G
Guest
·Damn! What a sweet looking carpet!
I just installed Tom's 1500 series, rubber backed, charcoal grey carpet. The quality is amazing.
I want to thank Tom for putting in the time and effort to produce such a quality product. Sure it is more expensive than other carpets, but if you can spring the extra bucks, do so, it is soooo worth it.
OK, onto the install.. I haven’t done this before although I’m quite handy. Overall it took 5-6 hours, including a trip to the hardware store for some adhesive. Following are my observations on the installation. (long post) Before the install, search this forum first! Try to find the answers to anything you can think of before you start!
I set up tarps out on the pavement and laid out the carpet (bottom side up) to soak up the sun while I took apart the interior. A few tricky items for the first timer:
- The rear seat bottom is removed by pushing it to the rear of the car roughly ¾” then lift up. You’ll understand once you’ve gotten it off when you see the clip design.
- Take the front seats out through the rear doors. And don’t forget to first unclip the power seat harness.
- If you have a ’96, the T-handle is held on by a clip on the side of the handle that faces towards the front of the car. It’s shaped like a staple. Get a small flat screwdriver blade under the staple and pull out. Then lift the handle straight up. Be careful of the leather wrap. Reinstall the reverse but I found that the legs of the staple needed to be squeezed together a little to avoid tearing the leather.
- The ’96 console has two bolts at the bottom of the enclosed console pocket and two more in the bottom of the front pocket. I would guess the 94-95 bolts are at the bottom of one of the cup holders. Remember that the shifter is lighted, so detatch the light socket before yanking the console out of the car and pulling out the wires.
- The B-pillar bottom cover is removed by taking out the front and rear sill plates then pull the pillar gently toward the center of the car. It is held on by a spring clip that engages a slot in the steel pillar.
- The seat belts are fastened by a Torx head bolt. It is size T-47. I could not find an individual T-47 socked for sale so after searching, I bought a set of Torx sockets that had a T-47. I have heard that a T-45 will work although some people have stripped the bolt.
I laid out the old carpet bottom up beside the new one and cleaned the floor pan. You can find all kinds of things under the seats and under the carpet. Ancient french fries, a sticky floor from a long ago spilled soft drink, $.53, a toothbrush, pens and factory build sheets. I found three, two under the carpet and one jammed into the springs under the passenger seat. I reinstalled the center console bolts and used the seatbelt bolts from the B-pillar location for the seatbelt bolts at the driveshaft tunnel. I read that this is a good way to locate these areas for cutting holes. If you are doing any wiring of speakers, then now’s the time.
The new carpet did not come with padding, so I used the old padding. After a while in the sun the original glue got sticky and I was able to peel most of the original padding off. I have heard of others who couldn’t get theirs off. Maybe the original glue type? If you wreck yours, go to a carpet store and purchase 6 square yards ($20) of 27 oz. jute carpet padding. I believe the factory jute is 20 oz. or so. Use the original padding and glue it to the new carpet using the original as a template. I found that the rear mounts of the front seat was good locators. I did not put glue on the entire padding surface, instead I glued the padding in spots and strips and maybe a spot in the center of a panel. I forgot to purchase some glue, so I bought some 3M #77 Spray adhesive at a hardware store. Had I more time I would have purchased some commercial grade contact cement that would not degrade in the heat. I don’t know if the #77 will hold up to the heat but I figure that the glue used mostly to keep the padding from shifting during installation. I will use different adhesive for the door panels.
Using the old carpet as a guide, I made a slit for the shifter. I did not make it too long nor did I cut any of the material out yet. I folded the carpet in half width wise and put it in the rear seat area. I then unfolded the front half and tucked it under the steering wheel and under the dash. The fit was damn good considering that it was rolled up in the delivery box for a few months. From what I hear, Tom’s carpet is formed with a steel stamp rather than fiberglass forms which warp over time.
