2nd gen carpet install

[Dino]

So I have a new auto with console ACC carpet with mass backing and the instructions say to lay it over the old carpet, once out of the car, to make the marks for what needs to be cut.  Problem is, my old carpet is really worn and no longer holds shape.  The heel pad is also gone for some reason.

So how do I go about this to make sure I don't go uh-oh when I put the scissors down?   

It looks like the floor pans will guide the carpet for position but having never done this, any tips are welcome.  The console brackets worry me a bit.

When I removed the gas pedal I noticed I will have to cut out a rectangle in the right top corner of the heel pad to make it fit, instead of just poking two holes in it.  Is this correct?

What's the best way to make the holes?  Cut or use a solder iron?  My carpet is cut pile by the way, not 80/20 loop.

[twodko]

Hey DinoMan!

This is long winded but bare with me here.

I helped a fellow member, FromTheHunt, install his new carpeting.
He had removed his old carpet already and set it outside his garage where it had gotten a
bit wet. Man did it reek but anyway it was mostly rotten and barely there.
We laid it over his new carpet on the garage floor having formed the old carpet to shape as
best we could. We also rolled up something......I can't remember what, to simulate
the tranny tunnel which we laid under the old carpet.
Then we traced the console cutout using white chalk marking the bracket "Bumps" as best we could also.
Then came terror time.......we/he made the cuts for the console ½" inside the chalk marks and
just slits for the brackets. All of this was a bitch of course even though he'd set the new carpet
out in the sun for a couple hours prior.

We set the carpet in the car forming it to the floor and held it in place with barbell
weights (bricks would work fine too).
He used a fresh bladed drywall knife to refine the fit over the console area changing the blade
a couple times during the process as I recall. It took some careful trimming but it was finally
deemed good to go. For the gas pedal we just melted holes through the carpet using a cheap
soldering iron and mounted the pedal on top of the carpet. We used an ice pick to local the seat bolt holes
and melted those holes as well. To makes sure the carpet didn't moved around while we located the
other bolt holes, when we melted one hole we pushed the body of a Sharpie marker through
the fresh holes melting one hole for drivers and pass. side. Then melted the other 6 holes.
Worked like a charm. To properly locate the rear piece of carpet we again used the
the weights so we had a good idea of how much carpet we had to trim off so it would lay under the
rear door panels a good 1" up underneath. Hope this makes sense. Before he trimmed the carpet
to fit under the sill plates he pulled the car out into the sun and left it out there while we had lunch.
I had to leave afterwards but he said the final trim went well and the sill plates sat right where
they should. One word of advice Dino, another set of hands will make this install a lot easier.

Progress pictures are required not only for us but for your car's resto binder.

Tom

[Dino]

I guess I prepped well, I had the carpet pieces in my study with books all over them and that was after I laid them out in the sun for several hours.  I just laid the rear piece in and it conformed to the floor pan right away.  I just trimmed the back of the carpet for the seat cushion hooks and did the center bracket for the console.  This thing could not fit any better!   

I just need to trim the edges and the rear carpet is done.  Where do I trim the carpet?  Right next to the pinch weld?  Do I need to leave a bit extra in the rear to try and tuck under the quarter inside panel or just cut it flush with the quarter frame?

The front is going to be tricky.  I may need to remove the shifter to make it a bit easier as I am reluctant to cut a big hole I the middle.  Unfortunately the old carpet is of no use, the front was cut in the half and the tunnel wasn't even covered anymore.  I guess that's one way to do it.   

I'm glad I finally got new carpet, but it'll look funny with an otherwise green interior.  I better get the rest in black asap as well.  SEM to the rescue!

[twodko]

"I just need to trim the edges and the rear carpet is done.  Where do I trim the carpet?  Right next to the pinch weld?  Do I need to leave a bit extra in the rear to try and tuck under the quarter inside panel or just cut it flush with the quarter frame?"

