lrbeavers

Which carpet should you purchase for bucket seat with a automatic console for a 71 cutlass?

501Paratrooper

I used ACC, and was not really happy with the fit.
I made it work and it looks pretty good but the fit over the trans tunnel was horrible.

RAMBOW

you really only have 2 options, ACC or Trim Parts. They are the only two mfgs that i'm aware of.

Both have similar issues with how the carpet fits over the transmission tunnel.
If you have a center console, then you won't even notice it since you will cut the carpet to fit.

lrbeavers

So the carpet do not come with the shifter and console brackets pre cut

getawaycar

I ordered my carpet from Legendary auto interiors. All of their stuff is cut from the original GM paterns and they guarantee a proper fit. They sent me carpet samples ahead of time so that we could all be sure of a good match. They had the exact color and weave match for my 68 442. I dealt with Russ Bacon and he was very helpful and thorough. His number is 1-800-363-8804 ext. 203

Chris

dc2x4drvr

The carpet is shipped "large" so you can fit it to your car, you will have to cut holes for brackets and seat belt fasteners. maybe 70post will chime in, he's had some experience with several brands of carpet.

RAMBOW

Ledgendary sells the Trim parts Carpet. As i mentioned above, there are only 2 real MFGs of carpet for GM-Abodys at present.
Ask your favorite vendor who's brand they sell.

They are not exactly the same.
Trim parts is supposed to have a littel bit better carpet fiber (frizzes out less over time), but their drivers side heel pad is stiched into place, not heat pressed like ACC's which is what the factory did.

Personally i can't tell the difference other than that. I've installed both before.

They do not have any holes cut out(even if you order a 4spd carpet, it only means the extra hump is molded in.

Both companies have big stamping molds, they stick the carpet in, then heat up & stamp this press on it that forms the plastic on the backside into the shape of the floor.

Then they glue jute padding on the back.

My understanding is that ACC now offers a carpet with extra jute on the backside beyond the normal 1/4-1/2" thick stuff like the factory did.

Both companies can custom order whatever you want. I had ACC make me a set once a while back for a 69 elcamino with modern style Cut pile instead of the "correct" 80/20 loop that the cars had originally, and it turned out great & was only $10 more than their regular carpet sets.

lrbeavers

Thanks, please keep it coming

68Verts

I just finished installing an ACC 80/20 loop black carpet for my '68 4-4-2 convertible with auto/console on floor. I believe it will also fit thru 1972. I purchased from Stock Interiors (.com). For my very first time doing this, I was very pleased with the quality, fit, and look. The part that worried me the most, was cutting the carpet to fit over the shifter, but the company had very good online installation videos and directions. As I was fitting the carpet to go over the floor shifter, I had to keep in mind to start with a SMALL hole or slit, and then enlarge it a little at a time until it fit the way it was supposed to.

I also put my old carpet over the new, as a template, and chalked the seat belt holes, seat bolt holes, etc. This was just for a "ballpark" location.......

70Post

HA HA!!! They don't make the carpet sets they sell (unfortunately since they do seem to care somewhat more about quality vs. the people that actually manufacture the carpet). They sell carpet sets made by ACC and I believe they also sell the carpet sets made by Trim Parts. Both ACC and Trim Parts source their carpet roll/stock from the same mill.

Sure...Legendary is great about sending out color samples FIRST (something the other resellers don't want to mess with)....kudos for them about caring.

BUT---Their carpet sets are only as good as the places that make them, which depending on luck, the weather, and whatever dice they seem to roll at ACC and Trim Parts when they press/mold them, may be great or may be absolutely terrible.

I recently helped a buddy install the carpet he got from Legendary (it was an ACC set)....IT WAS THE WORST CARPET SET I HAVE EVER INSTALLED...terrible fit, heel pad in the wrong location (with your foot on the accelerator pedal your heel wasn't even resting on the heel pad), cut too short in places...WHAT A JOKE!!!

I am serious....this set was ridiculous. One HUGE area in the P side footwell down near where the tunnel transitioned into the flat area for your feet. Carpet not molded down enough and we had to make a 4" tall or so "pyramid" of jute to fill the void.

I have installed a lot of ACC sets (Abody and others) in the last few years and this was by far the worst I have seen.

MY ADVICE and DO THIS!!!: No matter which manufacturer's carpet you order (ACC or Trim Parts) and no matter WHO you get it from (Legendary or someone else)...TAKE THE STUFF OUT OF THE BOX ASAP AND AT LEAST TRY TO DO A PRELIMINARY FITTING IN YOUR CAR...look for REAL BAD problems.

>Heel pad placement

>Voids or gaps where it won't set down into the floor pan all the way (NO..you aren't going to magically be able to stretch it into place with a steamer or a heat gun)

>Areas where it's cut short...particularly out by the kickpanels and where it tucks up under the firewall pad.

As already mentioned the carpet will likely the tunnel not-so-well....this seems to be pretty typical and can be dealt with. It's the real bad glaring stuff you need to be on the watch for.

>SAVE YOUR BOX FROM ACC!!!!!

Why???.....well, this buddy bought all his stuff from Legendary as a package and then proceeded with life. You know - kids, house, work, etc. It wasn't until over a year later that he decided to do the carpet install and contacted me. He had tossed the ACC box out long ago.

I contacted Legendary and as you would expect they tried to he helpful but requested the original box as it has a "Lot #" on it that they can give to ACC so they can supposedly "track the problem back". Frankly, it sounded like a BS excuse as they had a record of his large purchase and knew they sold it to him. On the other hand, I can seriously sympathize with them when someone comes back over a year later and says they have a problem. CHECK THE CARPET WHEN YOU GET IT.....you'll have a much better chance of getting any defects resolved if you do your part and check it quickly.

