Hi all,

I'm going to spend the entire weekend working on the interior of my 75 'vette. The main job is putting in a new carpet for the entire car - I just bought a replacement from Zip corvette. Has anyone out there got any suggestions as I usually make a mess of these kind of things (i.e. tips, special tools etc).

Thanks in advance,

Craig

 

Hopefully you have the interior out of the car.

Install some heat barrier material before putting the new carpet in.

Sharp knife...but before you cut....try to get the carpet to fit at least three times by shifting it around, and then cut, but only a small amount.

Spray glue and whatever solvent the glue takes to remove it from areas where you did not want the spray glue to go.

Dull blade screwdriver for pushing carpet into corners....

Lots of patience.

Good luck....hope the weather is cool

 

The only part of mine that gave me any fits was keeping the edge under the storage compartment lid. Everything else fell into place with little effort.

Let it lay out in the sun for a while before starting to make it a little softer and easier to work with.

 

And to add to it, take it slow and easy and try to avoid getting p!$$3d off. If frustration creeps in, take a good break. And always, measure twice, cut once applies. Eyeball and try to get it to fit before cutting. Precut and formed carpet is suppose to fit well, so if it ain't make sure you got the right piece in the right place.

 

Make sure you tuck in corners and lay it flat before glueing. THINK before cutting. Many portions of the carpet must overlap areas a bit so it looks tucked under... the component actually hold it down. (sill plates, rear storage comparment frame, seat belt covers under seat, center shift console etc...)
Once the carpet is in, here's a tip for trying to find seat mounting bolt holes, seat belt covers, shoulder harness bolt holes, seat belt buckles (on tunnel). Use an awl, nail, or anything sharp...and poke it through the carpet from under the car.
Good luck
Eddie

 

First--Do NOT install carpet unless you have first put down a good heat barrier/sound deadening material on the firewall (as far as you can reach), the tunnel area, the front seat well and floor areas and the vertical panel behind the seats (as a minimum). With a C3 car THIS IS A MUST and simple to do as long as the interior is out anyway. You will get a lot of discussion about what to use, but I just installed Reflectix (5/16" thick heavy-duty bubble pad with foil on both sides) from Home Depot building materials section {$20 for 100 sq. ft.!!} and it is the best improvement I ever did on a Corvette.
Second--Use the carpeting you remove [as long as it fits well] a the template for any cutting you have to do on the new carpeting prior to install. Be conservative on your cutting; if you need to mark on the back-side of the new stuff and pre-fit before you cut, you can do so easily.
Third--You can put the Reflectix (or whatever you choose) in the storage area, but the extra thickness will be a problem in finding screw holes and for fitting the compartment mouldings back on the doors. I did not put insulation in back and I don't regret my decision.
Last--Use glue for the insulation material, but don't use much for the carpeting. I only used it for the lower firewall area and the vertical area behind the seats. I reused the rubber carpet "pins" for the vertial area in back of the storage area. That way...the next time you re-do carpet, etc. you can remove it without much problem.

Just my suggestions. Good luck with your project.

 

There is NO reason to glue the carpet in. Mine wasn't glued, and the console, seats, sill panels, etc. have kept it from moving for 10 years.

 

I used an old soldering iron to melt the seat bolt holes and seatbelt bolt holes. first poke a small screwdriver or icepick through in order to find your holes under the carpet, then replace the icepick with the soldering iron. move around in circles til the exact bolt hole shape is melted through the carpet.
Make sure your carpet is in its final position before you do this, and BE CAREFULL.

Oh yeah, I never glued my carpet either. Its gets held into position quite nicely...

 

I'm putting in the carpet on my '69, and it seems that the pieces for the rear wheel wells don't fit as tightly as I would like them to. It seems like I would need to glue them in to properly follow the contours of the wheel well. Is this normal? The only thing that holds this piece in is the door post molding and the seat belt shoulder retractor.

 

put the carpet in the sun or a warm/hot area to help soften it up for molding into place

b

 

Measure several times before you cut; use the removed sections as templates to mark hole positions. I did not use glue either, but the rubber mounting plugs for the rear wall by the dome light of a 76 were a true pain to get seated. A bit of liquid dishwashing soap helped...

 

Want pictures?

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2005...arpet-lead.asp

Have an adequate stock of your FCB on hand.

 

Great info... I'll be keeping this post around as re-carpeting is one of my winter projects.

 

I went out looking for some Reflectix (Supposedly at Home Depot), but no one seems to have it in stock. Anyone know of any places that stocks it? I'm in the Atlanta area.

 

Lowes carries it, I am not sure if you have a lowes in Atlanta.

 

Yes they do.. I was able to find some this afternoon. Maybe I'll get the carpet back in this weekend!
Thanks guys!