ScarabChris

I'm putting new carpet in the car this weekend. Here are some pics...the "before"

ScarabChris

Some pics of the inside after the carpet was removed. Not bad for a 30+ year old car. I was expecting some rust on the front passenger floor, there was a leak for a while and when it rained hard the carpet would be wet. Turned out to be a bad rubber seal on the triangle behind the side view mirror.

It no longer leaks. I wire brushed the rust out as best as I could, it was only surface rust. I then painted it with some "Rustolium" paint. I'll pull that corner back in a year and see if it has gotten worse.

ScarabChris

I put some faux Dynamat in the car. This is roofing material that is very similar to the real Dynamat....just a little thinner. Just to help with the heat and maybe quite the road noise down a little. I ran out before I got done, I got about 85% done that I wanted. I may go out and get more before I put the carpet back in.

I also ran the cabling for the stereo system that will follow..

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Looking good. I'd like to add some heat and sound shield someday.

punzak9

Looks nice and clean under there! How hard was it removing all the plastics, seats and console?

ScarabChris

It's easy stripping the car, just time consuming. You will need some Torx sockets for the seat belt anchors. The rest is just screws and bolts.

I started the disassembly yesterday at about 3pm and got to the point where the carpet was ready do go in by around 9pm. Got up this morning and got into it at around 10am and now it's 4pm and I am almost done, just taking a break....the sun beats my driveway this time of the day.

All I have left is the passenger seat, the plastic door jams at the bottom and putting the console back in. I will be doing some work on the console before it goes back in, the black vinyl is lifting up in some areas so I want to fix it before I put it back in.

The most time consuming thing is getting the new carpet trimmed. It has a hole for the shifter but nothing else. Got to cut the seat bolt holes, seat belt anchors, wiring holes for the seats, etc...and some general trimming.

Ct1987

Hi Chris, wonder if you would do me a favor while you have the carpet out, I did my carpet last year and neglected to mark where the tie down loops for the top bag went. Could you possibly take a photo of the area to give me the approximately location of the holes.

Thanks,

Louis

ScarabChris

Mine doesn't have T-Tops so I don't think there are tie downs. The only thing I saw was the flat tire hook in the truck area. I took a lot of pictures so I'll look through them and see if I spot anything.

Carpet is all back in and the console is the only thing left.

Ct1987

Thanks Chris,

No T tops = no holes. Maybe they punched them on all cars.

Thanks,

Louis

ScarabChris

In my 2nd post you can see pictures of the cargo area. No t-top mounting points. My previous 87 GTA I had back in the 1990's did have t-tops so I know what you're talking about, there were hooks mounted in the top of the cargo area (above the fuel tank behind the seat) that the bag was hooked to, then more hooks in the very back behind the tail lights to "suspend" the bag almost like a hammock. No bag hooks or mounting points on my car.

ikeepitreelz

I actually had this issue on a car and you can press down hard on the carpet and run your finger left and right and eventually find the holes. when found, i cut a square on three sides(like a U leaving the top uncut) leaving it with a flap. I have no pics though.

ScarabChris

Console repair. Anyone with a mid-late 80's Firebird-Trans Am knows this issue. The material warping out around the shifter.

Heat with a heat gun to soften the material, inject some hot glue in the gap and clamp. Then use some super glue gel on the area where the trim plate snaps in.....

....don't stop there because it will begin to come apart after a while. So I stitched it with some 40 lb test fishing line. I think this will hold. If not I will bite the bullet and buy a new console no matter the cost. LOL

wisemanz28

Where did you get your carpet from?

ScarabChris

It's from ACC. I dropped it in the wife's Amazon Christmas wish list and she took the hint so I got the carpet for Christmas.

So to answer the question, it's ACC carpet and I got it from Amazon. I think it was $278

ScarabChris

Some pictures. I'm nearly finished, just installing the last part today, the radio pod.

ScarabChris

Last step is the radio pod. You can see I have all the wiring run for the future sound system. Also topped off the new carpet with some very nice USED floor mats from Hawks....freaking $25shipped...all 4 mats. Pics don't do them justice, they match very well and look almost new.

ScarabChris

Project done. Very happy with it.

wisemanz28

wow that looks good . Did you add the mass backing to it ?

ScarabChris

There is a backing on the carpet but I don't think it's the extra backing they call "mass backing"

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Good Job Scarab
Believe it or not,but that Mass Backing is probably what kept your floors nice and dry all those years.

ScarabChris

I compared the old (factory) carpet to the new carpet and they looked identical with regard to the construction and backing, padding, etc so maybe my new carpet did have the mass backing.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Not for ~$280, the mass backing is over $500

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Wow,is that what carpets go for now.when I did mine it cost $263.95 + $60.00 for the mass backing

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Well, I went with the premium carpet and the mass backing. It was over $400 for sure

ScarabChris

Well...either way, mass backing or not.....the replacement carpet looked just like the original and I'm super happy with it.

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

Very nice job and it looks amazing. Lloyds floor mats would be the way to go if you are looking.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

O, I believe you. I got mine from 1A in 2011 for that price I quoted above



And now with inflation

https://www.1aauto.com/1985-92-ponti...=796275&y=1985
I can't seem to find the new cost of mass backing on their site.