For anyone else reading this who has a 4 speed manual floor shift...ORDER CARPET FOR AN AUTOMATIC FLOOR SHIFT. ACC, and I believe Trim Parts, put way too much extra space in their manual floor shift carpet sets. The auto carpet sets are already too big over the tunnel as it is.....you DON'T need the needlessly-extra coverage they add into their "manual floor shift" sets.

FWIW--I have spoke extensively with ACC a year or so ago about the ill-fitting manual floor shift carpets. They refused to believe (or acknowledge) any sort of problem with it. In summary - THEY DON'T CARE. Why should they---they've had a virtual lock on the repro carpet market for YEARS and likely don't want to invest any money in upgrading or changing their molds. It's all pure profit for them now.

I also talked with a principal at Trim Parts and while he claimed his stuff was dead on I have since heard of similar problems with the fit of their "manual floor shift" carpets.

I think you may have to specifically request that Legendary send you Trim Parts carpet if you want to try it. Probably worth a shot as it's virtually impossible that their stuff could be as bad as the stuff ACC manufactures.

That's enough for now...

70Post

...Well.. maybe not enough....

While we're at it and since this IS the "Interior/Upholstery" section I'll ad this little tidbit:

>CHECK EVERYTHING YOU GET FROM ANY INTERIOR SUPPLIER, NOT JUST THE CARPET SETS

Check the placement of any pre-punched window crank holes. Did they send you the correct year door panels?(different woodgrains on the door panels vs. the rear panels...ran into this problem also recently). Was the material for the rear ash/well covers cut long/generous enough to give you a decent amount of extra material to wrap around the back and glue down? You get the idea.

None of these vendors are 100% perfect 100% of the time. Do them a favor and check for problems EARLY ON and they will be a lot more likely to resolve them quickly. Most of them deliver good value at good prices but mistakes can happen. The stuff that Legendary manufactures themselves is GOOD stuff...but mistakes happen.

NOTE: One could interpret my postings as "sour grapes" or "he has an axe to grind with them", etc. That's not the case. These are facts and experiences I have had with the subject matter over an extended period of time. I will be using Legendary products on my next Olds project and will continue to recommend it to customers.

getawaycar

Thanks for the very sound advice 70post. Some of that seems like common sense, but it is easy to take for granted that a reputable vendor will give you exactly the right parts every time. You are exactly right when you said everybody makes mistakes. I am an excellent mechanic and I ALMOST never make mistakes because I am very careful. But it does happen. What gives me a great reputation is that people can count on the fact if something does go wrong I will bend over backwards to take care of it.

Legendary has a great reputation because of the quality of the products they manufacture, but also their customer service. I am confident that if something is not right with my order, they will take care of it. When I ordered my parts from them I was under the impression they made their own carpet kits too. Not because they lead me to believe that, it was just my assumption. My mistake. I apologize for misleading anybody here. The carpet I received from them was drop shipped from trim parts. Not by my special request, that's just what they sent. The color is correct to what I selected from their samples. I have not checked fit yet. I still need to remove the seats but I will let you know.

I am thinking it is possible (even likely) that the carpets people have received from either manufacturer that has not fit right could have been boxed wrong. To some kid in the packaging department black carpet looks like black carpet. Maybe it isn't cut wrong, or molded wrong, maybe it's for a Chevelle or a Dodge Challenger. Just a thought. I see parts packaged wrong from the factory all the time.

Chris

70Post

No--it's just how ACC (and possibly Trim Parts) make the carpet sets. You can get on any Abody website and find posting after posting about the ill fitting nature of these carpet sets. The most common problem is the trans tunnel fit. They mold the tunnel area TOO TALL (it's typically much worse on manual floor shift sets).

As far as the manual floor shift sets...I think they probably have a generic setup for those. Most likely they have the metal shifter shroud set up from another car (likely a Chevelle) or they just purposefully overdo the whole shifter area so they know the carpet will easily clear ALL the Abody metal shifter hump/shrouds (they are different depending on the brand).

As I mentioned there are a couple other common problems - carpet cut too short at the top where it's supposed to tuck under the firewall pad (typically worse on the P side) and carpet cut too short where it tucks up under the kick panels.

I've seen these problems consistently and over a number of years...they aren't mis-labelling/mis-boxing anything. It's just bad quality control. lack of checking these things on actual cars occasionally (MANY manufacturers pull random samples from production for quality checks) and possibly the attitude many of these places develop when they have a market locked up.

Still...they do deliver a product that can be worked with (most of the time) at a reasonable price.

No apology needed....discussions and the "back and forth" postings like these are a large part of what these sites are about...INFORMATION.

Thanks

RAMBOW

Unfortunatly as Patton mentioned, its hit or miss.

Each company has a large number of heat press floor molds. They are not all identical, or they don't get pressed identical or something. Or maybe they are getting worse with wear and really ought to be replaced (not unheard of either)

I have a trim parts m/t carpet in my 66, bought 2 years ago. it fits like a glove. nice and tight over the tunnel, even the 4speed pad molded into the carpet fell right over the hump in my floor.

I had an ACC carpet in my 68 elcamino the fit was beyond bad over the tunnel.
However- as bad as that one was, i had a special order cut pile carpet from acc for a 69 elcamino (i like elcaminos) and it fit like a glove.

So your best is as good as mine on why some of these fit and some dont.

Unfortunatly we are kinda screwed trying to figure out how to make them work since nobody else makes it. You could have an upholstery shop make you a custom fit carpet using spray glue & a steamer- but those don't necessarily look great either.