Bucket Seat Gas Tank Carpet

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

-
That looks great. They shouldn't have any problem with that.

LockDoc

Thanks. Hope not.

[DeadheadNM]

I'm impressed! Two great members teaming up. Is ACC doing this as a one-off or do they anticipate offering these wholesale? I'd pile in for a black example if possible.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

I'm impressed! Two great members teaming up. Is ACC doing this as a one-off or do they anticipate offering these wholesale? I'd pile in for a black example if possible.

I expect this to be something they offer. They are building tooling to do these. This 67-72 community is no joke and I think they know that. It makes sense to me that this would be a product they would want to have. I could be wrong but the way they've approached us totally makes me think it'll be available for purchase soon. For ours I've asked them to give me a little excess on every edge so we can dial in the fit. Hopefully it turns out. I'm gonna let you know either way.

[IronCanine]

Here's something to make you go hmmmm. This pic is from the 1970 truck brochure. It appears to show the tank carpet WITH a finished edge seam at the top. It's not clear to me how this would have attached, though it does appear to extend above the tank to the level of known originals as previously documented. Of course I guess this could be a promo or prototype or pre-production situation. Everything I've seen(and documented here) so far of factory A50 trucks is a rolled upper-unfinished edge.

[FirstOwner69]

It's just an advertising brochure. Who knows how the picture has been doctored.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

It's just an advertising brochure. Who knows how the picture has been doctored.

Completely agree...but interesting non the less. I think it is a little funny though that that is what the current reproduction carpet looks like.

[IronCanine]

Update: ACC called this morning and they are sending out a prototype today. They won't be taking any orders until we work the bugs out with this one. But we are definitely close....and ACC has been pretty cool to work with on this.

[IronCanine]

Carpet got here today and it looks really good. The fitment will tell the tale, but I really think ACC knocked it out of the park. It's got all the shape (both B pillars...especially passenger side, and the curl back under the tank) and the jute. The first one had a few birth defects, but the second one looks perfect. They sent both and we'll use the first one as a no risk try in. It will probably be the weekend at best before I can try it in...but I'll post again and let you know. Huge thanks to Derrick (Dirt's72), Randy at ACC and all you guys for sharing.

[Tuff Gong]

Any update on when these will be available to purchase? I just installed my original carpet and it is not in that great of shape

[DeadheadNM]

Brian did you reuse the brass grommets?

[Tuff Gong]

They are present on the carpet but I decided not to drill holes in my cab. I used high strength magnets instead.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Brian Atkinson

Any update on when these will be available to purchase?...

They are basically ready to go. They've got the tooling and have done two prototypes. The ball is my court and I have spent the last two days trying to get the A/C installed in our truck instead of fitting the carpet. I wanted to trim one of the prototypes and send it back to ACC to fine tune their cut. Once I send that back...it's game on. I will work hard to get it in the mail this week. We are thrashing on the project anyway...we've targeted a show next month we're going to try and make.

[Tuff Gong]

Thank you for the update

[IronCanine]

Fit and trimmed the prototype carpet. It'll go in the mail tomorrow back to ACC...they'll cut Derrick's (Dirt's72) carpet and then I'm assuming it'll be for sale. I am encouraging them to leave plenty of excess at the top (to give you maximum attachment options). The other 3 sides were pretty close as they were, though I did trim a small amount on them. This carpet came from the factory with no finished edge and I think it's nice to have a little slack to allow you to trim/custom fit it to your truck. I don't think it's a hassle at all. When we install the carpet on the truck we are restoring, I'll post pics of our method. I'm basically following Jim's (FirstOwner69) lead on how to attach it without using the brass rings.

[beadblaster]

I bought a piece of bulk acc dark green carpet (same colour as acc floor carpet) cut it to match the area behind the seat,but I wrapped mine right around the back to the door jamb,bought the matching dark green edging,plus a roll of 3m stick on velco. I had the upholster sew the edging and velco to the carpet, stuck the other side of the velcro to the back of the cab. Fits like a glove and cover the complete area from door jamb to door jamb.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by beadblaster

I bought a piece of bulk acc dark green carpet (same colour as acc floor carpet) cut it to match the area behind the seat,but I wrapped mine right around the back to the door jamb,bought the matching dark green edging,plus a roll of 3m stick on velco. I had the upholster sew the edging and velco to the carpet, stuck the other side of the velcro to the back of the cab. Fits like a glove and cover the complete area from door jamb to door jamb.

