carpet install

waiting for my carpet kit to arrive
any tips?
i saw a snap kit http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260576180372&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
and felt kit http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290417296108&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT on ebay, any thoughts on these?

I bought a snap kit, only because the car still has the original snaps installed. Never used it (most of it anyway). You are welcome to what I have left it if you want. Just pay the postage.

Bryan

mine has snaps on the floor as well, just seemed like it would be better to snap than glue, are the snaps hard to install or require a tool?

I didn't like them much, and thought they were really complicated for what they are. You might like them though.

Do NOT glue the floor carpets - underseat and footwell - down onto the floor; they are designed to be removable so they can be dried if they get wet. Installing the snaps into the carpet pieces is not complicated. I've installed two sets (Midget and B from Moss sets) without difficulty. No special tools were required; I used a flat screwdriver blade to flatten the little prongs on the retainers.

Cheers,

Glen

do any pieces need to glued down
any thoughts on felt padding kits?
i would guess that dynamat and other modern products would be superior, but working on a budget and felt is a lot cheaper
and not gluing down would allow modern underlayment at a later date

I went with knockoff Dynamat...Fatmat.
And then Velcro...Works great so far...

"do any of the pieces need to be glued down?"

depending on the thickness / quality of the carpet that you get, and if all of the edges are serged (sp?) so they don't curl up at the corners, you can get by without using any snaps at all, or only in a few key places.

Except for: the "S" shaped carpet that goes over the reinforcement that runs around the base of the rear wheel wells, and the "orange slice" piece that goes over the rear wheel wells themselves. Those pieces I had to glue down. Any water that gets there will quickly run down to the floor by gravity, so I didn't worry about it, and when I took them up about 15 years later the painted metal underneath looked as good as new (except for having some glue residue).

The piece that goes over the cross-floor reinforcement right in front of the seat never stays put unless you use snaps. Or you can just leave it out. It seems like my passengers always kicked it out of place anyway, and the painted metal looks ok in some cars. I finally just took those pieces out of my car, and the paint never really wore all that much (the only contact seems to be during ingress/egress).

The main carpets in the foot wells should be covered with floor mats anyway, so there is not really much need for snaps, and the big piece that goes behind the seats just lays there.

But, like I said, if your carpet is really thin, or is prone to curling up at the corners, then by all means, "snap away". I was just too lazy to install them, and except for those two exceptions, everything laid nice and flat and never moved without them.

I've got a whole bag of those unused snaps in my little box of unused parts somewhere...

Norm