1965 Riviera Trim 601 Blue vinyl - what Carpet combination

[whitewatersky]

Well, I have found myself a 65 Riv (thanks Tony and Scott and Ed and Dick).

It's in Astro Blue D exterior with 601 Blue vinyl interior and the seller (another ROA member) mentioned that the floor carpet is a bit rough.

So I thought I'd order some floor carpet to get thrown in the trunk before the car makes its way Down Under.

The pic looks like Dark Blue carpet, but just to be sure, was there a standard colour carpet with the 601 trim.

I've found these sets here:

Molded Carpet Sets

has anyone used these guys for carpet? what would you recommend from that page?

also wonding whether anyone has been able to find replacement seat buttons for vinyl seats. there's a couple missing and it'd be nice to complete the trim with new buttons.

thanks all for the posts over the past week of tracking down my Riv. i hope this one's a goodun!

Edited June 13, 2011 by whitewatersky
extra detail (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Andrew,

Scott knows better than I about the carpet. it is his car; but from what I saw, it's in really good shape. Perhaps there's some wear from the heel of the driver's shoe, but if so, it's not that noticable. The carpet as is will be servicable for quite some time. Have one of your local trim shops make up some full sized mats in the same material, and it will look really nice.

The trim piece for the hood will have to come from a parts car. There are very, very few body trim parts in reproduction. The only things I can think of off hand are hood ornaments for the 64/65 and tail light bezels for the 63/64.

Ed

Edited June 13, 2011 by RivNut (see edit history)

[Guest Kingoftheroad]

Congrats on finding a Riv !! 1965, good choice !! One of the sharpest looking designs !!...IMO.

[Ron Luchene]

Andrew,

My 65 Riv is the same color combination although I have since upgraded to the deluxe interior. Clark's is a great source for carpet and I found that the "BM" code came the closest to the color of blue that was installed in my car.

Ron

[whitewatersky]

thanks guys. sounds like a good idea to wait until i see it. thanks for the "first hand" advice Ed. It'll save a whole lotta work if it's good enough.

I saw 500 and 800 series carpet listed. As well as nylon and nylon/rayon blend.

What threads do our babies wear from birth?

By the way, I decided to transfer via my bank's internet banking facility, as it was a Saturday here and the branch wasn't open... but since it passes through an "Automatic Clearing House" it has added 2-3 days as it routes via the USFed Reserve! doh! hope the money transfers before the truck arrives...

that's just a bit of advice if you're ever expecting money via net banking... May not have made much difference, as Monday was a public holiday here.... Thought I mighta been able to speed it all up via the net

Edited June 14, 2011 by whitewatersky (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Original carpets are called "80/20 loop" That means 80% of one thing 20 % of something else and the pile is looped rather than cut.

[whitewatersky]

hey Ron, did you go for the 'molded' or 'cut & sewn' carpet from Clark's?

i can get either in BM loop 80/20 according to page 15 of Clark's Riv catalog

it's $250 plus delivery at today's prices. thinking it might be nice for the missus and little fella to have new carpet. not a lotta dosh for such a refresh. I'd keep the old carpet since not too bad, just for originality if I ever wanted to sell her.

[Ron Luchene]

I went with the cut and sewn carpet. I fought it during the install but a year later it seems to have relaxed to fit the curves of the floor better. The only other consideration is how closely you want the carpet to match your carpet on the door panels. I was installiing new door panels at the same time and ordered both to insure a perfect match.

[whitewatersky]

sounds cool. They say they include enough for the door and kick panels. Was that true in your case?

I'd hate to have to order it again separately if they don't send enough - I'll confirm in my ordering instructions to be sure...

[Ron Luchene]

Plenty of extra carpet was included in the package. I'm making floor mats out of mine.

[whitewatersky]

resurrecting this thread since I now have my carpet - I decided to get it anyway since I was ordering fuzzies/rubber from Clarks.

As Part of the ongoing restoration I'll install it since I have the seats out.

Ron -

just thought I'd ask the process you went thru when replacing the door carpet, as I don't really want to remove the carpet and find that I've got a(nother) major job ahead of me.

I'm sure everyone can relate that it gets a little overwhelming (annoying?) to see the car in pieces and a seemingly never-ending list of work in the way of my next drive in the Riv.

There's the chrome trim that runs thru the door from front to back - over the edges where the vinyl and carpet meet.

You can see my front door trim at the left of this pic (not the deluxe trim)

I assume I'll have to remove that chrome piece.

Does the vinyl trim around the bottom edge of the door need to be stitched to the carpet?

Did you glue the carpet to the door panel?

thanks !

Edited May 15, 2012 by whitewatersky (see edit history)

[Ron Luchene]

I wish I had an easy solution for replacing the carpet on the door panel but I don't. I actually purchased new door cardboard from Clarks with carpet and vinyl installed by them. I had to finish the panel with the wood insert and metal frame at the top but that was pretty easy. The hardest part was stretching the vinyl on the edges around the nail strip on the back of the door panel.

If your carpet on the door is in good shape I would consider spraying it with some kind of dye or paint. If the color matched I think you would be happy with the end result. Hopefully others will weigh in with their opinions as well!

Ron

[whitewatersky]

thanks for the info Ron. yeah - i must admit I was looking long n hard at the carpet last night wondering if it'd be worth the drama.

- that stretching over the nail strip is what had me a little nervous.

as Ed said back when I hadn't even received the car here in Oz, the carpet isn't too bad at all in the car. I'm just doing it to give it a good freshen up. I don't think the door carpet will detract at all.

I'll get everything else sorted and install the door trims. if it looks dodgy I can tackle it later.

Thanks!

[RivNut]

Over the years, I've found that dyeing carpet from an aerosol makes the carpet stiff and brittle. The best method I've found is to use Rit Dye; your mom probably used to use it. It's still available in fabric stores.

There aren't as many colors available as there used to be but you can mix colors to get the shade you want. Make the dye in very hot water, pour it into a pump spray bottle, and mist the dye into the carpet. Let it dry, then take a wet sponge and wipe it down removing excess dye. Then keep repeating this process until you have the coverage you want. If you have any spots that are discolored for any reason, they'll stay lighter or darker. This method is only good for renewing faded carpet - like the carpet on door panels.

Ed