Carpet Installation in a BT7
By Rich Chrysler
Hi listers,
I mentioned the other day that I'd be willing to outline the steps usually
taken to install carpets in the first fellow's situation, which was a BT7.
What resulted was a deluge of requests to set it up complete with detailed
pictures on a web site that a number of fellows graciously volunteered to
supply. Whew! Thanks to all for the kind offers.
A lot of folks mentioned the Moss video, and it of course is geared to
their
products of that time, complete with foam backed cut pile bound nylon
stuff!
Yuck!
I do not currently have a BT7 here to photograph, nor do I have the time or
inclination to travel somewhere else to do this right now.
Anyway, I'll try to outline the steps I usually take to install a quality
carpet set such as the one Heritage Trim and Interiors is currently
supplying for a BT7:
Preparation:
1. To begin the area must be completely clean and well painted in the main
colour of the car. All old remains of carpets, under lays and felt paper
should be removed or at least carefully inspected for rot or deterioration.
2. The front "kick" panels must be removed. Take out the trim screws with
their cup washers to accomplish this.
3. The inner and outer horizontal alloy threshold plates must be removed,
along with the old door threshold seal. These are held in place with small
posi-drive pan head screws. These screws will likely need to be replaced,
as
they really suffer over the years, and some may simply twist off when you
try to remove them.
4. The rear quarter panels must be removed. This is accomplished by
removing
the vertical door shut pillar alloy plates, which will expose the slotted
wood screws that screw inboard into the wood quarter panel leading edge
block. With this block released, remove the two acorn nuts and washers from
the rear wheel arch seat belt mounts. There are also self-tapping sheet
metal screws holding the top "plateau" of the quarter panel to the wheel
arch. This should release the quarter panel which has its rear edge fitted
into the bracket which locates the lift out rear tonneau panel.
5. The aforementioned tonneau panel brackets must be removed, undoing the
screws and nuts that locate it through the rear wheel arch.
6. The gearbox tunnel, and the forward bulkhead panel (if it's a side shift
model) must be removed from the car.
7. The rear occasional seat pans must be removed from the car. These are
fastened into position with 4 self-tapping trim screws and cup washers passing
through each pan and into the surrounding metal. This is also a good time to
inspect and renew the sealing rubbers around these openings if necessary.
8. The dipswitch assembly complete with mounting bracket must be removed
from the driver's side toe board. This can be left suspended from its cable
for now, or can be hung from the pedals to aid in keeping it out of the way
while installing the carpets.
Carpet felts and under lays:
1. On all the flat floor sections a layer of black felt paper (30
lb. tarpaper) is laminated to the painted steel floors. The felt paper is
overlaid with a 1/4" thick layer of jute that has a black upper surface
similar to body undercoating material. A coarse square weave is visible in
the black coating. The male carpet snaps are positioned and their centre
hold down screw passes through the jute and the tarpaper, anchoring all
into
place.
2.On the toe board portions of the foot wells (and the vertical gearbox
panel
on side shift models) the jute underlay is glued directly to the painted
metal.
3. While paying attention to the vertical gearbox panel on the side shift
model, make sure the black rubber draught excluder piece is riveted into
position on this panel with flat split rivets. This is an inverted "U"
shaped piece of rubber, not unlike inner tube rubber, which is so shaped to
drape around the gearbox and therefore cut down most of the hot air flow
from passing back into the gearbox and drive shaft tunnel area.
3. On the gearbox cover of the BT7, the jute is glued to the underside of
the carpet with the black surface facing down. The female portion of the
ring type carpet snaps pass through carpet and underlay to be held in position
on the tunnel by the snaps. You should be able to locate the original male
snaps (or the screw holes) on the
gearbox cover and the tunnel to correctly locate the new snaps.
