• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A back to carpets

Share this page

S

sp53

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Ok back on the carpet job. I was really set back by those moths or beetles or whatever they are. They actually destroyed the carpet in that car. In addition, to wool carpet I received a padding that was made out of what looks like horse hair, but who knows. Anyways the moths/beetles may have started in the horse hair and worked their way under the seats and out as moths. On occasion, I would see a small white moth and I thought it was nylon fiber, but was actually a cocoon for the moth . What the manufacture had done with the horse hair was sew in or laydown and have pressed in this white nylon reinforcement mesh to hold the horse matting together and I thought it was some of that. I hate bugs right now.

I have remodeled houses that had termites and they live a similar lifestyle in that they avoid sunshine and you do not see them. I have actually seen hardwood oak floor eaten right up to the last thin layer before the termite broke through. The combination of our local climate with cool moisture air permits some real pests to thrive. I guess every climate has its problems, and I really paid for this with my pureness for originality. That English Gentleman who sold me this mess must have known and my wife said I told you so about moths and wool. I have a distant memory of my father telling me as a kid about cloths and do not worry about moth balls those type moths do not live around here—there i found someone to blame.


Anyways I am using nylon loop carpet and making my own patterns and going to sew the border on myself. I have most the synthetic padding cut and was looking for ideas and suggestions on how to cut the carpet and padding for the shifting tunnel. Usually they cut the carpet long ways right through the shifter hole and sew back together and that seem lets the carpet lay side to side, but the carpet seems to pooch where it makes the transition a skinner tunnels shape at the rear of the tunnel. I am thinking perhaps another set of vertical cuts resewn together there might make the carpet hug the tunnel better. Thanks Graham and Art for those pictures especially around the e-brake; I will go that route. OH the moral to the story the reason for the tale is to check out your wool closely because those dark, dank places are well…..

Steve
 
Very disturbing story, but not surprising. I was talking to one of our exterminators, and he warned me that a lot of wood from the usual lumberyards like Home Depot and such often has termites in it. Best to buy from a place that mostly served contractors, as it usually has a large, rapid turnover.

I'm sure that the same is true of other materials. They sit in a warehouse for a long time, and anything can creep in.

I'm intrigued by your plans to sew your own carpets. What kind of material do you use? And, do you have an industrial sewing machine, or can you get by with a regular one?
 
Well I bought the bulk carpet and pad online from Albrights Supply. The carpet looks fine I paid 12.00 a yard and it takes 4 yards to do a tr3, and it is automotive grade stuff. Around here the automotive fabric suppliers are all whole sale only.

I bought those wool carpets direct from England and will never purchase wool again.

Things like termites are almost ubiquitous around here-- just walk in woods—the wool surprised me. The last time I did a carpet set I had them sewn on edges and around the shifter after I cut them out. My wife has an old machine that she said will handle it, so I am going for it, and she might help teach some, but not much. I can always have the edge sewn on if it looks too difficult; plus I am usually disappointed when I buy a kit. After seeing John sew those side curtains, I want to try my hand at sewing. What the heck, it bets most the TV around here.
 
Moth can be a big problem.

My sister and brother-in-law live on a rice farm in Australia and at one time they had sheep as well. He got into wool grading and had a number of sample fleece in the house. Moth got into them and did a number on my sister's woolen cloths along with the carpets in the house. She was not happy.

David
 
I have had them in a wool carpet in the house and my woolen jumpers, surface spray around the edges got rid of them but they will probably come back in the future.

Graham
 
Wow...sorry for the setback. I’m going to have to go study my wool carpet now!

I came close to sewing carpet, but always found a good deal pre-made at the last minute. I’ve sewn for old American cars a couple times, though. The home sewing machine will do fine with the edging and carpet to carpet seams. The only time it’ll bog down is where you have to go through several thicknesses on some corners and such. Be sure to take some pics...I think you’re the first to take on carpet here!
 
