Early A carpets.....

rgp266 said

Attempting to install a set of replacement carpets in my '65 Valiant 2 door post car. The carpets that came out of the car were a custom fit, 1 piece set of loop pile that were 100% glued to the padding and that was 100% glued to the floor. Long story short, they got destroyed getting them out of the car due to dry rot as much as the ubber glue job. So, I have a two piece set from a reputable aftermarket supplier and am not happy with the fit around the transmission tunnel. They are loose to say the least. Can anything be done (heat gun or steam) to tighten up the fit or do I have to live with it? Does the front section overlap the rear section or the other way around? The set has jute felt insulation/padding bonded to the back side.
Bob

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I did my first set by putting the carpet out in the sun for a couple of hours (florida 90's weather )I put in the back first. Starting at the tunnel and working out, I used a heat gun to help form it to the floor pan. and trimmed the carpet AFTER I did the front. I did the front the same way folding it in 1/2 to make sure I got the shifter and whatnot where it was supposed to go and still have room to move it a little and be even on both sides at the door. The heat gun (wife's hair drier worked better than the heat gun since it didn't get as hot as the heat gun) and I didn't "almost melt the backing like I "almost" did in the back carpet. I had one of those 2" paint rollers that helped me roll the carpet down in hard to reach areas when I used the heat to help set the carpet. it came out great considering that I had about 2 inches of pinch in the tunnel area when I started.

jute backing is good IF you don't have any leaks in the cowl/wiper pivot area, I did mt wiper piot area since it only cost about 15-30 bucks to do and I had the seats out so I could reach up there to remove the pivots. no leaks 4 years later :cheers: