Any Tips on Carpet Installation?

[colnago]

I just got a new carpet from NPD, and I'm hoping to install it this next weekend. Does anyone who has done this have any pointers? Any estimate on how long it will take to install? The side edges of the carpet are finished. Do these go under the door sills, or over? Do I have to do anything with (or to) the firewall shield? How about the fuel tank? The seat will come out, as I also have a new upholstery kit. Hopefully, in about a week, I'll have a much more comfy ride!

Thanks,

Joseph

[flyboy2610]

I just got a new carpet from NPD, and I'm hoping to install it this next weekend. Does anyone who has done this have any pointers? Any estimate on how long it will take to install? The side edges of the carpet are finished. Do these go under the door sills, or over? Do I have to do anything with (or to) the firewall shield? How about the fuel tank? The seat will come out, as I also have a new upholstery kit. Hopefully, in about a week, I'll have a much more comfy ride!

Thanks,

Joseph

The edges of the carpet go under the door sills. You will need to tuck the front of the carpet up under the firewall cover. The tank can stay in.

[colnago]

Thanks, flyboy. I was pretty sure that this was the case, but I haven't done anything like this before, and wanted to check before I got half-way into the project and didn't have a clue how to proceed (Replacing the microwave only took six trips to the hardware store, and about five hours to install. I could have bought a counter-top unit and been done in 30 minutes, but noooo, she deciced she wanted to install one over the range! ). The carpet was much bulkier than I expected, after I pulled it out of the box. Hopefully, it will flatten out some while sitting in the living room before the end of the week.

Greatly appreciate the reply!

Joseph

[CrypticRacer13]

Pictures pictures pictures please

[CrypticRacer13]

Did you ever get the carpet kit installed? How did it all go for you?

[jimmy828]

If you have not installed it yet ,spread the carpet out in room. Let set for a week before installing. It will be less aggravating when installing

[colnago]

Did you ever get the carpet kit installed? How did it all go for you?

Yes, I did get the carpet installled. I want to finish recovering my seat (just got foam delivered yesterday, probably recover next weekend), then I'll post pics of the whole thing. After the seat comes new seat belts, then recovering the dash. I'm also in the process of repairing the cracks in the steering wheel. I'll also post before-during-after pics of the steering wheel once that is done.

Joseph

[jthulan]

Updates???

[Clunker]

Hi colnago,

Sorry I didn't see your post before you installed the carpet, but I thought I would give my two cents in case anyone else is looking for help on this thread. I used to be a floorcovering contractor, so I know a bit about carpet. Auto carpet is totally different from the residential/commercial varieties, but the same principles apply. The secret to getting your automotive carpet to mold to the curves of your chassis is to use a heat gun. Auto carpet has a sort of plastic backing instead of the twine or nylon backing found in residential carpet. The heat gun (or really hot hair dryer) makes the plastic backing flexible, so it conforms to the shape of your interior as you install it. If you have any other questions about the carpet, feel free to PM me.

[colnago]

Okay, here are some really crappy photos of the carpet. The last one shows how nice the carpet looks in comparison with the rest of the cab. The first two photos show how much space there is between the edge of the carpet and the kick panels. You can see that the carpet runs under the door sill, but still did't stetch to the kick panel. I think Clunker is 100% correct; heat helps. I installed this kit in January, because I had to. If I installed it in April, I would have let it warm up on the driveway for the day to limber it up. I might take a heat gun to it when I have the bench seat out for the upholstery kit. I haven't cut the hole for the headlight floor switch yet, hoping that things will flow a litte bit before I do ('sides, I never use my brights, so I'm not in a big hurry).

By the way, that dark area on the passenger side isn't a shadow. The heater core decided to wait until AFTER the carpet was installed before it leaked all over everything! I really do like the carpet, though. It is soooo much nicer than the original rubber mats.

More photos after I install the upholstery.

Joseph

[papabug71]

Is this the best fitting carpet for our trucks? The carpet looks great, but that fit is pretty poor. I don't see it stretching to the kick panels, even if it was warmed up prior to install. Since I'm going to be going back with carpet rather than a rubber mat, I guess I need to study up on carpets.

What options besides NPD do we have for carpet?

[Calfdemon]

Do you have the C6 hump in your truck? If so, you needed to order the carpet to cover the extra height since it is a bit taller than the standard hump. We ordered the standard carpet for CNM67's truck (he has a manual shift) and it fit perfectly from side to side. We already confirmed that your carpet and our carpets came from the same manufacturer (ACC). I bought the larger carpet for the C6 cover for my crew cab and while I have not installed it yet, I did lay it in the truck when I got it to see how it would fit and mine appeared to be the proper length from side to side too without any gap.

So I just wonder if you have the C6 cover in your truck and if they sent you the carpet for the standard cover. If so, that would explain that gap.

[cole71]

Yeah that makes sense Calfdemon. I ordered mine for the low hump which is what mine has, even though I've put a C6 in my truck. So hopefully mine will fit.

[colnago]

Do you have the C6 hump in your truck?

Nope. That was one thing I definitely looked into. I have a low, flat tranny hump in the truck. I do have a high bump that I was looking at installing, but since my floorboard is uncut, I'm not planning to use it. According to my manufacture plate, the truck originally came with a Cruise-o-Matic, although there is a C6 in it now.

Joseph

[kf7mjf]

Looks nice, something I hope to do to mine this year