Dino,

Def leave a good inch or more carpet on each to tuck under the inside quarter window panels.

Well, not being able to use the old carpet as a guide in problematic and I'm not sure what to suggest.
You're going to have to begin somewhere so perhaps laying the carpet in the car
and positively locating it the where it should be in reference to the gas peddle as a starting point.
I don't think you have any choice then but cutting a hole in order to drop it over the
shift lever and work from there.
The other option is to take it to an auto upholstery shop and have them do it. 

[Dino]

Unfortunately, hiring someone else is not in the budget for a bit.  I'll do as you suggest and start at the gas pedal where I know how it should lay and then work my way over.  I looked at removing the shifter but the welded tunnel bracket is so big that I might as well leave it all in place.

I may have to remove the backing on the edge so I can tuck the carpet under the panels.  The backing on it is pretty thick and I think it may push the panels out.  It looks like the rest of it just runs up to the pinch weld, I don't think I can tuck anything between it and the sill plates.

Thanks Tom!   

[twodko]

It's going to turn out just fine Bro. I have faith in ya! 

[WHITE AND RED 69]

For the gas pedal you will need to trim out an area so it sits flush. If you just cut out the 2 holes the rubber pad on the pedal won't sit inside the pocket it normally fits into.

For the rest of the holes like the seat belt bolts, leave the bolts threaded in. Makes it easier to find them, especially with the thick rubber backing you have on the carpet. Also helps for the actual seat bolts too, you could also use washers and another nut on the bolts to help hold the carpet down while you are trimming.

Before you trim the area at the sill plates, get the seats bolted down. I made the mistake of trimming everything real close and when the seats were in the final position it pulled it just enough to have a small gap in one area.    And you should be able to get some of the carpet under the sill plates, it should compress it just enough to hold it in place.

[Dino]

Thanks for the tips 

I laid the rear carpet down and held it down with some weights.  I then grabbed a short icepick and stuck it through the seat belt bolt hole from under the car.  From the top I stuck a soldering iron in the carpet to enlarge the hole and it worked great!  Once I was done with that I bolted the belts back in place so the carpet would be nice and flush with the floor boards.  I was going to trim the sides next but I'll wait until the seats are in, I can see how trimming first could leave a gap.

If I cut the carpet right next to the pinch weld then the sill plate should grab enough of the carpet, but I'll try to leave it a little longer.  Front carpet is next!

[Dino]

Once I laid the front piece down I understood the shifter had to come out.    

It turns out that there is a ton of extra material not only on the sides, but also on the front running up the firewall.  I like that, better too much than not enough.  When I slide the carpet forward it hits right behind the heater box and I can't go further.  At that point the top of the heel pad has quite a ways to go before reaching the gas pedal holes.  I think I'll try to bend the front of the carpet back over itself so I can get the heel pad in the correct location, bolt down the pedal and go from there.  It won't be easy with the stiff mass backing but I'll use a heat gun if needed.

Now before I go all gung ho with scissors, how exactly does the carpet run around the pedals?  Detailed pictures are welcome.      

[b5blue]

No pics.......

[Dino]

No pics.......

Alright alright   

I don't have a ton of them but did grab a few.

The rest of the interior will be turned black at a later time so ignore the mix of black and green.   

The seatbelts will be replaced with a more modern setup in the near future but the lap belts will do for now.  I have color coat to paint them black but don't see the point really.  It would only be temporary.

I included a pic of one of the holes made with a soldering iron, it works really well.  The jute padding on the floor was already there, I don't know who put it there but it seems to be b body specific.  All I had to do was vacuum it.

The carpet installed really nice and I attribute that to a well made product and a very stiff backing.  The heel pad is a bit wobbly because the sides have not been trimmed.  When you fold them out of the way, the whole carpet follows the contours of the floor perfectly. 

