Anyone Make their own trunk mats and cardboard?

[crowvet]

Looking to redo my trunk in my 65. Has anyone done their own without buying the kits? If so I would love to see them. Thinking of building my own.

[NC1968Riviera]

I can't find the beige weave material that matches the original material. I am making black and dark gray synthetic felt kits for 66-70 Rivs and will have some kits for 71-73 available soon in these same materials. 

[dr914]

the original liner and cardboard is readily available in the aftermarket and the guys do a very good job with it, not worth trying to make

[RivNut]

You should be able to get cardboard from an upholstery supply house.  Cutting it should be simple as long as you have a template. Creasing it would be more difficult.  Tan weave lining is rare and expensive.  Finishing the trunk like original can be done but it could be expensive.  It basicaly depends on how original you want to keep it.  Lining the trunk with carpeting is an alternative that a lot of guys take.  Carpeting without backing is pretty easy to work with and can be sewn to help with curves.

[Seafoam65]

Get the cardboard from CARS and then buy the kit with the correct material trunk matting and spare tire cover

from Jenkins interiors. Not that expensive and takes 20 minutes to install. Top it off with a CARS repro brown trunk mat.   

[KongaMan]

The problem with redoing the trunk is that I use the trunk.  There's always some combination of luggage, tools, and parts therein, and it's doubtful that such items would be compatible with the preservation of a pristine environment.

 

WRT to the OP: I recall that some of the earlier cardboard kits had issues with the creases.  Some were slit, then bent; others were just folded over and sometimes cracked.  None had the look of the original bends.  That may no longer be the case, but you might look into that before spending your money.

Edited May 16, 2019 by KongaMan (see edit history)

[Seafoam65]

                 On my car I bought two very thickly padded bath mats that when overlapped cover the entire trunk floor when I am hauling lawn chairs

and coolers and stuff like that when driving to a car show. I just plop them in the trunk and remove them when I unload the trunk. these mats are very thick and plush with a soft rubber backing. I got them at Bed Bath and Beyond.

[1965rivgs]

The material available from Jenkins is the closest match to original

Tom Mooney

[TexRiv_63]

I bought the full kit from Clark's Corvair but I went with a custom color instead of the original. I thought the cardboard looked very original in style.

[jsgun]

They were all tan? I have a couple pieces of mine left, someone must have painted them gray.

 

Is that buick mat available in other colors? 

[MikeJS]

Good day.

 

I did my trunk last year on my ‘64 survivor, more for “looks better than it did” as opposed to a full original restoration. (Maybe someday)

 

Since I had all my originals, it was fairly easy to cut templates out of poster board. I wanted a full upholstered look so, the cardboard is relatively thin but still able to hold the bends after scoring the lines. I found an upholstery that I liked at a fabric store, (that I think plays off well with the blue 621 trim of the interior, middle photo best represents the true colour) and once it was cut to size, simply used a 3M spray adhesive to apply to the cardboard. It was surprisingly easy, especially having the originals for templates.

 

For the non cardboard pieces, (wheel well, upper shelf) I applied the fabric to a thin foam then just used two-face tape since I do want to do a proper body restoration some day and wanted most of this trunk lining to be easily removable. The bottom is a jute type mat cut to size then the fabric simply glued to it.

 

My my wife helped sew the tire cover,  the welting was a challenge and it was difficult to get proper dimensions from the original, so it came up a little tight on the tire, but again for me, still looks better than the 50 year old original. And of course, I had to get it dirty trying to affix it to the tire...

 

Anyway, good luck, keep us posted on your progress...

 

Later,

 

Mike Swick

Edmonton, AB

———

Edited May 16, 2019 by MikeJS (see edit history)

[RivNut]

 

2 hours ago, jsgun said:

They were all tan? I have a couple pieces of mine left, someone must have painted them gray.

 

Is that buick mat available in other colors? 

CARS, Inc. (oldbuickparts.com) has the mats in black.  Black and saddle are the only two colors available.

[crowvet]

Thank you all for the pictures and advise, there are some great looking booties out there. I think I will go with the original cardboard kit and do my own floor carpet.