It only matters to you if it looks good or not.I think it looks great

ScarabChris

Yeah I want to get some really killer floor mats. Something with the Fire Chicken or the GTA logo and molded around that hump in the front passenger floor.

But Lloyds mats I'm not so sure about. Pictured below are Lloyds for my Escalade EXT. I bought them about 3 years ago and within a year the carpet was gone where my heel rests. That hole has been there for over a year. These were very expensive and are beautiful...except the hole.

My driving habits have not changed, before these mats I had the factory GM mats that I took from my Avalanche LTZ before I sold it and bought the Escalade. Had the GM mats for 5+ years and no holes.

The mats in the GTA are from Hawks I bought used for $25 and they will do for now.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Rock auto has the molded mats for our 3rd gens.
ACC 9409160

wisemanz28

RockAuto has carpet too, you think it's a good product?

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

If it's ACC Carpet, yes it's a good product.

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Oh so you paid ~$320 for the mass backed carpet.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Yes

ScarabChris

This is the carpet in the box and the link to the item on Amazon.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

That's a good price with Free shipping for the ACC carpet.I've delt with Stock Interiors for my carpet in my 33 Plymouth.

ScarabChris

Yup I thought so.

Funny thing is my UPS guy that comes to my house, I have gotten to know him over the years as he stops at my house almost every day (wife is an Amazon junkie) and he has a 2nd gen Camaro Z28.

He bought it brand new in 1978 (its a 79). He saved up all his money while working at crap jobs in high school, then he got some money for graduation from family and it was just enough to walk in the Chevy dealer and buy the car CASH!

He has the car still, it has only 39,000 miles on it. It has been garage kept it's entire life and he only drives it a few miles a month. He showed me lots pictures and it looks identical to this. Still smells new inside he says.

Anyway the point is my UPS guy is into these cars and every time a box comes he asks if it's something for my GTA. But when the carpet came he knew what it was for and was anxious to see it done. Now it's done and my UPS guy is on vacation because it's been a different guy for the last week. LOL.

I keep telling him to get in this Z28 and come by my house on the weekend.

wisemanz28

Your Amazon link goes to Stock interiors, is ACC and Stock interiors the same company ?

ScarabChris

Maybe my link only works for me but this is what I see when I click it. This is a screen grab. I see nothing about "Stock Interiors". It's clearly an ACC carpet kit, says ACC on the Amazon page and the box it came in is pictured under my Amazon link.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

I thought it was Stock Interiors also, to the right of your Amazon link it says " other sellers on Amazon"
Thay's why I mentioned it in the other post.Your seller was Downard Automotive.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

ACC is the manufacture,it supplies the carpet to all different outlets

ScarabChris

Public Safety Announcement.



So here is what happened. I was at a party yesterday, nice day, friends hanging out at the beach, we had a nice parking lot right on the beach so we were all showing off our cars. I of course was showing off the Trans Am GTA and the new carpet. Great day.....

But on the way home I gave the car a little goose on the last long road before my neighborhood just to hear the engine roar and feel the power.....and boy did it roar and take off....

The gas pedal got stuck and the car took off like crazy. I'm actually very good at reacting quickly to situations like this, especially when it comes to operating cars and boats. Most people would have panicked and crashed.

I applied the breaks which slowed the car down but not enough. I instantly put the car in neutral at which point the engine red-lined. At that point I knew the pedal got stuck somehow so I reached down with my hand and yanked it up and everything returned to normal. I carefully drove the car home which was only 1/2 mile away.

So what happened? I was showing off the new carpet and took the floor mat out a bunch of times so my first thought was I put the mat back in in a way that caused it to wedge the gas pedal somehow. But after thinking a minute I knew that couldn't be the case because when I yanked up on the pedal to free it, it made a click sound and had solid resistance, not like a floor mat would cause.

Once home I shut the car off, got down there to look at the pedal, I pressed it by hand and watch it. As it got to a certain point I watched it snap behind the damn plastic cover that goes up under the dash.

After the carpet job I put this panel back in and I guess it was out of place just enough to catch the gas pedal.

Very scary and thank god I was on a long road with no traffic. Had this happened in heavy traffic I may have slammed into the back of someone because when it happened the car took off and if there was a car within 100 feet of me I would have hit it. The entire ordeal lasted less than 3 seconds but it seemed like an eternity.

When removing and replacing the plastic panel under the driver side dash, be sure it goes in absolutely PERFECT! I'm going to cut the gas pedal notch bigger just for piece of mind should that panel shift without me knowing I want to make sure it doesn't catch the pedal ever again.

The knife shows where the pedal got caught. I'm going to cut it out where I marked it with the gold Sharpie.

Br1dgeman

Hey Chris,

I am curious if you are you the ScarabChris that owned a Wellcraft Scarab Sport with twin Evinrudes and has/had a business in Hollywood, FL?

ScarabChris

Yes I am.

Br1dgeman

Well, small world. Hope the family is doing well, especially the little one. PM sent....