I made a small slit in the carpet to slide the gas pedal mechanism through, I think that worked really nice.  Next up is trimming at the firewall, put the seats back in to trim the sides and reinstall everything.  The console will be painted black though and I have carpet for that as well.  I will be using a bit of carpet tape around the shifter so the whole tunnel is covered.  Right now it's just cut and not tucked properly.

[Dino]

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[Dino]

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[twodko]

Alright, alright, alright indeed man! That is as damn near perfect a carpet
install as one could hope for. That looks great Dino, very nicely done bro. 

Tom

[Dino]

Thanks!   

I heated up the heel pad and put some book son it and it turned out nice and flat.  I marked the location for the gas pedal and it turned out to be exactly on the corner of the heel pad.  I think that's where it belongs so yay!   

The pad looks wavy again because I haven't trimmed or tucked the rest of it but it'll look great when done.  Or at least it'll look great when everything's black and I have new pedals.  The gas pedal especially can stand replacing.  I'll get the stainless steel trim for the pedals as well to finish it off.   

[b5blue]

YEA! Pics. 

[jaak]

Looks good Dino! Nice job!! 

Jason

[Dino]

Carpet is done, I'll post pics later.  Everything went great, all is snug and where it's supposed to be.  I went up as high onto the firewall as I could and it looks great.  Now all I need is to get some decent floor mats.   

Question on the console carpet:  The rear piece has a vinyl flap on each end, does that fold between the metal frame the carpet is glued to and the console body?  The stitching makes it real tight.

[Charger-Bodie]

Looks great and it rare to see one with the gas pedal in the right spot in the corner of the heel pad. A pet piece of mine. Great job Dirk!

[Mopar Nut]

Nice job! 

[Dino]

No pics yet so I'll snap some today.  I had left the camera on while plugged in to the pc and drained the battery.

I installed the rear console carpet and made some brackets to mount the 66/67 armrest to the console so all that is left to do is install the side console carpet and bolt the unit in the car.

On the driver's side it looks like the screw is supposed to go through the carpet.  Has anyone glued the carpet over the screw?  Maybe use some carpet tape in that area so it's easily peeled back if the console needs removing?

By the way, does anyone have some good pic of the side console carpet?  I'm not sure how far forward and down it needs to be.  The trim clips go through the carpet correct?

[twodko]

Hey Dino,

The screw does go through the carpet and should have a chrome (?) collar with it.

Tom

[Dino]

Hey Dino,

The screw does go through the carpet and should have a chrome (?) collar with it.

Tom

Thanks for confirming that, I just found the collar!   

[Dino]

I finally have some pictures up.  Don't mind the green and the horrendous looking front seats, it will be addressed.   
I also crawled in and out of the car a few times so it could stand some cleaning again.

I'm very happy with how everything fit.  The console was a bit tough to line up because the brackets and the shifter mechanism endured a hit or two in a past life but it's in there.  I also painted the console black, made brackets to hold the armrest in place, and got a roll of solid tool box liner at HF to line the console.  It's about 1/8" thick so now I can carelessly throw stuff in there.   

The carpet itself fit perfectly.  All holes were made with a soldering iron to keep from fraying.  Since the console is nice and snug I left out the side screw because it really stands out.  You can't bury that grommet in this carpet as you can with 80/20 loop.

I left the carpet full length on the front and cut where needed to fit it all the way up the firewall as you can see.  I did not have my lower steering column trim on yet which now covers the cut carpet as well.

I did cheat a bit on the gas pedal, I let the carpet cover up the mechanism but when you push the pedal all the way in, the mechanism pushes against the carpet.  You can't actually tell but nonetheless I'll make a bracket there to keep the carpet removed from the mechanism.  Sure looks clean this way.

If you need a great carpet I hear ECS can't be beat, but this carpet must be a close second.  It's an ACC carpet in cut pile with mass backing if anyone is looking to do this.

Now...where can I find some nice floor mats, preferably in cut pile as well?

[Dino]

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