66 Carpet install advice

[Keith B.]

Gentlemen: I want to replace my org 66 sivler carpet. I have a sample from Al Knock and am awaiting another from ACC as I found this color is hard to match(silver/grey/pewter). Can someone point me in the right direction on instructions or a video of "How to install a carpet set" in a convertible. I have never done this before, should I leave it to the pro's?? I would rather try myself and learn. I have the Restorer CD and have searched this site..no luck.

Lastly, do you recommend changing the underlay after 38yrs?? I just looked at it and it's soft, dry well padded from the factory......is it common practice to change this when one changes the carpet?? Any thoughts on also installing the heat barrier insulation. I have the 427 and it does get hot inside the interior.... ANy other advice is again greatly appreciated..........Cheers...

[Larry S.]

Re: 66 Carpet install advice

I have a 66 and replaced the carpets back in 2001.Definatle a job you can do your self as long as you’re in no hurry,
The only advice I can give is

What ever type of glue you use make sure you have something to remove it. I used 3M heavy duty spray trim adhesive and also purchased there cleaner in a red can.

Have plenty of surgical gloves available the glue was always on my hands as soon as the gloves got glue on them I took them off and put on a new clean pair.

I laid out every thing dry and test fitted and trimmed the minimum I needed to then I marked everything with children’s driveway chalk removed then glued and reinstalled .Take your time here in test fitting.

As for the front area I took a set of bolts/screws and cut the heads off and sharpened them to a point. I screwed them into the gas pedal hold down boss in the floor. I then drilled holes in the gas pedal pad in the carpet and slipped them over the pointed bolts/screws to place it in the correct spot.

Also any place I needed to set a screw through the carpet I put a dab of crazy glue to avoid tearing the carpet with the screw.(the glue makes it a solid)

Have plenty of spare sharp razor blades available sharp knife is safer to use then a dull one and the carpet dulls them out pretty quick.

be of clear mind this is not a task to attempt if your slightly edgy I did not enjoy this project I guess mostly because I was getting glue all over myself and the car and got slightly frustrated because I was doing it alone.

Good Luck.

Lastly remember I said trim the minimum you have to even with that in mind some how I almost over trimmed by my console area in between the seats
I just barely had enough carpet to be held in place by the console.

[James W.]

Re: 66 Carpet install advice

Keith,

I agree with Larry that it is a job you can do yourself. I would recommend that you go to Ace Hardware and get 3 or 4 quarts of contact cement to use as an adhesive for the carpet. I used this same product to install my 1964 convertible carpet and it worked great and was easy to control and apply where you want it with the brush. I bought plenty of their cheapest 2" wide, throw-away bristle paint brushes to apply the glue, use a zip lock bag to store the brush in between glue applications. Apply glue to both the carpet backing and the interior body surfaces. Be careful and do not apply glue to too large of an area of the carpet backing, only work with small area until you are comfortable with the install process. Once the new carpeting is in place it will most likely not come back up without damage to the back surface. Also be sure that when the old carpet is removed that the carpet interior body surfaces are clean so that the glue will stick. I went overboard, I used 3M weather strip adhesive remover, a putty knife and soft scotch brite pads and removed all the original factory applied carpet glue before installing my new carpet set. This process will not damage the interior fiberglass surface and melts the old carpet glue quickly. I know that the carpeting in the 1963/1964 cars is different from 1965 to 1967 cars but the following tips are valuable no matter what year car that you are installing carpet in. Probably the most important thing to do before you start is to lay out all the new carpeting and inventory the quantities using the original, in-place carpet as a guide...IF you haven't already removed it. Take pictures of the original carpet in-place to use as a visual reference and pay special attention to how the carpet is cut where the seats are installed and at the heel pad where the bolts come through the carpet for the accelerator pedal. I laid out and pre-fit all my new carpet pieces before gluing them in place, this is a must because as I said once the glued carpet pieces come in contact with the interior body surfaces it most likely won't come back up without damage to the backing.

In the rear of the car you must start with the left or right side carpet pieces first since the center or bottom piece bound edges of carpeting overlaps the side pieces. Then work from the 90 degree corner where the back bulkhead and the bottom, flat interior surfaces meet. Start at that corner and work the carpet up the back bulkhead then work towards the front. I installed the carpet on the luggage stop (the metal panel behind the seats) after installing the rear carpeting. Start installing this piece at the bottom where the vertical surface just behind the seats and work up and over the ridge back down towards the jack storage compartment.

The front carpet pieces need to be laid out so that the rear carpet edge meets up to the bottom of the luggage stop carpeting on the bottom surface and also is positioned high enough so that the unbound edges on the driveshaft tunnel side tuck under the center console and under the sill plates. You will most likely need to trim a small amount off the carpet edges at the sill plate, center console and at the seat track locations. Be sure to read your 1966 judging guide and follow the descriptions for the seat track carpet flap cuts. Get the sharpest scissors you can find. I bought a pair of scissors at a fabric store; they are extremely sharp make cutting the carpet easy without pulling the weave. The driver’s side is the tuff side since you have to have it laid out in all the areas I've mentioned above and also get the heel pad positioned correctly. Lay the drivers side carpeting out and get it positioned. Once you have it where it should be, begin gluing it down at the back and work forward. If you start from the front you may have a gap at the bottom carpet surface where the front carpets meet the luggage stop carpet. Take note from your pictures of the original carpet under the seats, GM did not fully glue the carpets down under the seats, at least not in the 1963/1964 cars. The passenger’s side carpeting is a repeat of the driver’s side.

