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Following up with Kev's comment, here is a photo of the trunk of my previously owned 55 Clipper Super. I covered the interior with the low pile indoor/outdoor carpet sold at Lowe's and Home Depot. It resulted in a most pleasing and attractive trunk. I recommend this material over flock if you are not concerned about originality.

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That looks great and would be superior in every way to the original treatment. I believe you'd get much better sound deadening.

JWL;

That looks great! Is most of it glued and then the mats on either side of the spare being held in place by gravity?

one word of chemistry caution, I'd be leery of any general asphalt/tar based adhesive available today compared to '50s.
They make regular flock adhesives for this, I'd use one of those compatible with the fiber used and substrate - primed metal vs bare. Don't mix systems, substitute fibres. The wrong solvent could lift the paint under it and mega-mess.
Also, better for the user/applier. Tack time has to be sufficient. Consider what PPE you'll need for this job also.
The problem with tar base is if it's not sourced and formulated right, it'll soften and bleed. Not all tar is created equal. They used "C" solvents and other things back then that aren't "EC" today, so hard to duplicate original in some things now and wouldn't want to. And will they last? is another consideration. I found a lot of tar based sealer on the P, and it's in locations that make it impossible to remove, and if you weld you light it up. I suspect the rope seal is to keep the particulate out which traps moisture and causes corrosion in seams. But rope will do the same and wick water. After electrostatic primer was invented, a lot of the old body construction methods/materials were obsolete and disappeared. No going backward in tech. only compatible.
eg: Someone repaired a replacement fender I received for the Cad, and they covered it in some sort of thin tar undercoating and it's still gooey under the crust. The modern spray undercoat from 3M is rubber based and dries too quickly so not suited for flocks. Seam sealer can thinned and sprayed and it stays tacky for 20-30 minutes so may work, also comes in some colors, mostly gray & blk. But over spray is to be considered.
If you can find a system, go with that.

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Correct. I was lucky because I had patterns from the floor mat and cardboard side pieces.

For now I just cleaned up the trunk, resprayed the seams and gave it a coat of paint. More later on...

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