this does not fall into that category then as it requires a layer on each surface to be bonded. if it's results are anything like the super77 i have used in the past it will be a permanent bond, and it appears to be so. i'll know for certain later tonight when i get back to working on this and can test what i have done already.

had a few hours tonight so back into the garage. finished putting down the padding first.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5743.jpghttp://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5744.jpg
as you can see i did not cover the entire rear seat area with padding. the main reason was that the seat delete / sub enclosure will be covering all of that area already, so the padding would not really accomplish anything.

time to finally start installing the carpet! if you are planning on doing this job yourself be sure to lay out a few pieces at a time before you glue anything down to see how they will overlap and how much extra you have to work with. it took some effort and a lot of head scratching to get all the edges to overlap properly. another tip that i found very helpful is to wear 2 or 3 sets of rubber gloves at all times. you can't avoid getting glue on them and being able to just take off the top layer and having a fresh set of hands to work with was so helpful. in some of the pics you will see some new wire (mostly getting in my way!). i used some extra 12g speaker wire i had for grounds for the new power seats and connected them to the ground for the jetronic underneath the box. i left them way longer than i needed to give me lots of room to run them hidden as need be. i started off by taping up the area around the door jam that i did not want to get any glue on.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5747.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5748.jpg

the carpet set i bought had the kick panel and the top trim piece sewn together along one edge which made it a little easier to install. i sprayed some glue into the door seal mounting area and on the back of the vinyl edge of the carpet. tacked it up into place and then formed the vinyl around the jam. once that was dry i sprayed some glue on the lower (kick panel) piece and worked that down into place. repeated the same method on the other side as well. once both of those were in place i glued down the front edge of the door sill piece to hold the front into place. it was a little tricky trimming the vinyl edge to get it just right where the carpet meets the dash but a sharp razor, some good scissors, a lot of patience and small cutting got the job done.

you can see the color difference between the kick panel and the door pocket carpeting. 27 years apparently turns brown carpet purple.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5749.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5750.jpg


next i glued the piece that goes over the hump in the rear. again, in order to get it right i had to put the piece that goes over this (where your lower back would be if you were sitting in the rear seat) to see how much that covered and adjusted the hump piece accordingly. once i had it in place i taped up the left side in place and then glued down the right side. this is a good time to get a new razor blade to cut the hole for the seat belt bolt (i won't have any rear seats but if i ever sell it and the next owner wants the rear seats in all bolts and holes will be accessible). repeated the process for the other side.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5752.jpg

that pic shows the passenger side quarter piece in place as well. that piece was started with the front most edge that ends up underneath the door sill piece. had to work it up into the cracks but it wasn't that hard. started out by just gluing the first 8 inches towards the back. this piece was glued down in 4 different sections slowly working my way from the front to the back. it also required some relief cuts to be made into the carpet and i gotta say this was the scariest part of the install. there is something that just doesn't feel right about taking a blade to a brand new piece of carpet but it had to be done. had 3 seat belt related items to cut out but none were very hard. the end result has the passenger side complete from front to back.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5750.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5751.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5752.jpg

that is as far as i got tonight, and unfortunately i am almost out of glue again. i hate to do it but i think i am going to have to glue down the remaining 3 pieces with super77 since i am out of 74 and it takes 3 days to get here (i want to dirve it this weekend to a couple parties!).

had the day off but got a late start. i live in a condo and a few of my neighbors are older to say the least, so i take care of about 6 cars in my association for things like oil changes, brakes, tire rotations, etc. i had promised one of them i would do an oil change and rotation at 10 this morning so an hour later (and a nice plate of freshly baked cookies) i got started.

