1970 VW Karmann Ghia - Front Carpet Installation:

Video Transcript:

Intro 0:00 Hi i'm Sam with JBugs.com and we're gonna ... 0:05 get the drop on some carpet. Carpet prep 0:11 We start with a carpet all laid out so we know where each piece will sit in the car. 0:16 Then, we'll show it as an example with the front kick panel pieces. 0:19 The bottom kick panel piece has three bound edges and a raw edge. 0:24 Any time we have a raw edge, it will normally be covered by another piece of carpet. 0:29 Moving to the side here, the raw edge of the heater channel carpet will be covered by the front floor carpet. 0:36 The main kick panel carpet will sit under the bottom piece and so on. 0:41 We start the installation in the back of the car and mock up the fender well pieces. Rear fender well carpet 0:45 They have a raw edge that will sit under the rear luggage stray carpet so they go in before it does. 0:51 Once we verify the positioning we apply a coat of glue to the fender wells, 0:56 and the back side of the dash, 0:59 and allow the glue to dry the touch before we set them in place. 1:03 Note that we are using headliner glue, as we can no longer ship it, instead of spray glue. 1:08 We much rather prefer using spray glue for carpet. 1:11 We'll also note to remind you, if you haven't already, click those like and subscribe buttons. 1:16 We start by the carpet in place at the most visible fixed edges and work our way back from there. 1:22 The two most important edges on this piece are the bottom where the carpet will be overlapped 1:26 and of course along the top edge. 1:28 We work the carpet into place pulling, and stretching, and pressing it down, 1:33 and pulling, and stretching it more, into place as needed. 1:37 With one side done, we get the other side set in place and installed. Rear luggage carpet 1:42 We test fit the rear luggage carpet and then pull it back down so we can glue it down in sections. 1:49 Starting from the front edge we apply glue to the body, 1:52 then to the back of the carpet, and once it's ready we set the carpet in place. 1:58 The back edge of the carpet is pulled back down so we can apply glue to it and the body. 2:04 Then we roll the carpet back into place pressing it and stretching it towards the rear of the car and up the rear firewall. 2:12 At the top of the firewall we cut a couple of slots into the edge for the fresh air vent hose brackets. 2:18 And then make sure all the carpet is pressed into place. Rear seat side shelve carpet 2:22 Next, we start applying glue to the rear seat side shelves, 2:26 the kick panel portion of the body, 2:28 and the carpet pieces for them. 2:30 When the glue is tacked up, we set the carpet pieces in place. 2:35 Since the quarter panels will sit right next to the carpet piece on the shelf, 2:38 we use a trim tool to make sure there is room for the panel to slide in later. 2:43 Once both the shelf carpet pieces are in place, the kick panel carpet is set across the flat face of the kick panel, Rear kick panel carpet 2:50 around the engine lid release knob, pressed into place across to the other side shelf, and down to the floor. 2:57 At the face, the edges are sliced to allow the lip of the carpet to roll into the rear seat lip at either side, 3:03 and the carpet is rolled back over the panel. 3:07 Then, the openings for the heater ducts are cut. 3:10 Using caution so we don't pull a thread which will leave a bear run on the carpet. 3:15 Once both holes are cut the vent grilles are screwed into place. Heater channel carpet 3:20 Working our way forward we glue the heater channels and the carpet pieces for them. 3:25 Before setting the carpet in place, working from back to front, 3:30 then at the seam of the body, and then down to the floor, and out to the door opening. 3:37 At the front we cut a hole in the carpet for the front heater duct vent. 3:41 Before setting the vent in place, hooking up the cable, verifying its operation, and then screwing it in place. 3:52 The opposite side carpet is installed in the same way. 3:55 Once the vent is installed, we pull back the front lip of the carpet a bit so it can overlap the kick panel carpet later. Front kick panel carpet 4:04 On the driver's side front kick panel, we reattach the original cardboard panel with the door trim. 4:10 Before setting the upper kick panel carpet piece into place, 4:13 so we can note the position we need to cut a slice into the carpet for the heater control lever. 4:17 Once the cut is made, the carpet is set over the lever and into the door trim. 4:22 A trim tool is handy and we use it to push the edge of the carpet into the trim. 4:28 Glue is applied to the cardboard, body, and the back edge of the carpet. 4:34 When the glue is tacked up, the carpet is pushed forward lining up the top edge of the bottom of the dash, 4:42 and working the carpet forward and down the panel to the front firewall and heater channel. Lower kick panel carpet 4:47 We test fit the lower kick panel piece and while the glue is setting up, we install the kick panel carpet on the opposite side 4:54 and prep the lower piece there as well. 4:57 Back at the opposite side, the lower kick panel carpet piece is set in place, starting at the front upper edge. 5:03 We work the carpet piece back to the door along the top edge, then along the heater channel, 5:08 down to the floor, and we use a trim tool to hook the carpet into the seam at the floor. 5:14 We trim the bottom back edge of the lower kick panel piece where it is overlapped by the heater channel piece. 5:20 Then we temporarily fold the heater channel piece over the kick panel piece so we can score the kick panel carpet. 5:27 We unfold both pieces and cut the overlapped piece of kick panel carpet. 5:32 The kick panel piece of carpet is pushed back in place, followed by the heater channel piece, 5:37 and the two pieces are butted together for a smooth installation. 5:41 The same steps are used on the opposite side pieces; setting the kick panel piece in place, 5:47 trimming it to fit against the heater channel piece, and smoothing out the two pieces together. Front firewall carpet 5:52 Now we test fit the front firewall carpet. 5:55 Before gluing the firewall, except for the area directly behind the pedal assembly 5:59 so the master cylinder and its bolts can be accessed later if need be. 6:04 The back of the carpet is coated in glue, and then it is set in place. 6:09 Note that we pulled back the edges of the lower kick panel pieces. 6:13 Once the firewall carpet is in place, we fold them back over and glue them over the firewall carpet. Tunnel carpet 6:20 Next up, we test the tunnel carpet piece and with the seat belt bolts in place we note that the carpet above them is bit loose. 6:28 Everything else fits well though, so we remove the carpet, cut some slicil padding to fit on top of the tunnel, 6:34 test fit the carpet, and then glue the padding in place. 6:38 A new screw clip is installed at the back of the parking brake. 6:42 Before the boot is installed over the brake and heater control levelers and held in place at the backside with a screw. 6:48 The screw prevents the back edge of the boot from pulling up and out of place while the brake lever is operated. 6:55 Glue is applied to the tunnel and the back side of the carpet. 6:58 While that's tacking up we cut some holes in the heater channel carpet pieces for the seat belts we'll install later. 7:05 Then we set the tunnel carpet in place over the parking brake and press it down along the rear top of the tunnel. 7:10 Working forward we realized we forgot to place the carpet over the shifter. 7:14 So after removing it, so we could feed it through the hole in the carpet, 7:18 We can bolt it back in place and work the carpet forward on the tunnel. 7:23 The carpet is pushed down the sides of the tunnel, down to the floor, 7:28 and we thread the seat belt bolts back in place to hold the carpet down to the additional padding. Floor carpet 7:34 With the ended sight, we apply glue to the driver's side floors and the carpet pieces for them. 7:40 While that glue is tacking up, we do the same for the passenger side floor pans and carpet pieces. 7:46 When the glue is ready, we lay down the four pieces smoothing them out as we go. 7:51 We'll finish up this video by installing the seat belts, 7:54 and we'll take a break here until our next video where we'll get the door and quarter panels installed. 7:59 Thanks for watching and let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.