Since the rear footwells are the most defined portion of the new carpet I tried to get these into position as best as possible before working forward. I then tackled the shifter area, knowing that the carpet needed to move forward some more, I made my cuts small. One of the hangups to moving the carpet forward was getting it to go under the vents and over some factory insulation (I think that’s what it was) under the dash. I actually spent a lot of time sitting my butt in the rear footwells to force the carpet into place and into the inner corners of the pan. I found that rather than wrestling the carpet forward by hand, I could use my feet and legs more effectively by supporting myself by hand on the rear seat lip and shoving the carpet with my shoes. It’s probably not the most effective means but it worked for me.
I could then cut the holes for the bolts, studs and wiring. Another post suggested making X cuts for the bolts and T cuts for wiring, that way your can put the carpet flaps down around the bolt, etc… I used a lot of utility blades but it kept my cuts clean, easy, and neat. Be careful when cutting for the wiring, I would lift up the carpet and feel beneath for the bundle and then make my cut. Remember, 6 studs per seat, 4 total seat belt bolts, two power seat wiring bundles, seat belt warning light wiring, and center console. I also had to trim the edge of the carpet for the rear seat bottom clips. Also if you’re going to install the Caddy rear vents, now would be the time to do it. I didn’t bother.
I tried to leave as much carpeting under the sills but soon figured out that in order for the sill plate to fit you need to trim the carpet a minimum of ¼” inside of the rubber gasket. I also make small slits wherever a screw went, and rip out a little of the padding underneath so the sills wouldn’t get warped. When cutting at the perimeter, I tried my best to force the carpet into the inside corners of the pan to make sure I was cutting the carpet accurately. Remember that it is better to make small cuts rather than discover that you’ve cut too much.
When installing the front door sills where they run up the front of the door, slide under and into a slot on the backside of the plastic piece that runs down from above.
Install the seats and console in reverse order.
That’s about it. I didn’t think it went too badly for my first time with a carpet install. I’m sure that there are things I didn’t do right, but that’s my take on the install.
Thom
I just installed Tom's 1500 series, rubber backed, charcoal grey carpet. The quality is amazing.
I want to thank Tom for putting in the time and effort to produce such a quality product. Sure it is more expensive than other carpets, but if you can spring the extra bucks, do so, it is soooo worth it.
OK, onto the install.. I haven’t done this before although I’m quite handy. Overall it took 5-6 hours, including a trip to the hardware store for some adhesive. Following are my observations on the installation. (long post) Before the install, search this forum first! Try to find the answers to anything you can think of before you start!
I set up tarps out on the pavement and laid out the carpet (bottom side up) to soak up the sun while I took apart the interior. A few tricky items for the first timer:
- The rear seat bottom is removed by pushing it to the rear of the car roughly ¾” then lift up. You’ll understand once you’ve gotten it off when you see the clip design.
- Take the front seats out through the rear doors. And don’t forget to first unclip the power seat harness.
- If you have a ’96, the T-handle is held on by a clip on the side of the handle that faces towards the front of the car. It’s shaped like a staple. Get a small flat screwdriver blade under the staple and pull out. Then lift the handle straight up. Be careful of the leather wrap. Reinstall the reverse but I found that the legs of the staple needed to be squeezed together a little to avoid tearing the leather.
- The ’96 console has two bolts at the bottom of the enclosed console pocket and two more in the bottom of the front pocket. I would guess the 94-95 bolts are at the bottom of one of the cup holders. Remember that the shifter is lighted, so detatch the light socket before yanking the console out of the car and pulling out the wires.
- The B-pillar bottom cover is removed by taking out the front and rear sill plates then pull the pillar gently toward the center of the car. It is held on by a spring clip that engages a slot in the steel pillar.
- The seat belts are fastened by a Torx head bolt. It is size T-47. I could not find an individual T-47 socked for sale so after searching, I bought a set of Torx sockets that had a T-47. I have heard that a T-45 will work although some people have stripped the bolt.