first thing was to try to find some more glue. i called 3m and asked about using super77 or 90 but was told neither was good for my application as they are only rated to 105 degrees, at which point they become mush and lose all their stickiness. looked on their site for a local supplier, 27 calls later i found an ace hardware that said they had the 74 in stock. the only catch was that it was about 35 mins away, but an hour of driving beats the hell out of waiting for a tuesday delivery with 2 parties to go to this weekend so off i went. got all the way down there to find the woman who answered my call, even after saying she checked, lied and they only had 77 and 90 like everyone else. i was about to say f-it and go ride the bike but then i pulled out the iphone, googled "auto upholstery" and found a place about 10 mins from where i was. called the guy, explained my morning and asked if they sold supplies. he said they were not a retailer and bought most of their stuff in bulk but he did have half a can of some high temp fabric adhesive that would fit me needs. drove over, talked for a min and they guy gave it to me for free! no kidding. i asked him a few questions about dying my seats and after a nice discussion i realized that this job was a little more than i wanted to attempt, especially on my first try. if they were like my stock seats, meaning no inserts, i would have done it but since i only get one shot i have decided to let that shop do it for me. he quoted me $200 as i was supplying everything, and for the piece of mind the price is right.

on to the carpet....

almost everything is done now (still have to do the door pockets but they can wait til monday or tuesday) and it came out great, with one minor exception. in my excitement as i drew nearer to the end i completely forgot to put the factory sound pad back on the seat bottoms before i glued in the carpet, so it will not be going back in. i guess overall it is a good thing when you add the weight of the rubber pad with the asphalt sheeting i removed it just about evens out the added weight from the rear seat delete / enclosure and speakers. the damplifier pro and padding weighed in at right about 19lbs so that was not a big concern either. i have some damplifier pro down, some padding over that and the enclosure so it should be just as good at blocking noise as the factory piece was alone. i also put in the new door seals and a set of rennline pedals and dead pedal. everything is glued into place but the center tunnel piece as i plan on installing a factory short shift kit sometime next week and wanted to make life easier. the jbl subs are pretty damn amazing for a pair of 8 inchers - THANKS TODD!!!


here is the finished product:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5754.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5755.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5756.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5759.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5760.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5758.jpg

i had some custom mats made as well, and while they are a lighter shade of brown they will only be used for shows and such, not regular driving, so i can live with it. once the seats are back in it will separate the front from the back and it will look a lot better.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5761.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_5762.jpg


now i can actually enjoy the car for the summer. all the engine work was done over the winter and the interior is now complete. next winter i plan on new paint and then (i think) i will be done, but we all know how that goes....

Wow! Looks great!! I'd love to hear what you think of the sound dampening alone (not with stereo).

Cheers,

- CraigD

well, like i have said i have a targa, so trying to control the sounds levels is like trying to make a 6 year old kid sit still for an hour - the chances of it happening are slim. the outside needs a wash badly so i will pop the top on tomorrow and report back my findings tomorrow afternoon but i am not really expecting a lot. my main goal was just to do what i could to quiet it down and be happy with the results no matter what they were. i can tell you that with the audio system 90% tuned now (still need to dial in the time alignment) i won't be hearing much road noise at all :)

nineball, that turned out great...nice work! I'll bet it sounds good in there.

Maybe someday I'll upgrade my AM radio from glorious mono to 2 speakers...

Looks fantastic! Glad the subs worked out, Can't wait to hear it!

--todd

That carpet looks great!

+1 on the carpet! Where did you source the carpet and is it true Sliverknit or domestic punch? Also how much did the carpet set cost?
I have watched your project closley and you have got me motivated to do mine!!!

i got the carpet from a place called world upholstery in california (if you call ask for janet and tell her kris with the 911 sent you). i went with domestic and it was $380 for the entire set, custom mats were ~$150 or so with the logo and i bought 3 aerosol cans of seat dye as well. there were a few other suppliers out there but i needed to have the custom seat dye made for the new seats and i figured one stop shopping would yield me the closest match. they do not make the custom mats themselves but rather buy from another company, which explains the color difference. the mats are very high quality though, actually better than the carpet set is.

