Looking for carpet

[ol55]

Looking for black carpet to put in my '73. Not looking for original as the shifter area has been modified. Would like to buy enough to do the back and hatch area. Wide and long enough so I do not have to piece it together. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Larry

[OldsStarfire]

Your local upholstery shop should have it in stock or be able to get it pretty easy.

[BillB1210]

Larry,

Try ACA in Alabama, They make almost all auto carpets. Call them with your needs.

Bill

[cjbiagi]

Do you mean ACC? Auto Custom Carpets....they also sell the carpeting by the yard.

[BillB1210]

Yes, ACC Dothan, Alabama! Sorry - typo.

Bill

[chevyart]

i think this company has been discussed before. i think they make the carpets with details even for certain model H-bodies. one problem years ago was that the carpets didnt go up the firewall enough(ended too close to floorpan.) when ordering, go into details about exactly what you expect the carpet to be. also, is it cut out for seat bolts. i seem to think that that was also an issue. other than that , they have a fine product. you can get the carpets with and without backing. they have a website. art

[zeke]

Lot of cutting required!

[starfire]

If you have a stick-shift car, do not get any extra soundproofing. I did that, and I'm going to have to replace the carpet at the first chance I get. The extra soundproofing is thick enough that it's almost impossible to get my foot between the brake pedal and the transmission hump to press the gas pedal, and once I do get it there, my shoe catches on the brake pedal pad coming up to do any braking. I am afraid I will take the brake pedal pad off with my shoe someday.

[chevyart]

damm. i will be reluctant to get a new carpet now for my car. looks like too much work for me art

[cjbiagi]

I installed a ACC carpet a couple years ago, it was a PIA but it really depends how picky you are. In my case, I think it's a problem because my car is a 75 with a different floorpan than later Monza's. I am also REALLY picky. I added some extra insulation to try and fill some voids, but one issue I have is that they do a nice job molding the carpet to the floorpan and then cram it in this little box for shipping. So there ends up being a lot of wrinkles and some hard creases that are very hard to get out. A hair dryer helps but again it depends how perfect you want it to be. I did order mine "untrimmed" so that I had extra material for the firewall. Overall it looks good now, but I still have a couple small issues I need to work out yet. I agree that you need to be careful adding insulation as I had a real issue getting the seats to fit against the tunnel as well as the problem with limited clearance between the gas pedal and tunnel. I still need to be aware of what shoes I wear when I drive it as some are wider than others, and I only wear size 8 shoes!! I also had problems because the seat studs/bolts were not long enough to go through the floor....aaarrggghhhh. However, a new carpet makes a world of difference in how the interior looks so don't hesitate to do it, just be aware of the pitfalls. ACC does not drill holes or make any cuts in the carpet which is actually a good thing as you can fine tune the position and make your own cuts. If you do it contact me for some more tips.....

[cjbiagi]

Here is a good article http://www.antiquecar.com/bodyshop/bodyshop_carpet.php

[starfire]

damm. i will be reluctant to get a new carpet now for my car. looks like too much work for me art

Art, if you get just the carpet with the jute backing (you can do what Clyde suggested and add extra padding where needed), it really isn't too bad of a job. The heavy rubber insulation that I got on mine made it twice as hard to work with as the regular stuff would be. Just a lot of "Measure 4 times, cut once". Tips like cutting "x's" instead of holes for the seat studs are helpful too. Clyde is correct, a new carpet makes the whole car look better.