Carpet and insulation

This is the place to discuss restoration problems, post questions or projects-complete or partial.
Post Reply
User avatar
Hootch
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:28 am
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Boise, Idaho

Carpet and insulation

Post by Hootch »

It's an unusually beautiful weekend in Idaho (no forest fire smoke, high of 80!), and I should be out on a curvy road right now. But instead, I'm committed to installing carpet. (crazy, right?)

Here's my recipe:

- Pre-cut and bound black carpet from Vick Auto. The picture on their site is terrible, but maybe you can see it better here? It's a short pile, rather than a loop. I've seen floor mats thicker than this stuff, but the price was right, and if I do a decent job on the install, I'm sure it will be fine.
- ThermoTec "The Suppressor" - heat and sound insulation.
- ThermoTec ThermoGuard FR
- POR-15

Image

I'm thinking I'll use The Suppressor on the firewall and transmission tunnel, behind the kick panels. If I get ambitious, I might use some on the doors too. I'll use the ThermoGuard FR, which has a 1/4" pad, on the floorboards and areas where I will need the padding. That's not a lot of padding, but I'll be getting floor mats too.

What I'm pondering: The ThermoGuard FR lays with the felt side up. I'm concerned that all those little precut carpet pieces are going to slide around, so I'm thinking I'll use some spray adhesive to attach the carpet to the insulation pad. But I wonder how well that's going to hold (carpet to thick felt, basically), and whether there's a better way. I saw a guy on YouTube using 3M ribbon seal (normally used for windshields). Has anyone tried that? I'm skeptical, but hey, that guy's got a you tube channel, so he must know what he's talking about! ;-)

As always, I appreciate your input!

ThermoTec: https://www.thermotec.com/products/soun ... t-barriers
Hootch McGee
1978 124 Spider (1592 cc motor)
2012 Mini Cooper Clubman S
2004 Aprilia Mojito
Image
DRUMMOND
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 443
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:11 pm
Your car is a: Fiat Spyder 2000 1980 Pininfarina

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by DRUMMOND »

If you use double sided carpet tape that would be better than spray adhesive, it has a tendency to go all gooey after a while. Both will be a problem getting it back off the felt, but the tape is easier.
User avatar
Hootch
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:28 am
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Boise, Idaho

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by Hootch »

Thanks for the tip. That makes perfect sense. :-)
Hootch McGee
1978 124 Spider (1592 cc motor)
2012 Mini Cooper Clubman S
2004 Aprilia Mojito
Image
User avatar
Hootch
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:28 am
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Boise, Idaho

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by Hootch »

When I was young, a Friday night/Saturday morning was more like this old song by the Specials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2df30y9sMQ

Now, as a reformed ne'er-do-well, my Friday Nights/Saturday mornings look like this:

Image

Rumor has it PO owned a glue factory. ;-)

And after, oh, about 8 hours, I'm almost ready to put down the scraper/dremel/sander and get the acetate. . .

Image

well, almost... because, first, I'm gonna have to deal with a couple of surprises.

Image
Image

"replacing the carpet is a quick, easy afternoon job!"

- More to come next weekend!
Hootch McGee
1978 124 Spider (1592 cc motor)
2012 Mini Cooper Clubman S
2004 Aprilia Mojito
Image
DRUMMOND
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 443
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:11 pm
Your car is a: Fiat Spyder 2000 1980 Pininfarina

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by DRUMMOND »

oh oh! That's how my renovation started :D With the CARPET PULL UP!
Mrgreer
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:01 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Spider 2000fiat

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by Mrgreer »

It's not the installation, it's the prep work that's a pain.
User avatar
Hootch
Patron 2018
Patron 2018
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:28 am
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Boise, Idaho

Re: Carpet and insulation

Post by Hootch »

Finally getting around to posting the results of the big ol carpet replacement project of 2018.

Hats off to DRUMMOND for steering me towards double-sided carpet tape, which turned out to work really well!

I used two varieties of cool-it products for sound and heat insulation. The jury's still out on this... get yourself some REALLY good scissors, and stock up on exact-o blades. The Thermo-Guard is nearly impossible to cut. Best to score one side with a blade a few times, then cut with the sharpest scissors you can find.

I used the double-sided tape (2+ rolls) from home depot, at about $12/roll.

I used it to put down the Thermaguard, and again to adhere the carpet to the pad.
Don't cut with scissors- it just gums them up. Use an exact-o.

Image
Image
Image

Overall, the new carpet looks pretty decent.
Image

However, there were plenty of fitment issues, like this one:
Image

I'll need to get some remnants from a carpet store to minimize the gaps. In retrospect, I should have just picked up some rolled carpet and used the old pieces as templates. The kit I bought had too many issues, and the quality of the product was underwhelming.
Hootch McGee
1978 124 Spider (1592 cc motor)
2012 Mini Cooper Clubman S
2004 Aprilia Mojito
Image
Post Reply