I just removed the old carpet and am looking for a few tips on preparation for new carpet. I will be putting down Refletix/Dynamat type product under the new carpet.

Questions:
Should I save the old carpet as a template, or should I figure that there will be enough differences in thickness between underlayment that it won't be of much use? The fit of the carpet I removed was pretty good.

How much prep of the surface do I need to do? Remove old glue and clean? Take it down to clean fiberglass?

This is what I have:



Is there any special treatment I need to give these holes/crack that I can't find in a search of fiberglass repair?



This is the passenger side foot well just forward of the transmission x-member.

 

I would grind out the cracked floor and any holes and repair them with a little glass mat and resin. The old seam sealer should be checked and any thing that's loose should be removed and replaced with new, this is the last time you will likely access these areas so treat them that way. Its all open now ... now's the time.

Consider an upgrade on your trans tunnel insulation, DEI makes several products for this or there are many supporting vendors here that can walk you through products that will improve your comfort level.

Have fun with it!

Dave

 

You might want to look at this thread.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-drag-car.html

As for the glue...you can either remove it with adhesive remover or lacquer thinner in a WELL VENTILATED AREA...but is is not 100% required...even though I do remove all glues when I install the Dynamat Extreme. This is so I am not fighting the product sticking and not coming off.

DUB

 

Stupid question. Do you use polyester resin, like a boat, or is there an epoxy resin that is available for sale? I've done enough polyester resin work to go through 3 five gallon buckets of resin and dozens of yards of mat/cloth, so I'm pretty sure I can pull that off.

More, less-stupid questions:
DUB, when you grind out the crack or hole and begin refilling do you start with the largest piece of mat, and overlay with progressively smaller pieces, or do you start small and go larger...or does it matter? Thanks for the link. I wouldn't have thought to use panel bond to get started.

Because the body is on the frame, I will repair the inside half of the hole in the tunnel now, and get the other half when I pull the engine and transmission (I'll do the tunnel insulation then as Phantom suggested). Do you see any problems with this plan?

Thanks guys.

 

YES...polyester in this case due to your year model (1968)....and there are NO STUPID questions when a person is asking for help on something and wants to get it right.

OK...time for you to stop and think. Knowing that you are going to grind and taper the hole out. Then apply some tape or 'whatever' you want on the transmission side. If you looked at it in a cut-away view from the side. The tapered fiberglass and hole with tape on it now would look like a bowl...correct??? SO...logic ( or at least my logic) would say to put a small piece with frayed edges of the fiberglass mat and NOT cut with scissors. Then another piece a bit larger and so on. I have gotten so accustomed to having the final layer be the piece that gets everything flat and all in one piece....thus all the lower layers bring it up to a flat level surface....if that makes sense.

Not a problem at all if you choose to do it that way...but honestly.... the location that the hole is in. I think that it is accessible even with the transmission in now.

DUB

 

I get that logic. I was thinking (wondering actually) if having the piece of mat with the larger bonding surface in the center of the fill would somehow give it more strength. In reality is probably doesn't matter because, if I understand the properties of the resin correctly, it acts as a single continuous and homogeneous mass. Placing the smaller pieces in the bottom of the "bowl" would make it easier to lay without any wrinkles.


I haven't jacked it up an given it a good look to see how much room I have in there. If it is as grease/dirt laden as the rest of the underside was, getting a clean surface with the transmission in will be a challenge. I'll probably wait.

I really appreciate your comments.

 

one word "reflectix" to minimize heat and noise install before carpet.

 

PRECISELY!


Do as you wish....but for me..I would have to get under the car with some lacquer thinner and towels to get it washed off so when I applied my tape...it would adhere.

On the drag car I am working on....you would be surprised on how quick the underside washed off so the tape would stick....and how the inside cleaned up after I scraped all the facotry interior undercoating off so I could fix it.

As many may or may not know..having your repair area clean is part of the prep...but it is you car...and I am not judging you.

DUB

 

2 rolls sitting the in garage...and another Austin guy.

Yes, I realize that I will have to clean the tunnel around the hole to get the tape to stick. I meant I will wait on fixing the underside of the hole (sanding/filling) until I have better access.

Thanks again, DUB. Any thoughts on keeping the old carpet as a template? Anybody?

 

I cleaned mine to the bare fiberglass. But, I was in the USAF and we did things by the book.
There really isn't that much thickness added by the DynaMat Xtreme that we used to make any difference in the carpet fit at all.


It's not fun or easy cleaning to bare fiberglass, but I'd do it again, if I was doing it.

 

It never hurts to have the carpet around while doing this...BUT...that is assuming that it has not already been replaced by someone who did not do it correctly. But it still never hurts.

