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06-13-08, 01:45 PM
Fox Mustang Chicane Carpet Kit - Neat At Your Feet
http://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_01_z+fox_mustang+cabin_carpet_kit.jpgHor se Sense: It's amazing how carpet in a Mustang is so easily overlooked. Aside from the front-row footwells, only the rear hump over the driveshaft tunnel and a bit of the rocker panels is in plain view. However, spill some oil on it, and you'll be spotting the damage from 50 feet at night.
By this point, nearly every Fox Mustang can use new carpet. Thousands of heel scuffs and a few hundred missing French fries have seen to that. The only real question is when you'll get around to it.
For us, time ran out when we eyed the bombed-out seat upholstery in our '91 hatchback. We knew we had to do something about it and realized the only real solution was a nearly complete interior makeover.
Freshened carpet was clearly going to be part of any interior redo, and as we investigated our options, three choices materialized.
Assuming the carpet isn't torn or threadbare and hasn't seen too much damage or soiling, cleaning the original carpet might be viable. By cleaning, we mean a serious effort, where the interior is mainly stripped, and a steam cleaner is rented and brought to bear. Obviously, this is the way to go when restoring as close to stock as possible.
The second option is a stock-type replacement carpet. Ford doesn't service Fox Mustang carpet, so we turned to the nicely priced replacement kits that are so widely available.
For the vast majority of Fox restorations, this is the way to go. The aftermarket carpet, which is molded like the original, is inexpensive and simple to install. Take out the old, slide in the new, and put the center console and seats back in.
One downside to the usual aftermarket option is that the carpet is a lighter-weight material than Ford's, so if you're looking for a concours restoration or the plushest carpet possible, you'll probably want to hunt down some good original carpet. Good luck. On the other hand, if you're making a fun street machine, the aftermarket carpet's noticeably lighter weight is a crafty way of gliding over the scales. That's a great thing for most of us reading this magazine.
The third option comes to us courtesy of Joe Gosinski at Chicane Autosport Tuning in Torrance, California. Chicane has long had its own unique place in the Mustang firmament. It's a combination of performance and flash, offering a variety of specialized Mustang and Saleen hop-up and customizing parts. These can result in stunning cars-witness Joe's own Fox Rod on our March '06 cover.
For Fox carpet, Chicane is working the kinks out of a nonmolded, multi-piece carpet kit. The idea isn't to replicate the stock carpet, but to move up-market with low-nap, high-quality material, then cut and hem it into a new style. The result is subtle; one of those pieces that gives the interior a classy appearance without standing out in the process. We decided to give it a try.
While stock Ford carpet is molded, the Chicane kit is made up of several pieces of sound-deadening underlayment, along with six pieces of carpet. Where the carpet pieces visibly overlap, they're trimmed with a hem. The technique and look is similar to the traditional European sports-car practice familiar to early Porsche fans.
Because the Chicane carpet is multi-piece, it doesn't rely on the seats, center console, thresholds, and other interior pieces to hold it in place, as with Ford's molded one-piece carpet. The Chicane carpet, as installed in our car, glues the underlayment to the chassis, then glues the carpet to the underlayment. Next, the seats and such are reinstalled, further locking the carpet in place.
Since our prototype install, Chicane has opted to deliver the carpet with the underlayment already glued to the carpet. That saves one gluing step and makes it easier to avoid wrinkles in the finished job.
We must also caution that successfully installing multi-piece carpet, such as Chicane's, requires technique. In contrast, Ford or aftermarket one-piece molded carpet is a breeze to lay. You basically drag it into position, locate and cut a hole or two, and reinstall the interior furniture. The multi-piece Chicane carpeting needs careful placement, and with several pieces to adjust, check, readjust, recheck and glue, the job can't be rushed. Laying molded carpet might take an hour to lay out flat, with the holes located and cut, but the Chicane install takes almost all day. We started semi-late in the morning and didn't finish this install until almost 11 p.m. (Joe kindly welded together our broken seat rail and support as part of the job, which took an hour or two.)
Furthermore, the Chicane fabric is far less forgiving than Ford's thick pile. It's best to get the underlayment as flat and true as possible (easy enough). You then have to work the Chicane carpet outward from the center, or at least from one end to the other, to avoid wrinkling (not so easy). We found the Chicane carpet almost eager to bump and fold according to what was beneath it. If an ultra-high-end job is desired, we suggest taking the time to reroute the wiring harnesses and other bumps that disappear beneath Ford's near-shag fabric but will show with this lower-nap material. In any case, you'll likely find it necessary to fit underlayment here and there to make the carpet installation wrinkle-free.
