Carpeting

Post by **psjorge** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:29 pm

Hi,

Can someone please shed some light on this?

- Cars with maroon interior had maroon or red carpets? Is there a difference or some suppliers call them "red" and others "maroon", but we're talking about the same colour?

Thanks,
Pedro

Post by **PSL184** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:45 pm

Up until Feb 59 carpets were Maroon. After Feb 59 they were Red or Tartan Red....

Post by **Peetee** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:24 pm

I had to search hard for a supplier of maroon carpet for my '58. Most suppliers sell red which matches the later cars. Some sell red and/or maroon.

Post by **psjorge** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:12 pm

Thanks for the info.

Peetee, can you please tell me where you've manage to find the maroon carpets ?

Thanks,
Pedro

Post by **psjorge** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:23 pm

I've been searching the internet for a supplier and discovered one on e-Bay. They provide carpeting in several colours including one that they call "antique red" that seams to me very close to the original maroon.

Can someone please follow the link bellow and verify this?

Thanks,
Pedro

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/carhoods

Post by **Peetee** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:04 pm

To be honest I wasn't hugely impressed with the quality of the carpet. It looked and felt good until you bent the piece that covers the sill section and the dark base was obvious. It also disintegrated when I had to re-position one piece that was glued down. And they send me two left hand side sill panels and no right.

Post by **ASL642** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:57 am

The colour looks about right Pedro, but it doesn't say whether the edges are bound or not. I suggest you email them and ask first you dont want it fraying.

Post by **psjorge** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:33 pm

Well, according to the supplier the carpets have the following characteristics:

- suitable for split-screen
- underfelt set
- latex backing for sound insulation
- same colour leathercloth binding

All this for 82 pounds (plus post & packeging)

What do you make of this?

Post by **croft** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:35 pm

This may be slightly off topic but is it possible to get different types of carpet? My minor has the blue colour carpet but it seems to be more like short hairs rather than the loop type! I'm assuming its original if not it fits great! all the carpets I have seen for sale are the loop type pile. My minor is a 1970 4 door model.

Post by **PSL184** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:54 pm

You may well have the original carpet still fitted which you cannot buy anymore. One of mine still has and although slightly worn, I'm leaving it that way

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:24 pm

Sounds like original - the dense cropped hairs. Its nice stuff, a shame you can't get it anymore. Also original carpet dosen't have bound edges so the separate pieces visually blend in. And, theres a small strip that the seats are bolt through so both the front and rear footwell pieces can be removed for cleaning etc
I've also seen a later style (1970 saloon) where the front footwell was one piece from side to side, cut and stitched for the transmission tunnel. Again unbound and obviously original. Looked quite neat really.

Post by **Peetee** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:31 pm

I've seen different types of carpet in Minors. Short thin hairy type - like a kitchen carpet and propper thick lush deep pile stuff.

Post by dp » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:33 pm

PSL184 wrote:Up until Feb 59 carpets were Maroon. After Feb 59 they were Red or Tartan Red....

Was tartan red a tartan pattern or just a name?

Sure I said this before but with a marker pen, a strong scissors or stanley knife, and a suitable bit of carpet from a carpet shop you can make a reasonable carpet set up very cheap. Not concours and not bound at the edges but did mine for a tenner

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:36 pm

Here's the pic I took of the 1970 saloon set:

Viewed from the rear, the grubby area is the drivers side footwell. One strip that the seat bolts through is missing (n/s) otherwise a complete set and totally different to the repro carpet sets. Its a fairly thick lush pile.

Post by **Dominic** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:13 pm

Another carpet related question:
Were the saloons fitted with a carpet in the boot when new? Or were they just bare "floorboards"?

Dom

Post by **PSL184** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:37 pm

Just bare boards originally and Tartan Red was just a name.....

Post by **psjorge** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 4:20 pm

Well, one is always learning. I was unaware that the carpets were unbound at the edges. I can request the supplier to leave the carpets unbound for originality sake.

By the way, can someone post a picture of a carpet set for an earlier car (1954)? There's a great photo posted by IaininTenbury, but is from a 1970's car and I think it's not exactly the same as the earlier ones...

Thanks,
Pedro

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 12:13 am

Thats correct. Earlier cars were like the replacement carpet sets (with separte footwells on each side) but unbound. The difference was there is a small rectangular section of carpet that goes under the seat mounting area, about 4" wide, so both the front and rear footwell pieces can be lifted out for cleaning. On the new sets, the rear footwell piece is held in by the seat bolts, though the front can be lifted out.

The bound edges do look smart, it just depends how fussed you are about originality. I like to record such things which is why I took the pic of the 1970 carpet set otherwise such knowledge will be lost...

Post by **psjorge** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:44 pm

Hi,

I ended up buying the carpets from these guys and they arrived today.

I was very satisfied with them. They came exactly as I ordered (no bound edges). I was a bit concerned about the colour because earlier cars had maroon carpets, not red. However, the colour I recieved looks very much as the original one. It's poeticaly called "antique red"!.

Anyway, if someone wants to contact these guys the e-mail is as follows: sims_ian@hotmail.com

They have an e-Bay shop...