In this photo...the carpet needs to be carefully folded over the top edge and slid down in between the metal portion and the rear wheel tub area. And the carpet for the rear wheel tub ALSO gets fed into this same area...so it is tight and they pinch each other ...so-to-speak. A FUN spot to get correct. I have had to bend the metal out a little to get both carpets in there and then I tap the metal back to close it and make the carpets tight there....and I do this WITHOUT screwing the carpet up.

ALSO is the front seat track carpet cuts. they are specific ...and are done so when the track is installed....the cut is made so the carpet flaps back onto the track mount and gets some adhesive to hold it. The cut will be in the shape of an 'L' on the passenger side front mounts...and the mirror image of that 'L' for the drivers side.

Nothing I hate more than opening up a door on a really nice Corvette and looking down and the seats where just set on the carpet and they poked a hole through the carpet so you see the front track mount. It is NOT that hard to get this area SPOT ON correct. And I do BOTH front seat track mount areas so when you look at them...you can not see the bolts...and that is ..like I wrote...all done by how you cut the carpet.

I use the DynaMat Extreme and DynaPAd and I do not run into the carpet and parts not fitting. It has a lot to do with where to trim and not trim. It does take a bit of thinking...but not like nuclear fusion.

DUB

 

Thank you for your service.

Bare fiberglass it is.

To the attic with the carpet.

Thanks for those tips. I'll have to figure out how to cut around the bracket/tracks because I have Corbeau A4 seats and the brackets and tracks are different. The brackets are black and I'm changing the interior color to black. It would take a contortionist to see the mounting bolts, but I'll paint them black in case I give a contortionist a ride.

 

BTW, whatever heat insulator material you choose, the foil side should be DOWN, so that it can reflect radiant heat BEFORE it enters the product or the cockpit. If it is foil on both sides, all the better. I used metal (aluminum) foil tape [4" wide] to join the sections of Reflectix together. Worked very well! I only put a light spray of adhesive over the surfaces, except on vertical surfaces which got more spray.

You NEED to get new rubber plugs to hold up the carpeting on vertical panels at firewall and at rear of storage compartment (on coupes). I don't think any adhesive will hold carpet upright for very long. Many of the Corvette parts supply places sell new plugs. You can install them by placing over a medium sized Phillips screwdriver and putting light amount of grease on the outside of the plugs. Then just push them through the holes to seat them.

 

Got the plugs, reflectix, aluminum tape, and adhesive. It'll be a while before I get to install the carpet. Got a little wire-sorting to do to get the the courtesy lights working, adding AC, new stereo, and "dye-ing" all the interior parts. Full on color change from saddle to black.

 

Interior color change will be no problem if you are using good quality vinyl dye. Should cover just fine with a couple of light covering coats. Just make sure everything is squeaky clean before shooting.

 

BOY OH BOY...that last sentence 'says' it all. The prep is so important to get the dye to stick.

DUB

 

For what this is worth:

When installing the rubber carpet plugs. I take an old screwdriver with a round shaft that will fit in the hole of the rubber plug. I grind the end FLAT and then slightly round the edges so they are not sharp.

When I go and install the rubber plug..I insert the tool and while slightly pulling back on the washer area of the rubber plug...you will see the rubber plug stretch a little bit and the point of it get a little bit smaller. I will then lightly apply some dielectric grease AFTER I have pushed it through the carpet...and while holding the plug under light tension I will push it into the hole in the firewall or rear wall area.

Sometimes they go right in and work like designed. BUT...sometimes you might want to STOP...go on the other side of the firewall and using a pair of needle nose pliers...carefully grab it and help it through.

The reason being.....you can easily poke through the side to the rubber plug when pushing like crazy to get it to go into and through the hole and render it useless or really hard to get to go in.

Only commenting from the experiences of the countless rubber plugs I have installed. And I even bought the special tool from LICS to install these rubber carpet plugs and what I made works better in my experiences.

DUB

 

Hi,
The rubber plug tool DUB describes is a big help.
Someone made one for me.
It has a flat washer slipped on the screwdriver shaft and welded at a position that will let the plug stretch about 3/8", but no more.
Since I've had this tool I haven't 'lost' a plug, and installing them is actually pretty easy.
I'm surprised someone doesn't produce it.
Regards,
Alan

 

I've got a local source for SEM dye, cleaner and adhesion promoter. Using it was pretty straightforward and the results were outstanding. People are shocked when I tell them I changed the color of the old panel.

Here's a shot of one of the door panels I did early this spring. The wife wanted me to stop with the doors so we could cruise around before it got too hot. I completely disassembled, cleaned and re-greased the window regulators and tracks, replaced the seals on the soft-top and re-adjusted the window to get a good seal. The window actually goes up without assistance, although the motors are tired. I rarely have need to roll up the windows so I left them for now.

Thanks for the tip on carpet plugs. I'm certain I have something in the garage that'll work.