Carpet

[nochicken]

Has anyone had any experience with Auto Carpet Professionals? See their ebay link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1965-...QQcmdZViewItem

I'm planning on doing my Super carpet and have so far liked the samples that Fryer's Auto Upholstery sent out but saw this link on Ebay and thought I'd see if anyone had tried their carpet.

[Andrew]

No experience. They look pretty generic, so I'd be wary without some firsthand attribution or more info.

I got my wool carpet kit from World Upholstery in Camarillo CA and am 95 percent happy with it. One piece was a hair too short, and the color is not quite what I'd like, but I knew that from the samples when I chose it, that they didn't have a grey that matched the original.

Andrew

[sprintgtc]

I've never had a good experience with pre cut carpets. You will be better served to buy the carpet you like at an upholstery shop. For a Super, you'll need about 4 yards. Use your old carpet as a pattern and cut new pieces. Have the upholstery shop bind the edges. It will be cheaper, too.

[nochicken]

I've been thinking about going the route of buying yards of carpet and cutting to size but am not sure I can get a decent price to bind the edges in the $$$ Washington DC area. As well, the front carpet pieces are pretty torn up to use as templates.

I thought the Frey's carpet looked to be a pretty good match color-wise, but it really is a very small sample to compare.

I have some time before I attack this and will try to get a few more samples to check out.

[gmack]

For what it's worth, I've had good luck using old, even torn up, mats and carpet as templates for new.

In Minneapolis, I've typically paid $2/foot for vinyl binding that looks pretty stock. They've even been able to add heel pads for the drivers side as well as the padding on the tunnel.

GMack
74 GTV
69 Spider

[sprintgtc]

The upholstery shop in Seattle charged me about $130 to do the binding work on my Super. The carpet was $180-ish. (obivously, not wool) As GMack says, you don't need much more than scraps for the templates. If your having trouble, make templates from butcher paper and test fit. Here's my Super carpet:

[Bill S]

Hi Frank,

My Super project car came with a nylon carpet set that I think came from Hurtienne in Germany. It won't get installed for another year so you're welcome to compare it to your tattered templates, even take a couple pieces to your upholsterer as long as I get them back! You need an excuse to drive your Super up to the mountains of western Maryland anyway.

Bill Sinclair

[nochicken]

Thanks for the offer Bill. Later this summer I will make that trip! The Super is still in undergoing body work (good, cheap, fast--pick any 2) but will no doubt be out in another month or so.

I'm going to look more into buying the "bulk" carpet. From the posts, the binding costs apparently are not too nasty.

Generally, I'm moving so slowly on the Super fixes/upgrades I figure I can drive it around for awhile without carpet.

[nochicken]

Mike,

Thanks for posting that photo. It looks great--a real nice rich red look.

The existing carpet in my Super is the dark gray (almost black) and I'll probably stick to that. I'm encouraged that the binding is not a complete bank account buster.

[nochicken]

I decided to go with the Fryer's carpet and was pretty pleased with the quality, match to old pieces, etc.

Of course, once I dove into the project, I decided to scrape much of the old sound deadening panels, POR-15 a bunch of areas, and add new Dynamat. The floors were actually in decent shape considering the original state of a couple of the body panels and outer rockers (rust-wise).

Thus, I'm about half-way through with the passenger side done up through padding and the long, narrow side carpet piece that fits under the trim strip. That piece is really kind of a PITA but with that in place I think the larger pieces will be pretty easy.

If anything, I guess I am mildly surprised that:

1. The screws holding the carpet/pad go right through the pan. I would have thought there would have been some better provision (i.e., so that water couldn't get in).

2. Similar to #1 for the two threaded studs that hold each side of the seat. These go right through the floor. I'm going to add some kind of glop to seal those holes.

3. I was amazed the nuts attached to the seat threaded studs came off as easily as they did. Would have thought after 40 years they would have presented more of a challenge to remove. Definitely relished that.

4. I found two holes (look factory drilled) in the rear pans (passenger and driver side) that go to nowhere. These are getting filled.

I'm debating whether I should take on the door weatherstripping and headliner repaint while I've got everything apart. But, I may just wait until it gets colder--kind of hard to drive it without the driver's seat installed.

[alfa2go]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nochicken 3. I was amazed the nuts attached to the seat threaded studs came off as easily as they did. Would have thought after 40 years they would have presented more of a challenge to remove. Definitely relished that. .

[101/105guy]

Boy, this was a major factor in getting the '68 super from Germany. the original interrior needs nothing! Refreshing the interrior of the Duetto was a pain and it only has two seats!!

[nochicken]

101/105 - I envy that interior--looks nice. Redoing mine (I keep telling myself) is a great way to learn about the sedan details

Derek - I went with the fuzzy seals. It doesn't seem like it will be as difficult as the seals on the door themselves (another future task). For the headliner, I was going to remove the glass during the bodywork session but backed out due to time constraints and worry about breaking the glass. For now, since the headliner is really just discolored, am going to paint it.

[101/105guy]

I can recomend SEM paint for your headliner. Use their prep solution to clean and soften it first.

[alfa2go]

Where did you get the fuzzy seals and what were they worth? Its cool that everybody is starting to give their giulias a bit of love!