Carpet for 4 speed wagon

old yellow 78

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old yellow 78

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I have found a three-inch triangle of the build sheet under the dash cover. The triangle was taped on and someone ripped the remainder off.
That's a drag. I was like a kid with a new comic book when I found mine last week. Just had to write down all the codes and then decipher them from the code lists on the back - even though I already knew what OY had and didn't have. I really hope you might find the rest of it somewhere - possibly under the carpet in the front if it got torn off while still in the factory. :confused:
 

old yellow 78

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I've got some problems with the ACC carpet I bought for OY. I am working with Stock Interiors to resolve it, and will be shipping the new carpet back along with my original carpet on Monday. I'm hoping this will work out fine...so far, so good.
 

old yellow 78

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OY is just sitting in my driveway broiling in the sun while I wait to hear back from Stock Interiors. Even though it has taken me YEARS to finally get to work on the interior, I am feeling very impatient to get back to work on it now. :( Tick tock tick tock...
 

old yellow 78

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Stock Interiors has been very friendly and cooperative, and appear to be making good on the carpet problems, and will hopefully ship out a new carpet Monday. They said the one that I initially received appears to be for an automatic trans, instead of the four speed I specified. That explains the poor fit at the shifter when I put it in the car:
IMG_20180621_100708675.jpg


Note the difference between the two...
Original:

IMG_20180612_200244884.jpg


Replacement:

IMG_20180612_200255388.jpg


There was also a problem with the stitching of the heel pad... looks like somebody sneezed while sewing it.
IMG_20180612_200514396.jpg


The two door carpet seems to be an exact fit for the four door floor pan except for an approximately 3 inch or so difference in length, the two door obviously being shorter wheelbase than the four door. You can see that the contours of the two door carpet at the rear are the same, just don't quite reach back far enough:
IMG_20180621_100759085.jpg


But, now there is another problem that I noticed. The carpet for the four door has the "dog ears" that wrap around and under the sides of the curved four door seat bottom. The two door carpet is cut straight across the rear because the two door rear seat bottom doesn't curve at the ends. Humm. So the dilemma is whether I try to piece in the "dog ears" on each side, or do I buy a whole new four door carpet to use for the rear of the car. Ugh, getting expensive.

Note the rear "dog ears" on the sides:

IMG_20180612_192515379.jpg


Straight cut across the rear of the two door carpet:
IMG_20180612_200141823.jpg


Well, I'll wait to get the correct four speed replacement carpet and make a decision after I can fit the front section in as it should fit.
 

BudW

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I had noticed the dog ears on your first picture and had wondering about that.

Question, did you try to scoot the carpet back about three inches to see how that was going to work in the back-seat area?
I have a feeling the replacement carpet will be about the same – and now is the time to be worried about that (if it is a problem, that is).

Another question, are you going to use matching floor mats or go without?
BudW
 

Aspen500

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You may be able to get a piece of carpet flat stock and make the "dog ears" and get a carpet outfit to seam them like house carpeting(?) If they do it right, it'd probably be all but unnoticable. Just an idea.
 

old yellow 78

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Question, did you try to scoot the carpet back about three inches to see how that was going to work in the back-seat area?
I did. And the "dog ears" will definitely be needed. Otherwise, it's a good fit.
Another question, are you going to use matching floor mats or go without?
I actually hadn't thought about that amazingly. Now that you mention it, I will probably get some sort of aftermarket mats to protect the carpet when not showing it. It would be nice to get custom made carpet mats, but pricing is getting too high, particularly if I wind up getting another carpet for the rear area.
 

old yellow 78

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get a piece of carpet flat stock and make the "dog ears" and get a carpet outfit to seam them
That is a good idea too. I did buy two yards of extra carpet to use for making the 3 inch "spacer" carpet under the seats, and also to use to carpet the cargo area. It might be cutting it kind of close to see if I could also squeeze a pair of "dog ears" out of those two yards. Definitely worth considering. Could also buy another yard of carpet if needed. It would be cheaper than buying another whole carpet just to use for the rear seating area.
 

old yellow 78

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I did get the replacement carpet back from Stock Interiors last week but no time to deal with it yet. The heel pad looks fine on this one, and the trans hump is definitely for a four speed. They had mistakenly sent me one for the automatic. They were really great to deal with!! Can't wait to get back to work on it. Hopefully this weekend!;)
 

Poly

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...OY is just sitting in my driveway broiling in the sun...

This may be of little interest...but to help preseve the interior on our Cordoba we bought a heavy canvas tarpaulin to cover the back and side windows. The tarp covers to the bottom of the glass on the side windows but only a foot down onto the windshield. The back of the car is always parked facing south. And the windows can be rolled down a bit while covered. It has helped keep the direct sun off of the interior stuff.

Your carpet appears to be high quality. Very good looking.
 

