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Triumph TR3 - Carpet Fitting

On the softer side of things,

What's the secret to getting the carpet covering the tranny tunnel to lay (and stay) flat and smooth on the curves? Does anyone tack it down, or do you just train it to behave over time? My car came with new carpeting that wants to "rise above it" at every chance. Like our dog, it will stay put, but only for for a moment.

Just trying to look sharp...

Bill Stagg
1961 TR3A
Bill Stagg

Bill - There should be felt matts under the floor carpets under the seat areas as well as other separate ones under the rubber matts under your feet. Separate, so you can pull them out and let them dry. I used seal and strip clear window caulking to seal the tunnel and bolt holes to prevent water splashing up into these matts.

Over the tunnel, there should another two pieces of 1/4" thick felt matts. One should be about 10 or 12" square all over the top curve from just behind the battery box black rubber drain hose to in front of the gear stick base. You may have to trim the felt if you have the top-side fill hole on the RHS for the gearbox oil fill plug and dip-stick found on TR2's to earlier TR3A's. Spear a hole through the carpet for the battery box drain hose. The second felt piece is about 9" by 5" in an oval shape where you have to cut reverse curves out the oval. This piece goes between the gear stick and the black rubber plug filling the hole for access when you want to grease the front end of the drive shaft universal joints. I spray contact cement onto the felt pieces and onto the tunnel several layers so they stay in place. This is how they were originally.

The tunnel carpet should have 4 snaps to snap the carpet to the 4 snap bases on the lower part of the tunnel, 2 on each side. This will hold the carpet down really tight. The front end of the carpet should be fitted under the carpet piece that is glued to the firewall all around the top on the tunnel curve. The bottom edges of the carpets fit under the rubber floor matts in front and under the edges of the rear carpets along the tunnel over the drive shaft. Trim the felt floor matts back a bit so you have it all flat with no carpet bulges.

Don Elliott, 1958 TR3A
Don Elliott

This thread was discussed between 08/04/2003 and 11/04/2003

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