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Well it has finally came to me installing new carpets in my 71 Coupe after so many years of restoration.
The ACC carpet fits nicely in general but some isues and questions remain.
Especially after installing sound deadening the rear compartment or should I say behind the seats carpet is somewhat tricky to install.
Questions that I have are:
How to tuck the carpet nicely at the upper edges where the wheel wells start and how far up can I pull it because It has to come nicely under the edge of the rear compartment frame?
I had the same issues with my 71 C3 new carpet. But a buddy has a body shop and has a "steamer". He let me borrow it. Worked wonders to get carpet to fit perfect.
Hello,
It looks like you MIGHT have the piece of carpet for the floor and rear bulkhead pulled up too far on the rear bulkhead.
I can't quite see where it ends at the top.
Might that help your situation?
Regards....
How to tuck the carpet nicely at the upper edges where the wheel wells start and how far up can I pull it because It has to come nicely under the edge of the rear compartment frame?
On my '72, the original carpet tabs at the top of the bulkhead - in front of the shoulder belt reels - were tucked down into the space between the bulkhead and the start of the wheel well. You may have to trim off some of the length so you can push it all down there with a putty knife or the like. I installed my replacement carpet the same way and it looks nicely finished this way.
Hello,
It looks like you MIGHT have the piece of carpet for the floor and rear bulkhead pulled up too far on the rear bulkhead.
I can't quite see where it ends at the top.
Might that help your situation?
Regards....
71 coupe
.
The rear carpet is so big that I intentionally put it all the way to the edge of the fiberglass. I hope it won't interfere with rear storage tray.
Even with the rear carpet pushed all the way up in the back there is still almost 5" of carpet left to be trimmed where it meets the rear storage tray.
The biggest issue is with tucking the carpet behind the bulckhead in front of shoulder belts.
There is rear wheel well carpet already tucked there and there is so little space left that I don't know how to nicely tuck the bulckhead carpet in there.
Hello,
As you mentioned you do have to keep the rear bulkhead carpet below the rear window storage tray hinges so they have clearence to pivot down when you open the tray.
Regards....
Here's a slew of photos.
The carpet on the seat bulkhead, wheel wells, the floor and rear bulkhead, and the underlayment and padding are original.
Look carefully at the forward edge of the rear wheel well and the seat bulkhead. No padding in that joint. You can see where, how, those 2 pieces were tucked in place.
Note. There is no padding or underlayment in the area forward the wheel well.
Hello,
As you mentioned you do have to keep the rear bulkhead carpet below the rear window storage tray hinges so they have clearence to pivot down when you open the tray.
Regards....
Here's a slew of photos.
The carpet on the seat bulkhead, wheel wells, the floor and rear bulkhead, and the underlayment and padding are original.
Look carefully at the forward edge of the rear wheel well and the seat bulkhead. No padding in that joint. You can see where, how, those 2 pieces were tucked in place.
Note. There is no padding or underlayment in the area forward the wheel well.
Alan71 that is one great reply with great information.
Yes the issue is that the new carpet has under carpet insulation all over and that makes it a little bit difficult to install.
But I managed to get it installed and test fitted the rear window storage tray and it fits nicely and it hinges just fine.
I also managed to test fit the rear compartment and will post the info in the next days.
For "glueing" the carpet I used just 2 sided carpet tape on most "problematic" areas. Everywhere else the carpet is sitting nicely on its own and the interior trim will hold it in place as well.
Hello J864,
Here are some photos.
They show that there was really no contact between the carpet and underlayment and between the underlayment and the fiberglass under body.
It appears that glue was spayed in the rear compartment but it had 'set' before the underlayment / carpet were installed.
I'm digging for some more 'before' photos.
Regards....
Thank you! Fascinating information and beautiful details pics.
The reason for my question was that I already had a replacement carpet, and not everything was original anymore. I read a lot but wasn't entirely sure. Now it's clear that there was only this one layer underneath, made of tar jute mat. I have studied many of your pictures, but some small changes between 71 and 72 in the underlayment in the front. The rear is identical (my car was missing the wall underlayment in the T-section) and some parts of the wheel wells are broken off.
I don't want to cover up the beautiful lettering with butyl mats. I want to preserve the originality but at the same time achieve better sound and heat insulation. Unfortunately, my original tar jute mats are very brittle (you can see they are fixed with adhesive tape) and the jute is completely compressed. In other words, the insulation effect is certainly very poor.
Here are some pictures:
Regards Jeffrey
Last edited by jeffrey864; Jan 12, 2026 at 07:11 AM.
I finished, for now, the installation as I have to install the dash first and then proceed with the rest of the carpet.
This is the result for now. The rear bulkhead carpet is fixed only on the side of rear compartment and with pitman loop for now.
Hello P,
It looks like you're doing very well!!!
It's not just difficult... it can be a struggle.
You really need to take the time it requires and measure, measure, measure ...BEFORE you cut.
Regards....
We haven't mentioned fitting the seat tracks yet....!!!!
@Alan 71
Can you provide the length of the flaps on the front seat tracks? I know that the tracks are mounted in the front directly onto the fibreglass.
I noticed that the T-section in ACC still isn't correct for 71-72. The flaps are almost square. I thought Erny (Willcox) had fixed this with ACC around 2016. As with Primoz, the carpet goes too far up, so I will probably have to loosen the seam, cut it, and sew it again. Can someone provide the correct dimensions as they should be?
Last edited by jeffrey864; Jan 21, 2026 at 04:04 AM.
Hello,
Yours looks about right.
If you look at post #7 you can see where the carpet typically ends from several different angles.
You do want the the other end to just touch the floor where the frame for the storage lids sits.
Regards....
Hello,
Yours looks about right.
If you look at post #7 you can see where the carpet typically ends from several different angles.
You do want the the other end to just touch the floor where the frame for the storage lids sits.
Regards....
Thank you.Yes, I saw the pictures on post #7, but wasn‘t 100% sure. I seems the carpet end approximately 3/4 inch before.
And onto the driver and passenger side carpet.
The creasing in the second photo? Is the carpet supposed to be flush with the floor or slightly raised?
That creasing doesn't look good at all.
new carpet install 71 Coupe
