverse trim ranges would be for their parts and service division (car manufacturers are naturally so focussed on building and selling complete cars that they rarely give spare parts due consideration). You only need to look at this catalogue’s Door Trim section to see the most extreme example of excesses in variation of interior trim and to realise what the pitfalls of making, stocking and selling all these variations as spare parts would be.

XPart (and before them, Unipart), had the unenviable job of cataloguing and stocking all the interior trim spares. With some relief to them (but to the concern of car owners with damaged trim), a handful of years after car production ended the huge ranges of difficult-to-warehouse trim items for the spares market began to be discontinued.

At time of writing, this discontinuation process is almost complete for the original soft trim used on MGF and MG TF seats: there are now no original factory replacement seat covers available, while some head restraints are still available (and listed in this section). However, remanufactured leather seat cover kits now offer an alternative. A fair proportion of door trim panels are still available at time of writing (see ‘Interior - Door Trim’), but ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone’.

Leather Seat Assemblies
Of course something had to happen to satisfy the needs of all those enthusiasts with MGFs and MG TFs and an industry sprang up to service seats and other interior trim for the cars. Rimmer Bros. have chosen to offer a range of Classic style replacement seat assemblies (available in exchange for your old seats), complete with head restraints, beautifully upholstered in finest Scottish Bridge of Wier leather, ready to bolt straight into your car.

Our colour range has been chosen to match the colours of the door pods, gear lever gaiters, hand brake gaiters and other interior trim we offer, allowing you to create a complete top quality trim package for your car. Because our seats are mainly built to order (only the very most popular colours are usually available direct from stock), you can ring the changes in colours if you wish: contrasting piping in colours other than those shown here are available if desired, as are alternative main seat colours - please contact us to discuss special requirements.

Whether upgrading your interior from fabric to leather, replacing original leather trim or simply renewing your seats (many of our colours are complementary to original factory trim colours), we’re sure our seats and trim are the very satisfying answer to most MGF and MG TF interior needs.

MGF to VIN XD511058 (to 1999), ‘Mk 1’ Type Seats
LEATHER SEAT ASSEMBLIES, pair, Classic style: Sold in exchange for your old, reconditionable seats. Includes head restraints.
Black/Black piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACK
Black/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKBRG
Black/Blue piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKBLUE
Black/Red piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKRED
Black/White piping - 1 - RP1188 BLKWHITE
Grey/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 GREY
Lt Stone Beige/Beige piping - 1 - RP1188 BEIGE
Lt Stone Beige/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 BEIGEGREY
Biscuit/Biscuit piping - 1 - RP1188 BISCUIT
Cream/Cream piping - 1 - RP1188 CREAM
Green (BRG)/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1188 BRG
Green (BRG)/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 BRGGREY
Blue/Blue piping - 1 - RP1188 BLUE
Red/Red piping - 1 - RP1188 RED
Red/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 REDGREY

MGF VIN XD511059 on (2000 on), MG TF ‘Mk 2’ Type Seats
LEATHER SEAT ASSEMBLIES, pair, Classic style: Sold in exchange for your old, reconditionable seats. Includes head restraints.
Black/Black piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACK
Black/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKBRG
Black/Blue piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKBLUE
Black/Red piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKRED
Black/White piping - 1 - RP1149 BLKWHITE
Grey/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 GREY
Lt Stone Beige/Beige piping - 1 - RP1149 BEIGE
Lt Stone Beige/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 BEIGEGREY
Biscuit/Biscuit piping - 1 - RP1149 BISCUIT
Cream/Cream piping - 1 - RP1149 CREAM
Green (BRG)/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1149 BRG
Green (BRG)/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 BRGGREY
Blue/Blue piping - 1 - RP1149 BLUE
Red/Red piping - 1 - RP1149 RED
Red/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 REDGREY

Interior Trim Introduction



‘Just In Time’ Trim Manufacturing
The adoption of the Honda-inspired Just In Time or ‘JIT’ delivery system at the Longbridge car plant meant that the specifically required trim assemblies for the next shift in car production arrived at the trackside at the start of and during that shift, freshly built from nearby factories (for example, the nearby Kings Norton seat factory). While being a very efficient and financially expedient way of Longbridge receiving components for production, it also allowed and encouraged a wide range of trim options to be offered on the cars without the factory storage facilities being overwhelmed with huge numbers of bulky, damage-prone seat assemblies, door trim panels etc.

