Carpets - Tigers and Alpines

michael-king

michael-king

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Austin Healer said:
I bought a set of carpets last year.. Fit perfectly. It's a crying shame that no one is interested in the trades like they used to be. When I was a punk kid in the late 70's, all I wanted to to do was work on cool cars... Now all that kids are interested in are their phones... I can't think of a better reason why their parents shouldn't have eaten them while they were still "soft". Except maybe that they smelled funny!
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Are the ProPrep tunnels a molded carpet or darted and sewn? On the Alpines I've seen with their carpets they don't appear to be molded as they always appear to have folds around the tighter radius area of the tunnel near the shifter and not right fitting in the sides near the firewall like they are a bit loose. The same ill fit can be seen in the photos in the thread

For a tiger tunnel it's less critical as they are much flatter profile.

There is a carpet supplier in Melbourne Australia that does dedicated Alpine and Tiger carpet kits.. they use proper patterns and molded tunnels and also provide the vinyl pieces that go over the top hat parts of the floors and iirc the card behind the sill parts.

They do left and right hand sets and are long term Sunbeam people...the son now runs it and is mod 40s has owned sunbeams since his teens, so should be around a while.

They also commissioned a trimmer to make the interior and seat panels and foams, they all come out very well... Given the lower Australian dollar might be a viable option for nth American enthusiasts . I know they have sold carpet sets to the states and UK.

I think a while back he used to list them on eBay.
 
I haven't seen a set of carpets being sold in the states that have a molded trans tunnel for decades. The carpets in my photo were made by Martha way back in 1994. I do have a couple other cars with carpet from her. The carpets in my red Harrington according to Rick were made by her Ex husband. Regardless, they're all sewn around the tunnel. If you think Martha's work has flaws then you've never seen a set from VB. I would say the return on investment to buy the equipment to make a few molded carpet tunnels would make no sense at all unless you had a contract to produce carpets for a vendor that would bring in enough revenue during the period to amortize the cost of the equipment.
 
michael-king said:
Are the ProPrep tunnels a molded carpet or darted and sewn? On the Alpines I've seen with their carpets they don't appear to be molded as they always appear to have folds around the tighter radius area of the tunnel near the shifter and not right fitting in the sides near the firewall like they are a bit loose. The same ill fit can be seen in the photos in the thread

For a tiger tunnel it's less critical as they are much flatter profile.

There is a carpet supplier in Melbourne Australia that does dedicated Alpine and Tiger carpet kits.. they use proper patterns and molded tunnels and also provide the vinyl pieces that go over the top hat parts of the floors and iirc the card behind the sill parts.

They do left and right hand sets and are long term Sunbeam people...the son now runs it and is mod 40s has owned sunbeams since his teens, so should be around a while.

They also commissioned a trimmer to make the interior and seat panels and foams, they all come out very well... Given the lower Australian dollar might be a viable option for nth American enthusiasts . I know they have sold carpet sets to the states and UK.

I think a while back he used to list them on eBay.
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If you could, contact info and what options there are for ordering would be helpful for our database. Thanks
 
ABSunbeams said:
Does she intend on selling the patterns for the seats along with the carpet patterns? Business opt for someone when she’s done with the last orders. Of course with Martha’s skill level may be hard to match.
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The upholsterers in my area didn’t even want to try and create new seat covers for my Tiger, let alone carpet. Michael, the contact information for the Australian company you refer to would be very helpful to the community. Thanks.
Rick
 
Austin Healer said:
they are NOT molded carpets
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There isn't anything mentioned in the judging guide for either Alpines or Tigers that specifies a molded piece for the trans tunnel. It would be nice to have but there doesn't seem to be anyone in the states that makes them and there doesn't seem to be any info available for anyone outside the states that does the molded carpet. Do you have contact info for someone that makes the molded carpet?
 
Austin Healer said:
they are NOT molded carpets
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Yes i was curious about this discussion. 66 crossover MKIA orig carpets in place. No molding. Was the familiar tar likely asbestos with pattern stuff over tunnel preresto (another thing I just should have left alone). No cardboard from what i can discern...

