When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have been restoring my 62 for the past 6 years. I am now in the process of putting carpet in. Does anyone know of a video I might be able to get to help me figure out the best way to do this? I googled "how to install carpet in a C1" but it was not any help. I borrowed a how to install dash pad from some members a few years ago and it was a super help. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much Frankie. This is exactly what I was needing. The order to put down each piece was one thing I was unsure about. Also, I have the seats out but I was thinking it would be nearly impossible to install them with the carpet and pad down. So I need to put the seats back first. The only other thing I am concerned about is putting the gas pedal back in. Is there any problems there to avoid? Thanks to you and all the other guys who have helped me in the long but fun process. I know I have had your help in the past. I actually drove it a few weeks ago for the first time since 1996. Of course with the seat out it was trickier sitting on a concrete block. But it was still a huge thrill after all these years.
It should come up through it - with a wide flange of rubber that rests under the chrome plate; the newer improved reproductions have a widened flange to keep the rubber under the plate..
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 12-16-2018 at 09:24 PM.
Thank you so much Frankie. This is exactly what I was needing. The order to put down each piece was one thing I was unsure about. Also, I have the seats out but I was thinking it would be nearly impossible to install them with the carpet and pad down. So I need to put the seats back first. The only other thing I am concerned about is putting the gas pedal back in. Is there any problems there to avoid? Thanks to you and all the other guys who have helped me in the long but fun process. I know I have had your help in the past. I actually drove it a few weeks ago for the first time since 1996. Of course with the seat out it was trickier sitting on a concrete block. But it was still a huge thrill after all these years.
Put the center tunnel carpet on before the seats go in.
You will either need to glue the hump piece, or use screws and trim washers like i did.
I can R&R the seats with the main carpet panels in place, FWIW; but it is easier to do the final carpet positioning and door sill plates install with the seats in position. The lower console waterfall trim pieces should slide up enough to tuck the rear of the tunnel carpet underneath, then slide the trim down again.
Doug
Oh, Yeah. When you use any screws thru the carpet, esp on the lower main console trim surround, use a heated screw driver, or something, to melt holes thru the carpet so the screws don't unravel the carpet going in.
That pdf attachment from Frankie is great. Few comments.
That "horseshoe" chrome piece on the center console is pot metal and won't tolerate much bending. You can get it to fit snug to the console with the screws. But not by bending it off the car. It's a $40 piece when you have to buy a new one. Please don't ask me how I know this.
If the holes for those screws in the center console are too big for the screws, drywall inserts will work pretty good to tighten them up.
The NCRS Judging Guide (p.15) says that the carpet was glued in places. At one time, judges were pulling on the carpet floor to see if it was glued. If you choose to use glue, you only need very little.
If you do choose to use glue and choose to use the 3M stuff in the spray can, be careful with it. It lifts paint. You don't want any overspray on the console. Don't ask me how I know this either.
The NCRS Judging Guide (p. 15) says that the dimmer bezel had certain distinguishing characteristics. Not sure about the Al Knoch carpet. But the carpet I bought had the wrong dimmer bezel. But one of the usual Corvette parts vendors sells the correct bezel for $2.00. Cheapest thing I ever bought for my car. It's easy to change bezels when the carpet is out of the car.
There are carpet retaining screws. Of course once you install the carpet, you'll never locate where the holes in the floor were for the original screws. You can make new ones. But I hate making new holes in my fiberglass. It's easy to locate the holes before the carpet goes in. I put thin nails or pins in the holes from the underside to locate them. Then after the carpet went in, I pushed up the pins from the underside through the carpet.
While you're under the car, there's special nuts that attach to the body to capture the bolts from the shifter floor plate. Many times these nuts have fallen off. The usual Corvette parts vendors also sell these nuts. There might be a way to attach them to the body. But I don't know how to do it. I just had a helper get under the car and hold those nuts in place while I screwed the bolts down from inside the car.
A hot soldering iron will punch through the carpet to make holes and sear the carpet thread ends nicely. I have also rubbed common bath soap on the screw threads so they don't catch on the carpet but you have to watch that the screw still doesn't snag with that method (I've never had it happen though). Those special shifter box nuts are a huge PITA.....I've used dum-dum to hold them from the backside while I got the screw started and that worked...
I don't use screws or glue....top down driving in Florida will force carpet changes about every 3-4 years and I don't think judges push, pull or prod on anything anymore (or so I've been told). Here is my 61 before the first replacement carpet I did dealing with the "glue-happy" work by a previous owner... If you install as in my article - that carpet isn't going ANYwhere...
If you metal wire run covers are gone/rotted on each side along the sill plate replace the NOW or your carpet won't lay down properly...repros are available.
And if you wanted to put down some thin insulation now is also the time - I don't feel it helps the heat much but does mute the road noise...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 12-18-2018 at 08:53 AM.
12-16-2018, 05:50 PM
Installing new carpet in 62
