Re: Front floor mat/carpet

Posted by Jim in Boone On 2022/8/19 7:54:28

Old memory from teenage years, way too long ago.

A friend and I put carpet in the front of his 57 Chevy (leftover household carpet), it wasn't too difficult.

Having watched a shop put carpet in my car around that time, I think auto carpet was in a roll about 3 feet wide.

We laid the sheet of carpet in my friend's car, had to cut a horizontal (side to side) cut in the carpet around the transmission hump where the floor began to slope upwards. We made a vertical (front to back cut) between the horizontal cut and the top edge of the carpet. Those 2 cuts allowed the carpet to bent up the slope and fold correctly.

At the upholstery shop when my car was done, they used a heavy sewing machine to sew a vinyl material around the edges of the carpet. Being kids we didn't have a sewing machine, so we used strips of an iron on clothing patch to cover the rough edges of the carpet. Been a long time but it looked pretty good.

Our carpet used was heavy, you really want a rather lightweight carpet. When the auto shop did my car, they actually used small nails hidden in the carpet and nailed into the metal floor of the car to keep a few spots tucked tightly.