MGB Trunk Carpet (Part 1)

When I did the speaker box, I bought 2 4-foot by 6-foot rectangles of relatively inexpensive carpet designed for carpeting a trunk. With the speaker box completed (See Car that Goes Boom 1 and 2), I had most of the carpet left. So, I figured I would use it for it's originally intended purpose. Today's post covers the fun of forming templates.

For those of you in the US, hapy day-after-tax-day. If your 2018 taxes were anything like mine, you are also wondering where that rumored tax cut went. I can't believe how much higher my tax burden was this year. Thanks for nothing mr trump. Anyway, back to carpet templating.

When I did the speaker box, I used a roll of yellow poster paper to construct a template. I carefully covered the 5 sides, trimming and fitting around the various weird shaping I did to make it fit into the trunk on that little shelf. Once fit, I carefully cut the paper off of the box with a razor-blade. I transferred the template onto the carpet, cut it out and it fit just as I'd planned. It worked so well for the positive 3-dimensional object, I wondered if it would work for a negative 3-dimensional object... and a larger one at that.

Forming Templates
I started with the firewall. The old interior had a black cardboardy cover that was wrapped with vinyl. I figured it was a fair approximation so I traced it onto some of that yellow paper and cut it out. It fit fairly well, only it was wider, which makes sense. The cockpit is wider than the trunk. So, I cut one end off and I was able to get it to fit. I made up the difference with more paper and then moved to the wheel arches, papering and attaching with blue painters tape. I did small sections so I didn't have to wrinkle the paper, rather, I cut so the template would be more accurate. I decided to stop at the weld seam that runs up the center of the wheel arches, knowing that I could attach carpet scraps on the other side of the seam if I wanted to.

Once the arch reached the rear floors, though, I extended the template all the way to the rear quarter panels. I thought it would have a more finished look with carpet there, even if the tire jack or a toolbox sat on top of it. Last, I addressed the little shelf, the side hip bits and the central floor. I made cut-outs for the various things that stuck out, like the little cap where the speaker cable came through, the wiring harnesses, the spare tire mount, the fuel tank vents and filler. When I was done, I had a bright yellow and green trunk (I ran out of yellow so I switched to green) looking like it was some kind of homage to the University of Oregon. Then came the fun part: deciding how I would section out the carpet so it could be installed, but also so a section of the main floor could be removed for easy cleaning.

I decided to use the inner edges of the wheel arches as one dividing line. Then, the little hip wall along the edges extended all the way back to the rear made the next section. I also marked around the little shelf and the rectangle that run over the little dome and then around the rear firewall. The rest, from the bottom of the shelf back was one large section, so it could come out as one piece. The other pieces were going to be glued down, so they need to fit well and not have obvious seams. Since the trunk is symmetrical, I had matching pieces for the 2 sides (wheel arch and hip-wall). From these 2 cut pieces, I was able to make one good, reversible template. The dome and shelf carpets were solid templates as well. The large main section needed some tailoring, though, so it would have a nice rounded edge at the rear.

That's it for today. I know this seems a little short, but really, this took a great deal of time. I need to complete the foil-backed noise reduction installation as well as some thin foam before I get to the carpets, so it may be a little while before the next post on this topic comes out. Thanks, as always, for following along--