As a result, in common with other MG Rover cars of the time (and those of most other volume car manufacturers) the MGF and MG TF models were offered with an increasingly wide range of seats and interior trim as the marketing department and production planners realised the great potentials offered by Just In Time deliveries.

MGF & MG TF Trim Identification
n theory, establishing the interior trim material/colour specification of your car may be done by reading the three letter trim code from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate, under the bonnet. Unfortunately (as always with interior trim) it’s not that simple.

For a start, there is no published definitive list of VIN plate trim codes, outside of the in-house factory production records for each car. The charts in the factory parts catalogues are incomplete: the MGF parts catalogue microfiche fails to list several of the trim codes introduced between 1999 and 2001, for example Trophy trim. Frustratingly the later MG Rover electronic parts catalogues only show 2003 model year MG TF as an example to explain how the codes work and show nothing for MGF at all. One day no doubt some enthusiastic individual, probably from one of the car clubs or registers, will take a commendable amount of time and effort to research a definitive list, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Secondly, in many instances the trim code allocation system broke down and the same codes were given to different materials, or even in some cases to different colour schemes (e.g. MGF Fusion Fabric, Mirage Fabric and leather trim in Black/Green all share the same trim code LQP, while Red leather and Ash Grey/Red leather are both CEN).

Thirdly, many cars by now have been retrimmed at some point in their lives, usually using one of the aftermarket upgrades available or using trim from other cars, so the trim code may well be irrelevant anyway. In the case of MGFs, retrimming may even have been done by the car’s manufacturer. Every ‘F Heritage’ option car was retrimmed after leaving the Longbridge production line. The trim code on the VIN plate was not altered to reflect the new material and colour; it still described the trim with which the car was originally built.

The conclusion has to be that the VIN trim code is of very limited use; it may in some instances help you to establish the original trim spec. for your car, but even then usually only up to a point.

We’d like to help you work out what your car has as far as we possibly can, so the following is the list is of original trim materials and colours, based on seat specifications:

MGF to VIN XD511058 (1995 to 1999)
Often referred to as ‘Mk 1’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
Fusion fabric - Black/Green & Red/Red
Leather/Fusion Fabric - Black/Green & Red/Red
Leather (F Heritage option) - Cream/Parchment, Granite/Ash Grey, Ash Grey/Red & Red/Ash Grey
Leather (factory fitment) - Black, Ash Grey/Green, Ash Grey/Red, Ash Grey/Grenadine, Red (75th Anniversary), Walnut/Green (Brooklands Green LE) & Light Stone Beige/Black

MGF from VIN XD511059 (2000 to 2001)
Often referred to as ‘Mk 2’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
PVC/Mirage Fabric - Black & Walnut/Black
Mirage fabric - Black & Walnut
Leather/Mirage fabric - Black & Walnut
Silverstone fabric - Black/Blue/Yellow (Trophy)
Full leather - Black, Walnut/Cream, Green, Tartan Red & Tartan Red/Cream
Oxford Leather option - Ebony & Alpaca

MG TF to VIN 5D639630 (2002 to 2005)
As per and often referred to as ‘Mk 2’ trim.
Material(s) & Colour(s)
Sebring fabric (non-fluted) - Black & Light Tan
Sebring fabric (fluted) - Black, Light Tan & Grenadine Red
Daytona fabric - Black Grenadine Red
Full leather - Black, Blue/Black, Alpaca/Tan
Oxford Leather option - Ebony & Champagne
Alcantara and leather - Black/Tan, Black/Tan (80th Anniversary LE), Gunsmoke/Black, Gunsmoke/Black (Spark SE), Blue/Black (Cool Blue SE), Grenadine Red/Black & Grenadine Red/Black (80th Anniversary LE)

Trim Fabric Recognition
As a further aid to customers trying to work out what they have in their car, the following photographs should unlock the secrets of the fabric names:

Trim Fabric Recognition

Availability of Original Interior Trim
Unfortunately MG Rover failed to get to grips with what the knock-on effects of their diverse trim ranges would be for their parts and service division (car manufacturers are naturally so focussed on building and selling complete cars that they rarely give spare parts due consideration). You only need to look at this catalogue’s Door Trim section to see the most extreme example of excesses in variation of interior trim and to realise what the pitfalls of making, stocking and selling all these variations as spare parts would be.

