VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Front Carpet Holes

I purchased a carpet kit from LaBaon Bonney. It only has the shifter holes. No holes for the stering shaft, pedals, dimmer swithch, firewall carpet pins, etc. I called them and they said the customer cuts them. Does anyone have any experience with the best way to mark and cut these holes? Does anyone know how the inner edges of the carpet holes are to be finished off?
Thanks,
Fmarc

Soory...I forgot to say the carpet is for a 1938 2 door sedan.
Thanks,
Fmarc

The 1938 did not have a carpet. It had a black rubber mat for the Master and a brown rubber for a Master Deluxe. The rubber mats are available in reproduction and seeing they are for 1937-1938 and 1939 they don't come with the holes either.
I would cut a pattern out of a heavy paper and use that for a guide.

Chevygene,
Thanks for the info.I guess I will not use the carpet from LaBatonBonney. What goes over the rear floor? Can you provide a source for the rubber reproduction mats?
Thanks again,
Fred Marc

The rear floor has carpet. The H.C. would be the best sorce for that.

"H.C." meaning "Hampton Coach".

I was disappointed to find the mat from The Filling Station doesn't come with the jute backing. It's an extra cost option. Just an FYI.

Jute backing is almost always an extra, many of us don't use it.

You don't like the "cushy" feel?

Originally, the mat with the jute backing came as one assembly from the factory since the jute backing was glued to the mat. Today, it is too bad that the jute backing does not come as part of the reproduction mat assembly since it is a necessary item.

Many dudes don't use the jute backing on their mats because they either are not aware that the jute backing is available or they didn't know that the jute backing was originally part of the mat.

The jute cuts down on the noise and heat.

I went elsewhere than HC and got the jute with the carpet on the 51 rubber mat, also on the 57 truck mat, which I should have sold 5 years ago, along with the truck.

I guess I’m just a nit picker when it comes to this subject, but, I installed a lot of these carpets and mats when I started with Chevy in the late 50’s. What is now refered to generically as “Jute” is in fact mothing more than synthetic carpet fiber. Jute is a natural fiber and this is a discription taken from Wickapedia:
“Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae.
Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibres and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. Jute fibres are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose (major component of plant fibre) and lignin (major components of wood fibre). It is thus a ligno-cellulosic fibre that is partially a textile fibre and partially wood. It falls into the bast fibre category (fibre collected from bast or skin of the plant) along with kenaf, industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc. The industrial term for jute fibre is raw jute. The fibres are off-white to brown, and 1…4 metres (3…12 feet) long.
Jute fibre is often called hessian; jute fabrics are also called hessian cloth and jute sacks are called gunny bags in some European countries. The fabric made from jute is popularly known as burlap in North America.”
The venders have applied the name “Jute” to anything used as a carpet cushion or underlayment. Real Jute is still out there somewhere; it’s still a major product for much of the Middle East. I’ve found it in dozens of varieties but finding the proper mat configuration and thickness that would mimic the original carpet and mat backing has been impossible for me.


Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

Good info on "real" jute.

But the key to the whole deal may be in your last sentence were you say "impossible."

No doubt that's why we have what we have --- and it's called jute....



Bill.

Jute, real or synthetic, has not been used by trim shops or car makers for many years. They use the recycled and compressed cloth material more or less bonded together by threads and strings. Does a better job in absorbing noise and insulating.