I order a complete carpet set for my 72 convertible and it just does not fit well. I am trimming so much material on the wheel wells and the fit is terrible on the drivers side, The back walll with the wings to them does not have same dimentions as my older carpet i installed a couple years ago. Willcox is much bigger and it doesn't allow the rear deck lid to close.

Has anyone installed willcox carpet on a convertible? Do you have the same carpet look as i do?

I have the older carpet on top of the new willcox carpet.

Thanks
Jim

 

I'm in the middle of replacing the carpet on my 72 convertible. I am having the same issues with the wheel well carpet. It just doesnt fit very well. It appears to be very large for the area it should fit in. I'm not sure what the manufacturer is and wont be home until Monday to check it out. I think I am going to ask a friend that does home carpet installation to drop by and take a look to see what his idea would be before I start trimming or cutting. Another issue I see is that from being shipped in the box it has creases that are making it hard to lay flat on the wells.
Rodney

 

I bought mine from Wilcox a few years ago and it fit perfectly. This was on a coupe. Lay it out in the sun to warm it up before installing. I think it as drop shipped for Corvette America.

 

Hey! look at the bright side of things at least you recieved a rear carpet that is long enough, a few years back I was SCREWED on carpet length by ACC and had to pay my upholstery guy to make a new rear section because it was over a year after I had bought my carpet and it seems there were some workers at ACC who didn't know that roadsters require a longer carpet length. Still PO'd over that one! and yes, I did have a bunch of fitment problems with the carpet.

 

ACC carpet sucks I was vacuming and sucked the yarn right out of the backing already fading in some places Yes I live in florida but still I drive the maybe 3000 a year called them and they acted as they could care less and said I could buy a new single piece at more that half the price for a whole set my origanal carpet still had good color just worn from 38 years of use

 

not wilcox Its acc as far as i have heard they are the only ones who make carpet for old cars

 

Have you contacted Ernie at Willcox?

 

Hi l,
Remember, Willcox isn't a manufacturer. They distribute a producers carpet.
I fully understand your frustration. The carpet material itself is very good but the way it's 'tailored' is VERY different from the original. I guess this doesn't matter to most people. I still think Knock carpet is the best choice from what's available.
I've had 2 different new sets of carpet in my 71 coupe.
The cut and binding of the piece for the rear floor and bulk-head is very different than the original in ALL the mfgs I've looked at.
The wheel-well pieces are sent out with lots of extra material to be cut as it's installed. It's a lot of work but can installed with very good results.
I ended up not using any of the carpet from one manufacturer, and just the 2 front pieces and seat bulkhead piece from another. I re-used the original carpet and jute padding from my coupe for the rest.
I also reused the heel and dimmer pads from my original carpet. (Moved them to the new carpet.)
I found the same differences in the ear bulkhead carpet as your pictures show. It extends too far up the bulkhead and doesn't 'dip' down art the ends.
I spent a tremendous amount of time installing the carpet.... TWICE! Still have 1 1/2 sets sitting unused in my basement.... and don't know what I would have done if I couldn't have reused some of my original carpet.
1&2 Here's a picture of the rear bulkhead carpet.... it looks like yours.
3&4 Here's why I changed the heel/dimmer pads.
5 I had problems with the fit at the front too... carpet was too short. I had to shift it forward so the plugs could be used.
If I can answer any questions I'd be happy to.
Regards,
Alan

 

I haven't contacted them yet. By the time I figured this out it was after hours. I think i got a coupe installation kit. I checked my order in willcox and it clearly states Red, convertible, manual, 80/20 loop. The paper i received with the order said 71-72, four speed, molded roadster. So that all matches up except real world installation.

 

I took my carpet to a good shop where they modified the carpet based on the original template. Unlike Alan I could not reuse any of the carpet in my 70 vert.

Once the carpet was resewn in the bulk head area I set it out in the sun on a nice hot day. It actually laid down very nice and yes it still needed some trimming but turned out excellent. Make sure it is good and hot and that the car is in the sun so that the sun can still beat on the carpet a bit until you are done.

My 70 did not have the dimmer pad originally and the heel pad is as close a repro as you can get.



Bill

 

yeah but Ernie keeps some weird hours, I know based on PMs I get from him

I PMd him a link to this thread, so hopefully he gets with you soon...I know he will do his best to get things figured out for you

 

I seek enlightenment. I did not think there was a difference between coupe and convertible carpets. For 68-70 there is no difference - one size fits all. For 71-75 there is a difference and I'm guessing it's the rear floor and bulkhead carpet and the presence of absence of deck lid springs.

Anyone know for sure?

 

The difference is the rear T section Mike... and it looks like our customer received one for a coupe.

Leurja, please send me those pictures to Willcoxcustomerservice@willcoxcorvette.c om. along with the order number if possible and please include your full name so I can dig up the order info. This will allow me to send them down to ACC first thing in the morning and get this resolved for you asap.

I'm sorry for the issue, but we will get this resolved quickly.

Willcox

 

Info sent... thank you!

Jim

 

Hi Mike,
The carpet on the rear floor and bulkhead....
I believe the 68-69 bulkhead carpet had 2 different 'tab' configurations for coupe and convertible. I'm not sure if either was like the 70-72 carpet.
I believe the 70 coupe and convertible were different from each other, and both were different from the 71-72 coupe and convertible, which were the same.
The 70 coupe and convertible ran further up the bulkhead and had a very small 'tab' at each upper corner. The 71-72 stopped a few inches lower and had a very pronounced 'tab'
Regards,
Alan

Here're 3 pictures of my 71 coupe original carpet. Both sides.

 

It appears that I also got the wrong carpet for my 69 accept there was no option to order for a coupe or a roadster. It has to be bent to go under the hinge. I had torn the old carpet out years before I was ready to install new, so had no old carpet to go by.

 

Hi RR,
I believe your pictures show perfectly why the piece needs the 'serious' dip in the top edge of each side.
Regards,
Alan

 

The carpet kits only come in one version for 68-70. I believe this is because Chevrolet only used one rear compartment for both coupe and convertibles, in those years.

If you look at a 68, 69 or 70 assembly manual, they only show one rear compartment carpet. There's just a note about cutting a hole, when the carpet is to be used in a convertible.

The 71-75 assembly manuals actually make note of 2 different rear compartment carpets, one for coupes and one for convertibles.

I'm guessing that GM probably made a change to the convertible carpets in 70-71, so that it fit better in back and/or didn't interfere with the deck lid hinges.

In luerja's case, I agree with Wilcox that he got the wrong rear carpet.

 

I have the same problem. I ordered mine a year ago and am now just getting to it. I'll have to work w/ Willcox/ACC as well.

 

Alan 71, can you please explain the styrofoam block tucked up in the rear?

i had a what looked like a rolled up life jacket on both sides of mine.
is it a noise / heat / fumes preventer or just to stop junk falling in to the void?

thanks
alan