Look at the photos and captions for the installation details: The process is essentially removing the seats, center console, parking brake mechanism, a few brackets, seatbelt anchors, and such, then pulling out the old carpet.
Fitting the Chicane carpet is a job of logic, with the under-seat and rocker-sill pieces going on first, then the major floor panels so that their trimmed edges lay atop the first pieces. Still, corners can be lifted and edges slid under if your results are less than optimal. Refitting the seats and such finishes the job.
We suggest a professional installation, unless you've done carpet or upholstery work before. Because we installed a prototype kit, there wasn't an instruction manual to review, and even if there was, experience with fabric wouldn't hurt.
The Chicane kit will set you back $389.99. When we did our install, there wasn't matching carpet for the rear hatchback area, but this is forthcoming. Chicane produces these kits on a semi-custom basis, and spooling up the simple, flat seatback and luggage-floor carpet won't be challenging.
Chicane is offering its carpet in the two stock 5.0 carpet colors: gray and black. It's also offered in pieces should you have something special in mind. Since the carpet pieces are so much easier to handle and work with, they're ideal for custom embroidery, if that suits your needs. Finally, hatchback, convertible, and coupe carpet is all the same in the cabin, so there aren't any complications there, nor does it matter if the car has manual or automatic transmission.
We like the low-nap look, so if you want to personalize your Fox Rod rebuild with an eye to classy street performance, the Chicane carpet can be a real help.
Photo Gallery: Fox Mustang Carpet kit - 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords Magazine (http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit)
http://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_01_s+fox_mustang+cabin_carpet_kit.jpghtt p://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_02_s+fox_mustang+faded_floormats.jpghttp ://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_03_s+fox_mustang+seat_removal.jpghttp://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_04_s+fox_mustang+car_gunk.jpghttp://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_05_s+fox_mustang+screw_removal.jpg
Read More (http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit) | Digg It (http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit&title=Fox Mustang Chicane Carpet Kit - Neat At Your Feet) | Add to del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/post?url=2&url=http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit&title=Fox Mustang Chicane Carpet Kit - Neat At Your Feet)
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http://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_01_z+fox_mustang+cabin_carpet_kit.jpgHor se Sense: It's amazing how carpet in a Mustang is so easily overlooked. Aside from the front-row footwells, only the rear hump over the driveshaft tunnel and a bit of the rocker panels is in plain view. However, spill some oil on it, and you'll be spotting the damage from 50 feet at night.
By this point, nearly every Fox Mustang can use new carpet. Thousands of heel scuffs and a few hundred missing French fries have seen to that. The only real question is when you'll get around to it.
For us, time ran out when we eyed the bombed-out seat upholstery in our '91 hatchback. We knew we had to do something about it and realized the only real solution was a nearly complete interior makeover.
Freshened carpet was clearly going to be part of any interior redo, and as we investigated our options, three choices materialized.
Assuming the carpet isn't torn or threadbare and hasn't seen too much damage or soiling, cleaning the original carpet might be viable. By cleaning, we mean a serious effort, where the interior is mainly stripped, and a steam cleaner is rented and brought to bear. Obviously, this is the way to go when restoring as close to stock as possible.
The second option is a stock-type replacement carpet. Ford doesn't service Fox Mustang carpet, so we turned to the nicely priced replacement kits that are so widely available.
For the vast majority of Fox restorations, this is the way to go. The aftermarket carpet, which is molded like the original, is inexpensive and simple to install. Take out the old, slide in the new, and put the center console and seats back in.
One downside to the usual aftermarket option is that the carpet is a lighter-weight material than Ford's, so if you're looking for a concours restoration or the plushest carpet possible, you'll probably want to hunt down some good original carpet. Good luck. On the other hand, if you're making a fun street machine, the aftermarket carpet's noticeably lighter weight is a crafty way of gliding over the scales. That's a great thing for most of us reading this magazine.
The third option comes to us courtesy of Joe Gosinski at Chicane Autosport Tuning in Torrance, California. Chicane has long had its own unique place in the Mustang firmament. It's a combination of performance and flash, offering a variety of specialized Mustang and Saleen hop-up and customizing parts. These can result in stunning cars-witness Joe's own Fox Rod on our March '06 cover.