Kris,
I have a set of the AppBiz domestic needle punch carpet for my car sitting in a box, but don't know if I will install them as I'm not quite pleased with the quality.
The AppBiz carpets have a cloth type binding instead of vinyl like yours and the carpet itself seems quite light weight and flimsy!
I sure do like the looks of yours installed, but how would you compare and contrast them to real Pcar Sliverknit? Is the weight dramatically less, and are they considerably thinner than Sliverknit?
I guess what I'm asking is, given all the work and expense you went to, are you pleased that you choose domestic punch over real Sliverknit for the $3-400 savings ?

Grant

i really could not tell you as i have no experience with the sliverknit carpeting, but i can say i am happy with what i have. my car is not a show car, it is a toy, so i did not see the need to spend a few hundred more for the other version when the domestic would do what i need - be clean and cover the floor. if you call world upholstery they will send out samples to you. i had them sent for my vinyl and the carpet.

Kris,
I guess what I meant to say was, how would you compare your new carpet to the original factory carpet that was in your car, as far as density and weight. All the mid '70s on used Sliverknit from the factory. You didn't specify the year of your car, but I'm assuming mid '70s. I will call for some samples.
Thanks,
Grant

nope, mine is an 83SC. the new carpet is thicker and feels better than the original but i don't think it is a fair comparison. that carpet is 25+ years old and has been used for over 100k miles. this is probably the best shot i have of the old stuff.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...o/100_4889.jpg

Yeah, the old carpet in your pics is indeed Sliverknit. Same stuff I have in my '80SC!
If your new carpet from World feels thicker and better than your old stuff, then I think my decision has been made! I'll call them tomorrow for some samples, but looks like just what I've been looking for. Thanks for the trouble and the pics!
Grant

well, a minor update but mostly a rant of sorts...

the upholstery shop needed more dye to finish the seats so i placed the order with world upholstery last wednesday at 9am their time. i just got an email now telling me the item will be shipped out tomorrow and should arrive a little more than 2 weeks after i placed the order. after a call to them it turns out they just order the dye from someone else, mark it up and then sell it to the consumer. they had no excuses nor did they even attempt to make an offer of something to make me happy.

don't know if i said it or not but they also screwed up the mats i ordered and i had to send them back to get the correct ones. i will not be ordering anything from them in the future and suggest anyone reading this takes the same approach. it's a shame too, because they are the supplier (or so they say) for all the carpet kits that pelican sells.

once the seats are done and installed i'll post some pics of the finished product but that is at least 2 weeks away for me now.

i finally got the seats back. it took a couple months but it was well worth the wait. the dye company had originally told me it would take 3 aerosol cans to dye the seats but the upholstery shop used those and then some. had to order 3 more cans and it is a 2 week wait from the day i order to delivery, but i ended up needing half of a 7th can. they are done and will be going in by the weekend if not sooner. they look like brand new seats!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/IMG_0364.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/IMG_0365.jpg


the shop even dyed the seat back release things


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/IMG_0366.jpg


this is what the seats looked like when i got them. sorry for the small pics but they are all i could from from the fs thread.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...1270651805.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...1270651821.jpg

after going through an ordeal and a half with the seats (here) they are finally installed. the only item left is to finish recovering the passenger side door pocket and reinstall it. still waiting on the fire extinguisher to arrive from our host but that is secondary.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_7257.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_7258.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_7259.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_7256.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...r/100_7255.jpg

How has the 3M adhesive held up?
 

Kris,

How has your carpet adhesive held up so far? I'm about to lay down square-weave carpet in our 1968 911 and just ordered three cans of 3M foam model 74 adhesive and would appreciate your feedback first.

Besides, I wanted to revive this interesting thread!

Thanks,
Andy

thanks andy. yes the super 74 has held up without any problems at all. i did run out again with only the door pockets to go, so i tried to use the super 77 and it was a waste of time as it did not hold the vinyl or the carpeting down once the temps got high inside the cabin. i had to order more 74 and redo the door pockets.