Raff

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Just a thought... I wonder if the two piece headliners might have been used in the upgraded interiors that have the second overhead rear cargo light? Anyone out there have one to confirm?
One piece headliner here with cargo light
 

old yellow 78

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but to help preseve the interior on our Cordoba we bought a heavy canvas tarpaulin to cover the back and side windows
So, at least I have OY tarped up even it isn't back in it's rightful place in the garage yet. Thanks for the suggestion. I've been trying to keep up with everything and OY has been pushed down the list unfortunately, so nothing has been done all summer, except to have it sit OUTSIDE waiting for attention. It's basically been raining since the beginning of August, so I am hoping to get some nice fall weather and some actual time to finish putting the carpet and seats back in. When did life become so filled up with "gotta do's"? :(
 

old yellow 78

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FINALLY a weekend without rain, and I have some time to work on OY. It has been just sitting OUTSIDE since the beginning of August driving me crazy. I had put a tarp over it at Poly's suggestion above and this is how it looked waiting patiently for me:

IMG_20180929_113901064_HDR.jpg


I was pleased to see that it had only leaked a tiny bit at each front corner of the floor pan given the monsoon type rains we have had in the past two months. I removed the seats and shifter in July, so OY hasn't moved or even been started in all that time. The carpet has been laying inside, untrimmed, all this time to keep it's shape. So, Saturday was the day to trim the carpet to fit, and drill holes for the 60/40 seats.

I was relieved to find that the passenger side seat tracks fit the catalytic converter floor hump perfectly. I wasn't sure they would because I believe the floor hump design changed in size somehow from the earlier floor pan dimensions to the later models. The 60/40 Highlander plaid seats I have to put in are from a '77 Volare Premier, and OY is a '78, so I was concerned that the change might have happened between 1977 and 1978 model years, but fortunately, the track fits fine! It was actually quite easy to locate and drill the inner seat track holes for both passenger and driver seats. There were dimples already located in the floors. When I test fit each seat by putting the outer track studs in the holes already used for the former bench seat, the inner track studs on each seat exactly lined up with the dimples in the floor. There were already pre-formed holes in the catalytic converter floor shield, so no interference there either with the shield or the cat itself.

Next was the job of trimming the carpet to fit. What a job! I got the upgraded "mass backing" carpet which means that it has a coating of rubber like stuff on the back in addition to the felt, to make it quieter. It also makes it very difficult to manipulate and fold, so trying to get it in position and also under the pedals was not easy at all. I originally planned to use the old carpet as a pattern laid on top of the new carpet, but decided that was too risky. So, I started by locating the four speed floor hump as perfectly with the hump in the molded carpet as possible and then used heavy shears to trim away the extra around the edges. It was a job and a half, particularly up under the dash where you have to cut around the steering column and heater ducts! I bent and contorted myself into positions I didn't know I was able to. Ibuprofin to the rescue. But, it seems to have come out pretty well, and I left a little more carpet than was there originally.

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Next, it was time to address the minor surface rust in some spots on the floor pans, so out came the carpet again for that job. I used an electric drill with metal brush head which cleaned up the floors very nicely. The floors were very lightly painted originally, and the little channels in the floor pan seemed to have had been painted with debris in them or something, because the paint just flaked up very easily. I wire brushed the entire floor and eliminated every trace of rust.
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Next up, paint, carpet reinstall and cut out for shifter and dimmer switch, and finally, seats to be installed.
 

old yellow 78

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So, with the floors all wire brushed, thoroughly vacuumed and then washed down with paint thinner, I decided to use Rustoleum enamel to paint and seal the floors. I bought a fresh quart of "Rustoleum Gloss Almond" and was amazed at how close of a match it is to the original Mopar "Classic Cream" paint! It is SO close in color, that I actually went around and also used it to touch up a few nicks and spots on the body! Here's how the floors turned out:

IMG_20180930_112414840.jpg


IMG_20180930_112431052.jpg


I'm really pleased with the results and feel that the floors are well protected now - better than new for sure, and although they will never be seen, I like that the color matches so well.

Then I realized a problem. My plan had been to sort of patch together a 4 door, four speed carpet (which is not available) from a 2 door, four speed carpet by cutting it in half, and adding an approximately 4 inch filler strip of carpet under the front seats to account for the extra length between the 2 door and 4 door. This plan would have also required adding "dog ears" of carpet to account for the sides of the rear seat which curve inwards on the 4 doors and wagons, but which is straight across on the 2 door rear seat. Although kind of a patch job, I had planned on doing this to save from having to buy another entire 4 door carpet just for the rear area.
BUT - I hadn't considered the molded in raised section designed to accommodate the catalytic converter hump. If I cut the 2 door carpet under the front seats between the front and rear attaching bolts and add an approximately 4 inch piece of spacer carpet, the rear portion of the molded in hump will be unsupported and moved rearwards approximately 4 inches into the rear passenger foot well area.

IMG_20180929_145412065.jpg


Hrumph! This just isn't going to work for me. Too much of a patch job. So, even though I though it would be an expensive waste to buy another 4 door carpet, that's what I am going to do to make it right. Then, I realized that instead of just throwing away the unused portions (the rear of the 2 door four speed carpet and front of the 4 door automatic carpet), I could use both to make a really nice set of molded floor mats out of them! Ok, seems like less of a waste, and at least I will have a nice set of (expensive) floor mats. I might even get them bound on the edges at a carpet shop to make them even nicer.
So, until I can order the additional 4 door automatic carpet from Stock Interiors, I decided to put the 60/40 seats in without the carpet, and reattach the shifter so at least I can start OY and move it around. I was pleased to find that the seats fit perfectly! It's getting there.

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Oldiron440

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I can see the plaid as a love it or hate it kind of thing that can go on you or not.
I like it and I think it will jazz up your wagon.
 
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