For Fox carpet, Chicane is working the kinks out of a nonmolded, multi-piece carpet kit. The idea isn't to replicate the stock carpet, but to move up-market with low-nap, high-quality material, then cut and hem it into a new style. The result is subtle; one of those pieces that gives the interior a classy appearance without standing out in the process. We decided to give it a try.
While stock Ford carpet is molded, the Chicane kit is made up of several pieces of sound-deadening underlayment, along with six pieces of carpet. Where the carpet pieces visibly overlap, they're trimmed with a hem. The technique and look is similar to the traditional European sports-car practice familiar to early Porsche fans.
Because the Chicane carpet is multi-piece, it doesn't rely on the seats, center console, thresholds, and other interior pieces to hold it in place, as with Ford's molded one-piece carpet. The Chicane carpet, as installed in our car, glues the underlayment to the chassis, then glues the carpet to the underlayment. Next, the seats and such are reinstalled, further locking the carpet in place.
Since our prototype install, Chicane has opted to deliver the carpet with the underlayment already glued to the carpet. That saves one gluing step and makes it easier to avoid wrinkles in the finished job.
We must also caution that successfully installing multi-piece carpet, such as Chicane's, requires technique. In contrast, Ford or aftermarket one-piece molded carpet is a breeze to lay. You basically drag it into position, locate and cut a hole or two, and reinstall the interior furniture. The multi-piece Chicane carpeting needs careful placement, and with several pieces to adjust, check, readjust, recheck and glue, the job can't be rushed. Laying molded carpet might take an hour to lay out flat, with the holes located and cut, but the Chicane install takes almost all day. We started semi-late in the morning and didn't finish this install until almost 11 p.m. (Joe kindly welded together our broken seat rail and support as part of the job, which took an hour or two.)
Furthermore, the Chicane fabric is far less forgiving than Ford's thick pile. It's best to get the underlayment as flat and true as possible (easy enough). You then have to work the Chicane carpet outward from the center, or at least from one end to the other, to avoid wrinkling (not so easy). We found the Chicane carpet almost eager to bump and fold according to what was beneath it. If an ultra-high-end job is desired, we suggest taking the time to reroute the wiring harnesses and other bumps that disappear beneath Ford's near-shag fabric but will show with this lower-nap material. In any case, you'll likely find it necessary to fit underlayment here and there to make the carpet installation wrinkle-free.
Look at the photos and captions for the installation details: The process is essentially removing the seats, center console, parking brake mechanism, a few brackets, seatbelt anchors, and such, then pulling out the old carpet.
Fitting the Chicane carpet is a job of logic, with the under-seat and rocker-sill pieces going on first, then the major floor panels so that their trimmed edges lay atop the first pieces. Still, corners can be lifted and edges slid under if your results are less than optimal. Refitting the seats and such finishes the job.
We suggest a professional installation, unless you've done carpet or upholstery work before. Because we installed a prototype kit, there wasn't an instruction manual to review, and even if there was, experience with fabric wouldn't hurt.
The Chicane kit will set you back $389.99. When we did our install, there wasn't matching carpet for the rear hatchback area, but this is forthcoming. Chicane produces these kits on a semi-custom basis, and spooling up the simple, flat seatback and luggage-floor carpet won't be challenging.
Chicane is offering its carpet in the two stock 5.0 carpet colors: gray and black. It's also offered in pieces should you have something special in mind. Since the carpet pieces are so much easier to handle and work with, they're ideal for custom embroidery, if that suits your needs. Finally, hatchback, convertible, and coupe carpet is all the same in the cabin, so there aren't any complications there, nor does it matter if the car has manual or automatic transmission.
We like the low-nap look, so if you want to personalize your Fox Rod rebuild with an eye to classy street performance, the Chicane carpet can be a real help.
Photo Gallery: Fox Mustang Carpet kit - 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords Magazine (http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit)
http://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_01_s+fox_mustang+cabin_carpet_kit.jpghtt p://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_02_s+fox_mustang+faded_floormats.jpghttp ://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_03_s+fox_mustang+seat_removal.jpghttp://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_04_s+fox_mustang+car_gunk.jpghttp://images.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_05_s+fox_mustang+screw_removal.jpg
Read More (http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit) | Digg It (http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit&title=Fox Mustang Chicane Carpet Kit - Neat At Your Feet) | Add to del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/post?url=2&url=http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit&title=Fox Mustang Chicane Carpet Kit - Neat At Your Feet)
Full Story... (http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techarticles/m5lp_0807_fox_mustang_chicane_carpet_kit)