DD
 
DD (CA) said:
Yes i was curious about this discussion. 66 crossover MKIA orig carpets in place. No molding. Was the familiar tar likely asbestos with pattern stuff over tunnel preresto (another thing I just should have left alone). No cardboard from what i can discern...

DD
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I think the Tiger tunnel is flat enough that it can probably be without a molded tunnel .. but not 100% sure.

The Alpines did have a molded tunnel as they are much tighter radius pressing and in 2 directions.
 
DD (CA) said:
michael-king said:
I think the Tiger tunnel is flat enough that it can probably be without a molded tunnel .. but not 100% sure.

The Alpines did have a molded tunnel as they are much tighter radius pressing and in 2 directions.
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What was original versus what is available today makes a lot of difference. Do you have the info concerning someone that may make the Alpine carpets with a molded tunnel?
 
We have duplicated the Wilton wool carpeting and found the tunnel to always have some "loose" lumps here & there. Not distracting but subtly evident. Thinner products stretch down snugly. Just sayin'
 
I've never worried about the trans cover. the carpets have always fit just fine. I suppose you could use an upholstery steamer if you wanted to eliminate a pucker or two. a couple of notes. The carpets supplied by Martha and Sunbeam Specialties include carpet for the propshaft tunnel. This was NEVER used on Tigers. There were two slightly different shaped pieces of cardboard covered with vinyl to match the rest of the interior. These panels were held in place by the console/cubby box. These cardboard panels are not included in either the panel kit, or the carpet kit. Additionally there are cardboard pieces that fit against the sills covering the battery cable and body wiring harness. These aren't included in the carpet kit, but they have to be installed if you want the floor carpets to fit correctly against the sills
 
Austin Healer said:
I've never worried about the trans cover. the carpets have always fit just fine. I suppose you could use an upholstery steamer if you wanted to eliminate a pucker or two. a couple of notes. The carpets supplied by Martha and Sunbeam Specialties include carpet for the propshaft tunnel. This was NEVER used on Tigers. There were two slightly different shaped pieces of cardboard covered with vinyl to match the rest of the interior. These panels were held in place by the console/cubby box. These cardboard panels are not included in either the panel kit, or the carpet kit. Additionally there are cardboard pieces that fit against the sills covering the battery cable and body wiring harness. These aren't included in the carpet kit, but they have to be installed if you want the floor carpets to fit correctly against the sills
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Where is the location of these two cardboard pieces you mentioned?
 
IvaTiger said:
Photo of where the cardboard is located along the transmission tunnel. I left out putting the cardboard on the tunnel because the vinyl along with the cardboard made a too tight fit for the console. The new vinyl is so much thicker than the original
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1E382C53-9E0D-481A-8793-246940946BEB.jpeg
 
65beam said:
Where is the location of these two cardboard pieces you mentioned?
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I used 3M white backer board from the craft store to make the side panels It is about 1/16 inch thick and has a layer that you peel off to reveal a sticky layer which you press the carpet too. I made a mirror image but as I seamed to recall one side was a little shorter.
 
I just double checked after taking the 2 photos and remembered that the cardboard wrapped over the top of the trans tunnel and goes down the sides a few inches and acts as a heat and sound insulator The vinyl in the picture is the original and did not put in the new thicker type. I will put an insulator on before I put the consul on
 
IvaTiger said:
View attachment 19740I used 3M white backer board from the craft store to make the side panels It is about 1/16 inch thick and has a layer that you peel off to reveal a sticky layer which you press the carpet too. I made a mirror image but as I seamed to recall one side was a little shorter.
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I'm aware of these two pieces after owning 21 Sunbeams. I thought Sean was talking about two other pieces in a different location.
 
Martha always sent along the inner sill cardboards with her kit and we copied them with craft board and then sprayed with truck bed product.
 
0neoffive said:
Martha always sent along the inner sill cardboards with her kit and we copied them with craft board and then sprayed with truck bed product.
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Maybe some abs would be good as it won't hold any moisture if the carpet gets damp.. might need some insulation tape on the back where it touches the body to stop any light chatter
 
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