Seats - Before or After Carpet?

[blizno23]

Hey guys (and girls), I recently got a pair of 98 silverado seats ready to go in my '71.

My question:

Should I drill the holes and install the seats now and trim the carpet to fit around the brackets?

Or install the carpet first, drill the holes, and then install the seats?

What have you guys done in the past?

Any tips on reinforcing the floor?

Thanks!
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[michael bustamante]

carpet first but cut the holes out for the bolts. dont drill the carpet. bad news.....

[blizno23]

That makes sense...Thanks! I was driving myself crazy trying to figure what to do first.

[EARNHARDT#3]

If you need to drill through the carpet wrap the end 2" of the drill bit tightly with electrical tape. The tape will allow the bit to pass through the carpet without pulling it apart. You have to rewrap after each hole though.

[COLDCUT]

Mock up and fit the seats first. Drill the holes and then lay the carpet. Use an awl and a soldering iron to burn through (cauterize) the carpet. If you drill through the carpet, you'll wind up with a big, long "run".

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by COLDCUT

Mock up and fit the seats first. Drill the holes and then lay the carpet. Use an awl and a soldering iron to burn through (cauterize) the carpet. If you drill through the carpet, you'll wind up with a big, long "run".

This. You want to get everything "set" how you want it before the carpet goes in. Once that's done and you're happy then lay the carpet.

I use an awl to poke through the carpet from the bottom, then carefully cut an "X" with a SHARP (new) razor so you can see the hole a lot better, the slowly trim the X out to the shape of the hole.

Reinstall seat, done.

It's extra work but that's how to do it right. No point in damaging new carpet if you're not happy with the seat location/position.

[70CHEVYBB]

Use a soldering iron to make the holes.