In a message dated 98-11-04 13:29:07 EST, MRobe33243@aol.com writes:
> I agree 100% But a lot of carpeting no-a-days does't break at that
> juncture, soooo thinking of my reply, the carpet woul have to be cut and
> wrapped over the support.
>
Bob,
Not so for all new carpeting. Mine (from TRF $206 in '92) is in three pieces
for covering the tunnel. The original transmission tunnel carpeting did NOT
cover any part of the lower section of the dash support. The carpets were
bound at the edge where they met the support and the carpets stopped at the
support. That's one reason why the support was painted black crinkle finish -
you could always see all of it. And you could reach down, pull the carpeting
up and see the transmission tunnel.
See the TRF TR4 catalogue diagram on carpet kits. It appears that TRF have
cut and bound their carpets the same as the originals. And - ONCE AGAIN -
there is a reason why you don't want to put the middle section of the carpet
under the support. If you do, you can't get at the rubber plug in the
transmission tunnel (so you can grease the drive shaft periodically) without
taking out the dash support. Nor can you put in a new rubber shift boot
without a hassle.
A different problem with aftermarket carpets is that they include a front
carpet ( to replace the rubber one shown in the diagram -the one that goes on
the floor pan in front of the seats). There was no carpet in front of the
seats in the TR4. The original config from the factory had a jute under
layment which was cut to fit the floor pan. A long rubber mat was then placed
on top and fastened to the firewall with clips and to the floor pan with snaps
right in front of the seats. We had a thread about this awhile ago. Those
original rubber mats are not available and there are no repros either. The
TR3 rubber mats don't quite fit.
And one other thing - the factory carpets were originally NOT glued down.
This meant that you could take them out to clean them or to dry when they got
wet . They were cut to shape and held with snaps. Hope this helps. Cheers.
Art Kelly '64 TR4 CT33118L (original owner)
VTR TR4 vehicle consultant
|