I hope this doesn't discourage you from doing it yourself. It really isn't that hard. I would be sure to have a helper or two when you install the carpet. It will be easier with someone helping you. As I said also refer the 1966 AIM manual and the judging guide. I'd be glad to help you answer any other questions you may have. Please feel free to contact me anytime.

As for the underlayment, I don't know if you eill be able to salvage the original underlayment when removing the original carpet. As for a heat barrier, it maybe difficult if not impossible to install a heat barrier along with the underlayment and have the carpet fit correctly. If you are going to have the car judged the aftermarket heat barrier would be a point deduction. I can understand need for additional heat deflection, my father owned a few big block cars and you would swelter in the city traffic.

Best Regards,

James West
Omaha, NE.
NCRS Nebraska Chapter Co-Chairman & Judging Chairman

[Richard S.]

Re: 66 Carpet install advice

Keith,
Very good advice given by Larry and James. I would add:
1) Use only Al Knock carpeting.
2) The carpeting will come in a box folded up tight....you must lay it out in the sun for quite some time to soften it up and make it easier to work with....or somehow warm it up.....not doing this may lead to mismeasuing and difficulties getting the carpet to fit properly.
3) Don't do the install alone....you need a friendly helper.
4) Use the 3M carpet glue.
5) Be extra careful when t*******....once the carpet is down on the flat surfaces....push it hard into the corners and up the sides BEFORE you trim....and trim less rather than more...especially at the top of the transmission tunnel where the carpet fits under the console....and at the sill plates.
6) Once the carpet is down....lay some clean heavy boxes of something...I used thick books in cardboard boxes.....on the flat parts of the carpet to help it to set flat without wrinkles. Remember not to trim too much off the edges or the carpet will end up short in spots.
7) Be especially careful at the heel pad on the drivers side. Take the time to really push it down into the corner and up the transmission wall.....it's vinyl and may have a mind of it's own....you need to put something heavy on it to make sure it lays flat up against the transmission wall and drys in that position.
As larry and James have said...you can do this yourself with great results....just take your time...do one piece at a time.....and dry fit each piece before glueing so you can see what layng flat and tight will do to the corners and top edges.
Have fun and good luck.
Rick.

[Gary S.]

Re: 66 Carpet install advice

You have been given lots of great advice here. Also, spend some time in the archives and read the information there. Here is my post from last year:

I THINK (disclaimer here) that the 66 carpet that I installed is different than the early C2's but when I installed the Al Knoch carpet in my car I pulled the seats out, of course, as well as the center console plate. In hind sight I would have liked to pull the steering wheel.

Regardless, pull your old carpet and padding. Scrape as much of the old glue and pad off as you can. 66 carpets are a single piece per side. Dry fit them several times and, if you must trim, leave some excess for fine tuning. Once you are certain of your fit, spray both the floor and pad with 3M Spray adhesive. I think they still make two versions of that. One is stronger than the other, which I prefer. Anyhow, the can says to let both sides air dry but I found it easier to fit the pad in while the glue was still tacky. That allowed me some room to maneuver the carpet around for a good fit. If your pad and carpet are already together then you are set. If not, spray some more 3M glue and do the same thing with your carpet. As suggested, you can use an awl to poke holes from underneith. Once that is done, you will need to locate your seat belt attaching holes. I used an awl to find those. Then I used a pencil point soldering iron to burn the final hole through the carpet for the seat belt attaching bolts. That way you have a clean hole that won't unravel. Others will tell you how to make the flap for the front of the seat belt track but the seat rail sits directly onto the fiberglass floor. I would suggest new bolts for the two sides of the seat belt and even run a tap to chase the threads. If my car was any example the threads were quite rusty and a tap to chase the threads made great sense.

Hope this helps.
Gary

[Keith B.]

Re: 66 Carpet-Thanks & one last question.

Thank-you very much to all who offered their advice. I absolutely love this site, have been reading articles here for years, now finally own a 66 L-36 and am enjoying learning how to do things "the right way". I think I will try and give this a go and install my new carpets myself thanks to your tips.

Is anyone familiar with the 66 interior color, silver and repro carpet color matching. I have the original silver/grey/pewter carpet (w/ J.P. Stevens & Co sticker dated on back). I received a sample piece from Al Knock and although close in color it is definately lighter grey/silver, not like the factory deeper grey/sil/pewter color. Any suggestions, I sent Al a e-mail asking for his best advice. Perhaps Al's is the closest I'm going to get to factory standards. I attached a pic of my factory carpet color. Your thoughts please>>>> Cheers/Keith

[Keith B.]

Check out this URL in message to view pic.

http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=61057629207&photoid=51057629207

[bill stephenson]

Re: 66 Carpet-Thanks & one last question.

-------Years ago in an effort to correct a too light silver set of carpeting, a friend of mine bought a bunch of dark gray Rit Dye and mixed up a garbage can full and re-dyed all the pieces. It actually came out very well. I would try Mid-Americas new carpeting before doing this, however. The set I saw in 67 saddle was very good.
-------I know I have mentioned this new vendor for carpeting too much lately and will stop. I dont want anyone thinking Mike is paying me or anything. I was just very impressed by the first set I saw............Bill S