XPart (and before them, Unipart), had the unenviable job of cataloguing and stocking all the interior trim spares. With some relief to them (but to the concern of car owners with damaged trim), a handful of years after car production ended the huge ranges of difficult-to-warehouse trim items for the spares market began to be discontinued.

At time of writing, this discontinuation process is almost complete for the original soft trim used on MGF and MG TF seats: there are now no original factory replacement seat covers available, while some head restraints are still available (and listed in this section). However, remanufactured leather seat cover kits now offer an alternative. A fair proportion of door trim panels are still available at time of writing (see ‘Interior - Door Trim’), but ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone’.

Leather Seat Assemblies
Of course something had to happen to satisfy the needs of all those enthusiasts with MGFs and MG TFs and an industry sprang up to service seats and other interior trim for the cars. Rimmer Bros. have chosen to offer a range of Classic style replacement seat assemblies (available in exchange for your old seats), complete with head restraints, beautifully upholstered in finest Scottish Bridge of Wier leather, ready to bolt straight into your car.

Our colour range has been chosen to match the colours of the door pods, gear lever gaiters, hand brake gaiters and other interior trim we offer, allowing you to create a complete top quality trim package for your car. Because our seats are mainly built to order (only the very most popular colours are usually available direct from stock), you can ring the changes in colours if you wish: contrasting piping in colours other than those shown here are available if desired, as are alternative main seat colours - please contact us to discuss special requirements.

Whether upgrading your interior from fabric to leather, replacing original leather trim or simply renewing your seats (many of our colours are complementary to original factory trim colours), we’re sure our seats and trim are the very satisfying answer to most MGF and MG TF interior needs.

MGF to VIN XD511058 (to 1999), ‘Mk 1’ Type Seats
LEATHER SEAT ASSEMBLIES, pair, Classic style: Sold in exchange for your old, reconditionable seats. Includes head restraints.
Black/Black piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACK
Black/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKBRG
Black/Blue piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKBLUE
Black/Red piping - 1 - RP1188 BLACKRED
Black/White piping - 1 - RP1188 BLKWHITE
Grey/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 GREY
Lt Stone Beige/Beige piping - 1 - RP1188 BEIGE
Lt Stone Beige/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 BEIGEGREY
Biscuit/Biscuit piping - 1 - RP1188 BISCUIT
Cream/Cream piping - 1 - RP1188 CREAM
Green (BRG)/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1188 BRG
Green (BRG)/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 BRGGREY
Blue/Blue piping - 1 - RP1188 BLUE
Red/Red piping - 1 - RP1188 RED
Red/Grey piping - 1 - RP1188 REDGREY

MGF VIN XD511059 on (2000 on), MG TF ‘Mk 2’ Type Seats
LEATHER SEAT ASSEMBLIES, pair, Classic style: Sold in exchange for your old, reconditionable seats. Includes head restraints.
Black/Black piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACK
Black/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKBRG
Black/Blue piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKBLUE
Black/Red piping - 1 - RP1149 BLACKRED
Black/White piping - 1 - RP1149 BLKWHITE
Grey/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 GREY
Lt Stone Beige/Beige piping - 1 - RP1149 BEIGE
Lt Stone Beige/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 BEIGEGREY
Biscuit/Biscuit piping - 1 - RP1149 BISCUIT
Cream/Cream piping - 1 - RP1149 CREAM
Green (BRG)/Green (BRG) piping - 1 - RP1149 BRG
Green (BRG)/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 BRGGREY
Blue/Blue piping - 1 - RP1149 BLUE
Red/Red piping - 1 - RP1149 RED
Red/Grey piping - 1 - RP1149 REDGREY