Yes it was a set back because I was only pulling out the carpet for a template, and then…So now I am making 2 sets of carpet. My wife says spray them and put them back in, but I hate bugs right now and I see those little cocoons everywhere. My take and research suggest they are actually beetles that eat wool, build a cocoon and fly away as moths. There is also the possibility they are Australian carpet beetles and are supposed to be very aggressive. They could have been in the horse hair all the time because when I pull the horse hair off that had an adhesive on the back the cocoons were there as seen in the photo. Plus it looks like what kills them is sun light. You can see the carpet that got sun light is fine, but between the carpet and horse hair there are cocoons. I hate bugs and now I am seeing cocoons everywhere, like on the kitchen floor when it is just a blade of grass.

The machine I am going to use is an old Sears’s model from the 50ies or 60ies that belonged to my mother-in-law and needed a belt. I fix that by ordering a belt on line. The machine is beefy.

I started on the padding of the tunnel and it looks like I can just cut the lower section of padding and the padding/carpet will lay down on the tunnel snug. Unlike, the high priced wool now moth eaten inundated and besieged carpet, I loathe.--- With the old wool set, they cut the full length of the carpet and then resewed the 2 half together. I think this will fit better, but there will be a small seem at the transition of the tunnel sizes on the one side.

One interesting thing about the tunnel is that there are snaps that held some kind of carpet. The snaps are stock because I have 4 different tunnels and the snaps are on all of them. Plus I have an old memory of there just being a small section about a foot square of horse hair right around the fuller plug. The old wool eaten set also had a slit for the battery drain and now with the more flexible hose I am just going to punch a hole and omit the slit.

Someone suggested a way to burn the edges so the carpet would not unravel but did not say how they did it. Perhaps with an iron or something else hot, I doubt they used an open flame.

steve
 
That’s very nicely conforming padding. I’m impressed. Maybe if you cut the carpet with a hot knife? The edging will keep it from unraveling, even if you can’t find a way to melt the edge.
 
Are you sending me for a board stretcher John when you say--- hot knife? I am thinking if I went to the secondhand store and bought an old iron maybe put that in a vise and push the carpet up to it for second; I guess that is a hot knife. Hopefully Graham or Art are looking because I am trying to think of something to use for the hole the e-brake comes up through and wanted to see the back side of the carpet there or just a generalization. I pretty much have a padding set cut, so I am to the carpet next. I found a place on line that sells the edging for about 80 cents a yard and I am still looking for place to get the fuzzy edge stuff for the door opening; I am trying to avoid the big 3. The guy around here that used to sell upholstery stuff retired and moved to Florida.
 
OK...no hot knife!! I usually just use a nice set of scissors for most cutting. Occasionally a sharp exacto #11. You have to sharpen the scissors regularly and swap exacto blades often to save getting very frustrated. Another blade that is really nice is the rotary blades they sell at Joann's for fabrics and such. You need a good cutting board for it to work, but you just press and roll right along for the cut.

Smart buying the edging ready to go. I have made my own frequently...it's a real PITA. Try to get the "double folded" edging, so there is no rough edge showing once it's sewn. You can use the single fold if that's all you can find, just stitch very close to the edge of the edging (that sounds weird?!).
 
Hot knives can be acquired at craft stores and are great for cutting synthetics. Melts the edge just a bit so it doesn't unravel.
Also great for carving those foam pumpkins and cutting kite sails.

Pretty inexpensive and I'm sure there are other uses for them.
 
John you have made carpet kits before and I have also and this sounds like a dumb question, but I was planning to cut the carpet about ½ inch bigger than the pad which I made an exact fit to the floor in 2 pieces. I will allow about an inch overlap on the 2 pieces where they meet. The ½ inch sounds about right and after the edge is sewn on it there should be about ½ all around oversize.

The kit I was using for a pattern is actually cut poorly in my view and is an inch long here and just right there. Basically it does not have a consistent oversize around the perimeter to hide the pad. I plan on cutting the pieces under the seats first because they are hidden. I am sure I am over thinking this, again. Any suggestions anyone?
steve
 
I would cut large first, and fit before adding the edging. Once happy with the size and all trimmed, then take it in and sew on the edging. Most of the pieces have several inches of overlap to go under the adjacent piece with the edging. The edged pieces, like the floor mats and tunnel cover, are cut to just reach the corners...if that makes sense??
 
Back
Top