72 Carpet Install

[Douglas L.]

When installing the front carpets on a 72, do you sandwich the unfinished edge of the carpet between the fiberboard where you insert the carpet plugs? Or on top of the fiberboard leaving the unfinished carpet ends exposed? Thanks.

[Alan S.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

Hi Douglas,
The carpet on my 71 wasn't tucked under the firewall blanket (mine isn't fiberboard, it's a rubber coated dense padding). I can see the round impression from the head of each plug in the surface of the carpet. The unfinished edge was exposed.
Regards,
Alan

[Douglas L.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

Thanks. Now I have to tackle those nasty carpet plugs.

[Bill C.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

You have NO IDEA!!!

Take plenty of time removing them - specially if they are the originals.
It works best if you have someone under the car squeezing the head of it while you pull from the inside.

They are just as big of a PITA putting back in. There are a couple great threads in the archives, they identify how to make a tool that will almost prevent you ruining the plug going in - worth reading.....

My car had the carpet on top of the firewall insulation.

[Joseph M.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

Just did the carpets in my 70 on Friday. We used the original plugs and made a tool by rounding off an old phillips screw driver to push them through to the outside. It helped that we put some liquid soap on the plug as a lubricant and I used pliers on the outside to grab the plug tip as my helper pushed them through.

[Alan S.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

Hi,
Be careful using a pliers to pull on the nose of the plugs. I marred the first one because the grooves in the pliers jaw's face left an impression in the nose of the original plug that was permanent. I was able to hide it with a little well placed sealer, but be careful.
Regards,
Alan

[Harmon C.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

A nice round hole through the carpet with a pencil solder iron makes this job eaiser. The smell of burning carpet stinks but when the air clears you got'er licked and the plugs go in pretty easy.

[Douglas L.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

I ordered a dozen. Just in case.

[Don L.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

A nice round hole through the carpet with a pencil solder iron makes this job eaiser. The smell of burning carpet stinks but when the air clears you got'er licked and the plugs go in pretty easy.

Thanks for this brilliant tip, Lyle. I have to do my rear bulkhead this winter. To do my front bulkhead, I poked and prodded all the way through with increasing diameter awls and phillips screwdriver tips. I even briefly tried a drill in reverse. That lasted about 1 second! I actually thought it was my creative and private vocabulary that day that eventually got the plugs through.

Solder iron. Of course!

[Bill C.]

Re: 72 Carpet Install

I really like the solder iron idea!!!!

Would really have helped two years ago ===

I may change the front carpet on the DVR side before the car goes for Duntov next July. I have wore parts out from driving the car (near the dimmer switch where my shoe on the clutch pedal hits and by the gas pedal). This will make the job go much quicker!!


Thanks