1973 MGB Partial Restoration Project – Part 4

By Brenda Fenech-Soler

After three installments of our 1973 MGB partial resto story, I thought I should offer an apology of sorts to any serious car enthusiasts who may be following along.  I may not always use the correct terminology when describing car stuff, so you have my humble apologies for that!  Thankfully, my DH Ian catches most of the glaring errors before we “go to press”.

I volunteered to take on the installation of “Purdey’s” new carpet.  I researched auto upholstery vendors online, and selected a company that makes them here in the USA for a reasonable price.  We chose a carpet color called “Caramel”, to match the original interior vinyl panels we planned to re-install.  We placed our order, and it arrived just seven days later!

I opened the box, and laid out the sixteen pieces (!) of carpet that came in our kit.  It looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and I had no idea where to begin!  Unfortunately, the instructions that came with the kit were very generic, and geared more toward newer vehicles with molded carpets.  I contacted the supplier, but they told me they did not have any better instructions for our kit.  They say that “Google is your friend”, and after some research, I found a helpful YouTube video that showed a complete carpet installation on an MGB, including a cheat sheet (see below) showing the fitting order for the carpets.  Brilliant!

Another factor in our resto-garage (besides turning wrenches and getting greasy) is what we refer to as the “Mull Factor”.  We spend a fair amount of time mulling over the best way to tackle any given project;  how to do it;  when to do it;  what we need to do it, etc. etc., ad nauseum!  Having not done anything like this before, the carpet project had a V-E-R-Y high mull factor for me.  We opted to use brush-on contact adhesive, rather than spray-on adhesive, as we thought it would be less messy.  Having now used it, here are the top three reasons why I hate contact adhesive:

1. It makes you rude to your neighbors.  (i.e. “I can’t talk now, I’m gluing in a carpet.”)
2. It makes you rude to your spouse.  (i.e. “Stop talking to me;  can’t you see I’m gluing in a carpet?!?”)
3. It sticks fast upon contact, causing one to break into episodes of colorful language.

As if those reasons are not enough, the smell of contact adhesive can make you light-headed.  On second thought, that might be a good thing.  (Just kidding!)

After intense mulling, I finally installed the first piece of carpet in the passenger footwell.  It may not look like much, but I can assure you that there was much celebrating after this was done!  A glass of wine may have been involved, and a maybe even a little happy-dance.

Ian had to remove the steering column (more colorful language) because simply removing the steering wheel did not prove sufficient room for me to fit the carpets without poking my eye out on the steering column shaft.  This also included removing the indicator and wiper controls, and the ignition switch, which revealed some very poor wiring, so he replaced those wiring connectors.  The steering column needed some refurbishment, including new bearings, which he sourced from a “guru” on one of the MGB forums.  After he completed that and I got the footwell carpets in, he re-installed and re-aligned the steering column (insert more colorful language here).

Overall, we are satisfied with the quality and fit of the carpets.  A few of the pieces did need some trimming, and I also had to customize the back piece to accommodate the stereo speakers a previous owner had installed behind the seats.  I frequently called for Ian’s assistance, and while repeating the mantra “Perfect is the Enemy of Good” under my breath, we cracked on to see the carpet installation through to completion.  We both think it looks pretty darn good for our first foray into auto interior installation!

Hurray!  The carpets are all in and looking good!