That's smart. This will go from jamb to jamb too.

[IronCanine]

I fit and installed the final version of our tank carpet today. I thought it'd be better to outline how we did it in this thread. First we offered up the carpet to the truck and lined up the molded bits and clamped it in place. Then we marked and trimmed the lower edge. Next we rolled down the top edge and pulled a tape line to represent the desired position of the top edge. I used pics of original trucks (most already posted in this thread) to gauge the position of the top edge. We put it 4-1/2" from the metal edge of the window opening (of course that's not a readily available reference point if your glass is in, but it gives you an idea of where we are). Instead of metal strapping to hold the top edge, we went with plastic strapping because of its obvious flexibility and its limited potential to scratch the paint. We cut it to length, positioned it along our tape line and marked the best screw positions (tighter screw spacing in the corners). We also traced the window edge to give us a reference line to aid in trimming the excess at the top.

[IronCanine]

In this first pic you can see exactly the amount we trimmed from the top and bottom. The bottom is the curvier cut. We want to have just enough at the top to roll over the hold down strap. We marked the strap on the holes where we planned to put screws. We used 15 screws total (simple trim screws). We drilled the holes and offered the carpet back up with a fold this time. We used clothes pins to evaluate our position and as a reference for the screw hole positions.

[IronCanine]

Then we pulled the carpet down and positioned the strap on the carpet using the clothes pins as a reference and punched holes in the carpet. A soldering iron is useful to slightly widen the carpet holes-it gives you a little wiggle room and keeps the fibers from grabbing the threads so badly. We loaded up the screws, strap and carpet and began to tighten things up working from the middle out. (Also, don't forget to cut out for the fuel line)

[IronCanine]

You'll end up with a little excess at the upper corners that should be trimmed just short of the weather stripping. It might do well with a little steaming, but all in all it turned out fantastic. It looks just like the factory pics to me. I couldn't be happier. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so heavily to make this project happen. Derrick, Jim, Randy from ACC...all you guys. I think you should be able to call ACC next week and put your order in if you want one.

[FirstOwner69]

Great work Brad! I'm sure this will be helpful to many members.

I've attached a couple pics of the original in my '69 as a reference to demonstrate how authentic the ACC appears to be based on Brad's pictures.

Jim

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Great work Brad! I'm sure this will be helpful to many members.

I've attached a couple pics of my the original in my '69 as a reference to demonstrate how authentic the ACC is.

Jim

Thanks Jim. Your help was critical. Nothing is better than original and your pics and documentation were invaluable.

Edit: A reminder when comparing Jim's original and our reproduction. The passenger side B pillar "cove" in the reproduction is smaller(shorter) because it's made to fit not only 69/70, but 71/72 as well(which have tank lines running through the top of that area).

[IronCanine]

Spoke with Randy at ACC this morning and offered some final feedback. He said now they need to do a little internal work but should be able to start taking orders next week. For those of you interested...though there is a bit of effort required on the install--I feel you with be well pleased. This is a pretty faithful reproduction.

[Dirt's72]

Brad I wanted to update you that ACC sent me my old carpet and a brand new one a couple of weeks ago. The new one looks great! Thank you for getting this done. Your truck looks great!
Derrick

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Dirt's72

Brad I wanted to update you that ACC sent me my old carpet and a brand new one a couple of weeks ago. The new one looks great! Thank you for getting this done. Your truck looks great!
Derrick

That's great Derrick and thanks. But it would have never happened without you being willing to remove your original carpet and ship it to us. That was a big leap of faith and I appreciate it. I'm also very thankful that ACC leaned into this and knocked it out of the park. I hope anyone on the board who is working on bucket seat truck (or wants to make what they have more original) will take advantage of what ACC has done.