10/31/03
Between the Seats and Under the Carpet

An eagle-eyed viewer pointed out that the old Deborah Wilson 330 America that was mentioned on this website shows how the lines on the seats don’t match up with the stitch on the wheel well arch either! Since this car is definitely an original car, I feel better about mine not matching. I guess they varied from car to car. I’m glad, because I was really starting to sweat that detail! (Thanks Paul!)

Even though the majority of the work was done with the rear seats, the little details took up most of the morning. I covered the bottom of the seat pans with felt just like the originals so there wouldn’t be any rattles. I fabricated mounting tabs for the seat pans so they could be screwed into place, and I mounted everything for what would hopefully be the last time…Uh-oh, I just jinxed myself!

I also shimmed the back panel so the gap between the seat back and the rear seat would disappear.

After finishing up the rear seats, it was time to move onto the carpets. Some of the front pieces that go in the driver’s and passenger’s foot wells get glued into place, but I first needed to glue a jute backing to these pieces.

The jute was cut slightly under size so it wouldn’t be seen from the top side. This padding will give the carpet a plush feel, and give another layer of sound and heat insulation.

With everything glued, it was ready to be mounted into the car.

Some of the aluminum foil of the duct insulation had to be reglued to make sure it wouldn’t come off., especially in places that were upside-down.

I got as far as the driver’s side footwell along the gas pedal. You can see from the old carpet piece there was a trapezoidal shaped plate mounted to the side of the footwell. This piece covered a wear area by the accelerator pedal. Since I never saw this piece in the box of old carpet pieces, I’ll have to have one made up. I’m told it’s made from a sheet of polished stainless steel.

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