Interior Carpet for budget build?

[Swifty]

Is there a cheap way to do interior carpet for a budget build... something other than a kit?

[ChevLoRay]

I guess you can cut and fit something that you find or have, but that's not in my bag of tricks. I got mine from a local vendor and it is from ACC (Auto Custom Carpets).

People have used Mexican Blankets for seat covers....maybe there's a suitable item to use as carpet....and I'm not trying to be funny.

[Shane]

buy cheap carpet in small rolls at Wal Mart designed for speaker boxes ... make yourself some paper patterns ... borrow a sewing machine or have a friend sew it up.

[d.uccello]

Some FYI's from my experiences...

I have had people bring me hardware store carpet rolls and various home carpet remnants. They aren't really designed for automotive use. They have really heavy backing and the nap is designed to lay flat. To get it to lay out nicely over the trans hump requires cutting and sewing various darts in the carpet which is a bit of a PITA using home carpet.

On the other extreme, I would be wary of the "speaker box" carpet. Often referred to as Super-Flex, these carpets have no strength in the backing and are made to stretch and form. While great for many uses it really isn't meant for traffic areas and it will easily change shape as you use it or create baggy areas. You could always glue the hell outta it to keep it down but it still wears poorly and will often just turn into a fuzzy floor after awhile.

In between is automotive carpet. Still requiring sewing darts for a good fit but flexible enough to form to the floor boards somewhat. It really is made for just this purpose and works well, but you would have to pay an upholsterer to fit it up for you or find someone to lend you an industrial sewing machine.

Then there are molded carpets. Maybe a little pricey for a budget build but if you don't want to pay an upholsterer you can install it yourself in an afternoon. If you go that route I would also recommend ACC to you. You could save a few bucks with OAM or similar brand but they usually don't fit nearly as well.

Good Luck

[Shane]

key word in first post: cheap

[VA72C10]

I've seen custom painted floors and spray in bedliner....an alternative to carpet...

[d.uccello]

Originally Posted by Shane

key word in first post: cheap

I consider price to be a calculation of cost + longevity/quality, not just what I pay up front... but to each their own.

[Swifty]

d.uccello, Thank you for the detailed reply! I will take what you said into consideration.

VA72C10, I thought about bedliner but worried it won't look that good. I'll have a fully painted interior and my seats & door pannels have already been re-uphuolstered. Do you think it would match with everything else looking new?

[tubbedII]

If you can handle it, the rubber floor is cheaper than the carpet. I think a poorly looking carpet job could easily ruin the look of an interior...
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=100

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by Swifty

d.uccello, Thank you for the detailed reply! I will take what you said into consideration.

VA72C10, I thought about bedliner but worried it won't look that good. I'll have a fully painted interior and my seats & door pannels have already been re-uphuolstered. Do you think it would match with everything else looking new?

I found that the duplicolor spray bedliner was very light in texture. Used it on the underside of my wheel tubs and inner fenders and was very happy with the way it looked and thought it would look nice in lieu of black carpet also. You can find deals on molded truck carpet sometimes for around 120-150 shipped on ebay and I just missed a set locally for 75 that came from an abandoned build...

[Shane]

Originally Posted by d.uccello

I consider price to be a calculation of cost + longevity/quality, not just what I pay up front... but to each their own.

good lord ... relax bro.

[keanevann]

Here you go.....

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Shane

good lord ... relax bro.

x2

[sdkid]

Originally Posted by keanevann

Here you go.....

Awesome.

[chevytruckluver]

This will help!

[lofly'a]

buddy of mine carpeted his dart gt by using walmart roll carpet and spray adhesive by cutting each contour piece and bonding them together at the seams with the spray adhesive using strips of the carpet as the bonding strips.
he took his time and the job was really outstanding. i doubt that it'll holdup to regular use though.

[tantrumpipeline]

ebay has some cheap kits multiple color and applicationshttp://cgi.ebay.ca/1967-1972-Chevy-G...item5ada983c8e

[IndyRich]

I went to a local fabric/craft store (Jo-Ann fabrics) and bought black interior auto carpet. I layed it on top of my old worn out carpet and had to make a couple of "releif" cuts near the hump, but being black you cannot see them and it looks good in my opinion for $10 until I can splurge on the $140 molded carpet.

[greenbd71]

Who says you need carpet. It can look nice if you sand off all the rust and put a few layers of black rustoleum paint...when it gets to marked up just put a new layer on it....keeps the rust away and looks nice...add some rubber floor mats and your good.

[JRBECK64]

Have you thought about a Black Rubber Floor Mat? I think they even make molded ones that are fairly cheap.

JRBECK64

[CURSED GEARS]

When I did my Camaro a few years ago I bought some indoor/outdoor carpet at Menards. As I recall, it was about 16 dollars. Looked nice, but it is hard to vacuum if you get grass clippings in it. It gets stuck in the napping. If it got to look to bad, I would just spray a light coat of black spray paint on the carpet. This also works for old original carpet. (I use this method on my carpet where it starts to fade from the sun)

[lowdownstar]

why not just buy one used. i have a gray carpet i am not using....


Ray

[special-K]

We used to have to cut and fit carpet before the repro market kicked in.The results were not something I'd want in my truck.Tearing it out is a real chore since it's all glued up.I'm with d.ucello's simple and clear statement*.There's more to cheap than initial cost.I'll add,what good is "cheap to do" when the results will never be a good as the alternative?It was such a blessing when custom fit molded carpet came on the market.If I wanted to go below that minimum I'd look for used carpet someone is replacing.Add a can of carpet dye and you have cheap carpet.

*Take engines.It's cheap to overhaul one,more to rebuilt,and a little more to buy a crate motor.It's cheapest to only replace the problem parts,like just a re-ring.But,what do you have in the long run.I have a friend who threw in 3 junkyard TH350s before having a good one.At $300 for a used trans I would have had mine rebuilt for just a little more,do it once,and know it's good to go for a long time.Yes,he checked the color of the fluid first and still ended up with transmissions with problems.

[Swifty]

I think i'm just going to go with the roll in bed liner as the floor board with some floor mats. I appreciate everyone's advice/ideas!

[N2TRUX]

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