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TR4/4A Did my own carpet

jimstr4

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I you're thinking about making up your own carpet here's a brief story about mine.
I decided to have a go at doing my own carpets for my TR4.
My old ones were extremely tatty very thin loop pile carpets that had worn very badly.
I went along and purchased gel backed synthetic outdoor cut pile carpet that looked quite finely piled, not course looking at all.
I couldn't find black wool carpet in New Zealand for a half decent price, it would've been cheaper to buy from TRF.
I paid US$94 for 3.5 x 2M length excluding the vinyl edging which was about US$20.
I glued black Dynamat type material onto my floors.
I used the old carpet as a template for my new carpet, that was a big mistake as it didn't fit because the new carpet was thicker and harder to hide the bad fit.
After cutting the carpet I realised that I should have cut my own templates.
So I got a whole lot of newspaper and made my own, newspaper is too flimsy but works at a pinch.
I was lucky as the carpet pieces were too big and could be further cut to a much closer fit.
My friend then spent a few hours edging the pieces for me.
The carpet is secured by velcro, glue, gravity, the seat belt stalks and soon the seat rails.
I'm quite pleased at how it turned out.
One of the major reasons I did my own was the fear of buying a set to find that it was not a good fit.
I'll probably buy another 1 x 2M length of carpet as a spare incase of disaster.
 

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OP
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jimstr4

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One advantage of making my own carpets was the installation of the scuttle support.
I tried putting it in on top of the carpet and dynamat but found the the radio plate wouldn't fit.
I then read that some people gently jackup the dash with a piece of wood under the dash so as not to damage it.
I was about to do that when I thought what if I cut away the Dyanamat under the support and cut the carpet so that it's around but not under the support.
Woww it fitted without any jacking up.
This solution might not be to everyone's satisfaction but I'm very happy with it.
I also trimmed the carpet around the rubber handbrake thingy instead of covering it.
 

Mickey Richaud

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VERY nicely done!

:cheers:
Mickey
 

Gliderman8

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Outstanding job!
 

Rut

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Jim,
Very professional and I really like your carpet choice!
Rut
 

dklawson

Yoda
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I have made carpets for a couple of my cars also. I use brown paper grocery bags for templates.

Your work is outstanding. The edging really makes your carpets look professionally done. Great job!
 

Geo Hahn

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Zounds! That looks much better than the kits I have used from the Big 2.

You say it is 'outdoor' carpet so presumably it will not react badly to sunlight (the issue I had with the first kit I used).
 

M_Pied_Lourd

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Yeah, looks great!

Cheers
Tush
 

Sarastro

Obi Wan
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Could you tell us a bit more about doing the edging? Did your friend use an industrial sewing machine, or can you do it with an ordinary, domestic machine? Any tips?

The job looks great! I'd liek to ty doing the same thing, but I don't have anyone to do the edging for me.
 
OP
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jimstr4

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I own an industrial sewing machine but I didn't use it as I can't operate a sewing machine and the industrial sewing machine would have found the gel backed carpet hard going.
My friend had a proper walking foot sewing machine that could sew thick leather.
I swapped handyman work for sewing hours.
The edging was good quality black vinyl.
You could have it overlocked, I didn't like the look of an overlocked carpet for my car.
It's quite fiddly to edge a carpet with vinyl, the original carpet was edged with thinner plastic that's easier to use around curves.
The reason why carpets usually have curved corners is because it's easier to sew the edging around gentle curves than right angles.
 

dklawson

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Ed, near the bottom of the article it mentions only that the edge binding is a vinyl strip. Where did you source it?

I made a replacement boot board for the Mini. It is carpet with edge binding over plywood. I used our Husqvarna sewing machine to stitch the binding in place using a heavy denim needle and heavy nylon thread. It worked but I broke at least two needles and the backing of the carpet scratched up the clear plastic of the sewing machine's bobbin window. I would love to have had a heavier machine for that project and the Spitfire hardtop headliner I made.
 

dklawson

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Thanks! That stuff looks great. The Instabind website shows they have a LOT of color choices.
 
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