I laid out the old carpet bottom up beside the new one and cleaned the floor pan. You can find all kinds of things under the seats and under the carpet. Ancient french fries, a sticky floor from a long ago spilled soft drink, $.53, a toothbrush, pens and factory build sheets. I found three, two under the carpet and one jammed into the springs under the passenger seat. I reinstalled the center console bolts and used the seatbelt bolts from the B-pillar location for the seatbelt bolts at the driveshaft tunnel. I read that this is a good way to locate these areas for cutting holes. If you are doing any wiring of speakers, then now’s the time.
The new carpet did not come with padding, so I used the old padding. After a while in the sun the original glue got sticky and I was able to peel most of the original padding off. I have heard of others who couldn’t get theirs off. Maybe the original glue type? If you wreck yours, go to a carpet store and purchase 6 square yards ($20) of 27 oz. jute carpet padding. I believe the factory jute is 20 oz. or so. Use the original padding and glue it to the new carpet using the original as a template. I found that the rear mounts of the front seat was good locators. I did not put glue on the entire padding surface, instead I glued the padding in spots and strips and maybe a spot in the center of a panel. I forgot to purchase some glue, so I bought some 3M #77 Spray adhesive at a hardware store. Had I more time I would have purchased some commercial grade contact cement that would not degrade in the heat. I don’t know if the #77 will hold up to the heat but I figure that the glue used mostly to keep the padding from shifting during installation. I will use different adhesive for the door panels.
Using the old carpet as a guide, I made a slit for the shifter. I did not make it too long nor did I cut any of the material out yet. I folded the carpet in half width wise and put it in the rear seat area. I then unfolded the front half and tucked it under the steering wheel and under the dash. The fit was damn good considering that it was rolled up in the delivery box for a few months. From what I hear, Tom’s carpet is formed with a steel stamp rather than fiberglass forms which warp over time.
Since the rear footwells are the most defined portion of the new carpet I tried to get these into position as best as possible before working forward. I then tackled the shifter area, knowing that the carpet needed to move forward some more, I made my cuts small. One of the hangups to moving the carpet forward was getting it to go under the vents and over some factory insulation (I think that’s what it was) under the dash. I actually spent a lot of time sitting my butt in the rear footwells to force the carpet into place and into the inner corners of the pan. I found that rather than wrestling the carpet forward by hand, I could use my feet and legs more effectively by supporting myself by hand on the rear seat lip and shoving the carpet with my shoes. It’s probably not the most effective means but it worked for me.
I could then cut the holes for the bolts, studs and wiring. Another post suggested making X cuts for the bolts and T cuts for wiring, that way your can put the carpet flaps down around the bolt, etc… I used a lot of utility blades but it kept my cuts clean, easy, and neat. Be careful when cutting for the wiring, I would lift up the carpet and feel beneath for the bundle and then make my cut. Remember, 6 studs per seat, 4 total seat belt bolts, two power seat wiring bundles, seat belt warning light wiring, and center console. I also had to trim the edge of the carpet for the rear seat bottom clips. Also if you’re going to install the Caddy rear vents, now would be the time to do it. I didn’t bother.
I tried to leave as much carpeting under the sills but soon figured out that in order for the sill plate to fit you need to trim the carpet a minimum of ¼” inside of the rubber gasket. I also make small slits wherever a screw went, and rip out a little of the padding underneath so the sills wouldn’t get warped. When cutting at the perimeter, I tried my best to force the carpet into the inside corners of the pan to make sure I was cutting the carpet accurately. Remember that it is better to make small cuts rather than discover that you’ve cut too much.
When installing the front door sills where they run up the front of the door, slide under and into a slot on the backside of the plastic piece that runs down from above.
Install the seats and console in reverse order.
That’s about it. I didn’t think it went too badly for my first time with a carpet install. I’m sure that there are things I didn’t do right, but that’s my take on the install.
Thom
