Realizing this is my first C3 carpet install, my experience installing the wheel well carpets for both sides was nothing but a grueling experience. The molded sections were not even close as compared to factory. The jute backing was also off in many areas. It took me roughly 2 hours per side to get it in place with a lot of sweat and anxiety. I can't believe how much you have to trim to make their wheel well carpets fit correctly. If I ever do a carpet install again it will not be with their product. Some of you may have had a better experience but for my particular carpet it was a joke. Oh...and whatever you do, don't throw your old carpet pieces away. It truly helps in the fitting process. Now on to the other pieces and I hope my experience will be better

 

Hey Jonnieutah;
Your experience sounds like mine only it took me two days to do my wheel wells two years ago with the ACC carpet I thought by now they would have improved the product. The rest of the carpet went in pretty smooth with minor trimming and is holding up well after two years. I'm still not satisfied with my wheel wells and thought about buying just enough carpet from Automotive Interiors and Accessories to do the wheel wheels .They sent me samples and their black 80/20 loop carpet looks good and I think I could get a better fit with it. A future project. good luck.

 

Yep I feel the same as you. Some day I will be replacing my wheel wells with another's product but it won't be anytime soon. An experience like this can really put a bad taste in your mouth. All I can say is thank goodness for 3M Extra Strength adhesive spray in the green can.

BTW, that other place you mention is ACC carpet as well. I wonder who else besides ACC makes a quality carpet.

 

http://www.stockinteriors.com/items....x0uRoCk7Tw_wcB

 

I don't know why you had such a problem with your fit. I used ACC carpet on my 73 about 3 years ago and didn't have any problem with the wheel well fit. I did have my original ones to use as a guide. I didn't even use any adhesive on any of the carpet and was over insulation.
Maybe I was lucky.









Donnie

 

Yep...you were lucky Donnie. I called ACC today about this situation. Not sure it will do any good but I did my duty as an end user.

 

Al Knoch. http://www.alknochinteriors.com/

 

It is most imperative that you don't toss the old carpets and use them for a template.. I've not had any issues with the rear humps, but then I made a template from old carpet sets we have here. (we save original carpet sets just in case there is an issue).

Also know.. The rear humps didn't use any jute on them. If you remove the rear humps and they have jute on the back of the, it's the deadener that has stuck to the carpet from over the years.

You can't use new deadener on the humps and then use the hump carpets with jute on them.... they won't fit worth a hoot.

I've worked with ACC over the last four years trying to make changes in all the carpets and the rear humps and so far the end result has been awesome. I even have a picture (shown below) on our tech site that shows the correct orientation of the rear humps to possibly make the installation easier.



But.. if there is an issue with a carpet set and the customer has in his possession the original carpet section (proven by the Stevens tag), ACC can and most often will make changes based on original documented product.

To me, the bottom line is if you have an issue with ACC carpet and if it came from me you let me know... I'll get it fixed if it's a true fit issue. Roger, Michelle and the others there are always more then eager to help me with issues.

Willcox

 

I literally just did this job myself this past Monday/Tuesday.

I ordered my carpets through Stockinteriors.com, only after verifying with them that they source from ACC, because that's what I wanted. My carpets came in an ACC box, not a generic box.

I would not say that the install was easy, but I was not unhappy with the fit. I took my time, trimmed carefully, and as another member mentioned, I didn't need to use any adhesive. That's just my experience.

 

I just finished installing their carpet and it was horrible,I really don't even want to think about any more. 20yrs ago(maybe a little longer)my wife and I installed a carpet in the same vette and it was perfect and a pleasure to install. It also took twice(at least)as long to install. I could fill up a book with all the flaws in this company's carpet.

 

I just finished installing the driver and passenger front carpets and it was horrible as well. The fit in the rear sections where the retractable seat belts go had no form at all like the OEM. All in all it was the same horrible experience as the wheel wells in the rear. And those photos that Wilcox posted which by the way is who I bought my ACC carpet from does not represent the form that I got in my carpet sections. My stuff was under formed for sure and I had the OEM old carpet to use as a reference. For a first time Vette owner and restorer this has not been what I expected and I pity anyone who takes on this carpet challenge. I challenge any ACC employee to come to my place and install their carpet in my Vette!

 

I just installed the carpet kit in my 81 and it worked great. It was an ACC kit I had ordered from Wilcox some time ago. It had been in the box for over a year so I was convinced I might have some fit problems in regards to laying flat or getting any bulges out. I lay it out for a couple of days prior to installation and it turned out great! Very little to no trimming required. This was the easiest carpet kit I've ever installed.

 

This weekend I was planning on installing my ACC carpeting that has been sitting on my shelf patiently.
Now I am starting to get worried!
Maybe I will tackle a different job instead. Anyone know of any "EASY" corvette tasks?

 

I was going to buy their carpet by the yard just enough to do the wheels wells and shape it myself, I couldn't do worse.

 

Checking tire pressure.

 

I finally gave up on the ACC wheel well carpet install.... it wasn't even close to fitting properly.

I ended up using a black fleece material that I bought at Walmart to do the wheel well with, it looks great and fit and install was ten times easier than trying to re-shape and fit the stuff they sent me.

mardyn

 

I will agree that installing the rear carpet is a nightmare. I don't see why they can't get the dies right for press fitting them . They weren't even close and the recessed area where the convertible top frame lowers down onto the carpet was not recessed enough to easily lower the top all of the way . It had to be forced for some time until the carpet took form to the recess while under pressure. It all worked out in the end but definitely was not easy. Just another thing to add to the list of aftermarket parts that are inferior.

 

I must be the odd one out. My ACC carpet went in fine and followed Alan 71 instructions to trim a little bit at a time . . I read up on the carpet install on the forum and waited for the new ACC carpet that Wilcox helped get right .They had a lot of original carpets to get the right shape and were working through all the different years. A big thumbs up for Wilcox for all there hard work and working with the vendors to get it right.

 

I just used ACC the kit worked fine for me, the original carpet was already gone when I bought my car so no pattern. What I did was I left the carpet in the sun while at work for a day, then laid the carpet on the correct wheel well for another day out in the sun with the windows rolled up it soften up the molded carpet . When I got home I trimmed a bit here and there 2 hours later the back area was complete. The only thing that was a pain was the cargo light install locating those tiny holes lol.

 

Thanks Sug! This is the thread you were talking about and since we did this work we've had minimal issues. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...68-1977-a.html

If the carpet set was purchased before 05-2015 then I can understand the OP's complaint about the rear carpets, but the current production carpets seem to fit like a glove since we got ACC to fix the rear humps and T sections. But even on the 69 shown below, they still sent us the wrong T section with this carpet and we had to swap it out. The keys to installing the rear hump is to either have an original to mark the cuts with, and to never install deadener and a hump with jute glued to it. You can't have both on there or they will fit badly.

The carpet shown below was installed last week in my shop by Kevin, and there were no issues with it what so ever.. However, always keep this in mind, he does these installations quite often and is very skilled at his job.

Willcox