Carpet installation for molded carpet. By Ron Fryer
Note: these are instructions for pre-made carpets
- Remove the seats form the car by unbolting them from the floor and lifting
carefully out the door. If there are electrical connections to the seats,
detach them before removing the seats.
- Remove the seat belts that are bolted through the carpet.
- Remove the sill plates from the door openings
- Remove the console. There may be some hidden screws in the bottom of the
storage compartment, as well as other fasteners in other areas. Look
carefully, so you do not break anything. Detach any wires.
- Lift out old carpet. You may have to help it come out from beneath the
kick panels. The jute padding should come out with the old carpet. Leave in
the tar embedded insulator pads and the foil wrapped insulation over the
catalytic converter area.
- Vacuum excess dirt from floor area.
- Take the new carpet out of the box and spread it out, popping the floor
depressions to the correct side as you go. You should be able to determine
which is the front from the shape of the carpet.
- If you have a floor shifter, measure from the firewall back to the shifter
and then measure from the front of the carpet back until you have the same
measurement and mark that spot for the shifter. Cut a small slot in the center
to accommodate a floor shifter. Make it just long enough to push the shifter
through.
- Place the new carpet in the car. If you have a floor shifter, you will
need to put the carpet over the shifter lever to accomplish this. Move the
carpet into the best position, with the molded depressions fitting into the
floor pan. You may have to lengthen the slot for the shifter lever in one
direction or another to allow the carpet to fit where it should. Cut as little
as possible.
- When the carpet is in the best position, trim the carpet back from the
shifter lever to accommodate any brackets for the console.
- Lift one side of the carpet and screw the seat bolts and seat belt bolts
into their sockets part way. Then let the carpet down and feel for the
protruding bolts. Cut a small X in the carpet directly over each bolt, then
press the carpet down around each bolt. Do the same for the other side. You
can now trim the center of the X out, creating a round hole for the bolt; then
do all the bolts that way.
- If you have a bolt through gas pedal, do the same for it.
- Trim the edges of the carpet about an inch long. You can fold the carpet
back along the edge to see where it needs to be cut, or you can feel from the
top side of the carpet, but in either case, make sure you know where you are
cutting before you make the cut. Measure twice, cut once. You can always cut
more off, but you cannot put it back on.
- Tuck the edges of the carpet under the kick panels, firewall insulation,
and any other place that it needs to be tucked under.
- Trim the sides by the door openings, leaving enough for the sill plates to
cover.
- Install the sill plates.
- Reinstall the seat belts, seats, console, and any other items removed
while removing the old carpet.
- Vacuum and clean up the scraps.
- Place your custom fitted matching carpet floor mats over the new carpet.
You are done. If you do not have matching floor mats, you can order them from
