1970 Barracuda - Carpet Installation

When I purchased my Barracuda, it basically had no interior except for seats. I purchased some carpet at Carlisle a couple of years ago and am just now (finally) getting around to installing it. This should go a long way towards making it look like a car again, and not just a rolling project vehicle. :-)

This page will document the steps I took to install the carpet.

Click on any pic to bring up the full sized version. Note: it may take a little while for this page to load, depending on your browser. Its set up as a table, and some browsers wait until the whole table has been loaded before displaying it. Just give it some time. :-)
001.jpg - 112 KB Sat 7/31/04

Before installing the carpet, I had an issue I wanted to take care of. At some point, the area around this grommet on the driver's side must have rusted out, and there was a fairly large crack in that section of the floor. The rust seems to have been taken care of, but I wanted to strengthen that part of the floor. I figured the easiest way would be to weld a piece of sheet metal over that section.
001 - 112 KB
002.jpg - 98 KB Sat 7/31/04

First I made a rough template.
002 - 98 KB
003.jpg - 102 KB Sat 7/31/04

Then used the template to make a patch panel out of 22 gauge steel.
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004.jpg - 114 KB Sat 7/31/04

I traced around the edge of the steel, and used a wire wheel to grind down to the bare metal.
004 - 114 KB
005.jpg - 102 KB Sat 7/31/04

Next I used a series of spot welds around the edge of the metal panel to secure it in place.
005 - 102 KB
006.jpg - 80 KB Sat 7/31/04

Then I sprayed the entire panel and the welds with some high temp engine paint, just to encapsulate it and prevent rust and corrosion.
006 - 80 KB
007.jpg - 111 KB Sun 8/01/04

Before installing the carpet, I realized I had a few items I still had to remove - namely the shifter and some of the seat belt mounts.
007 - 111 KB
008.jpg - 116 KB Sun 8/01/04

Just a test fit of the carpet. I was actually a bit worried about the fit for a while there, because the carpet kit comes in 2 sections, which I mistakenly thought were left and right. They "sort of" fit, but not very well. It wasn't until I realized they were front and back that they started to fit. :-)
008 - 116 KB
009.jpg - 122 KB Sun 8/01/04

Before installing the carpet, I wanted to put down some sort of heat barrier. I found this stuff at Home Depot. I used a foil tape to secure it, which I also got at Home Depot.
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010.jpg - 120 KB Sun 8/01/04

Another shot of the heat shield. I made sure to punch holes in it where necessary, such as the seat and seat belt mounting holes. I also had to do some trimming in the hump area where the center console mounts and the shifter cable comes through.
010 - 120 KB
011.jpg - 127 KB Sun 8/01/04

Now it was time for the carpet itself - first the rear section... (I re-installed the front seat belts at this point as well)
011 - 127 KB
012.jpg - 117 KB Sun 8/01/04

...then the front. Again, punching holes and trimming where necessary.
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013.jpg - 90 KB Sun 8/01/04

Next the center console and the seats went in.
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014.jpg - 90 KB Sun 8/01/04

Another shot with the addition of my Cuda floor mats, and with the center console powered up.
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015.jpg - 85 KB Sun 8/01/04

Another angle of the same...
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016.jpg - 82 KB Sun 8/01/04

Another angle of the same... Hey, this is starting to look like a real car! :-)
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This page was last updated Mon Dec 20 10:20:09 EST 2004