VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Upholstery - Interiors & Glass 35 Master Coach Floor Covering

This car has the tilt forward front seats. The "bucket" seats each have two pivots at the front and "legs" at the rear. The question is: Do the two parts of the floor covering, (originally carpet in rear and rubber mat in front) cover the entire floor or is there a gap between the front and rear parts of the floor covering? I know some cars with fixed front seats sometimes eliminated the carpet for a ways under the seats.

:confused:

Jim:
I have the Hampton Coach kit for my '35 Master Coach which I believe is identical to the original carpet/mat. The carpet comes right up to the rear of the front pivots and the mat overlaps the carpet by about an inch or so. The entire floor area is covered by the combination of the mat and carpet. I cut notches in the mat to go around the pivots so it would lay flat.

Coach

Thanks Coach

You are assuming Hampton is always correct and I also expected them to be. I would also like to hear from someone, if possible, who has an unrestored 35 Master Coach - just for confirmation that we are both correct.

I ordered a complete interior kit from Hampton ($$) and it arrived three days ago. No rubber mat as the supplier company went out of business, so I ordered a front carpet until I can find a rubber mat. The rear carpet they sent has notches for the seat pivots and pads for the back "feet" of the front seats in the correct place (fore-aft) if I put the notches around the pivots. The problem is the rear carpet is 4 inches short of reaching the kickup for the rear seat. The front carpet overlaps the rear carpet a quarter inch if I don't hike it too far in the front. It almost looks as though it may have been cut to just meet the rear carpet. Also, the hole for the shifter in the front carpet is 2 inches too far forward. Big disappointment. Now I am supposed to check everything, they say, within 30 days or I can't return anything.

:confused: :confused: :confused:

I have learned now the reason for the hole in the front carpet being too far forward for my car. Two transmissions were used and one had the shift rod two inches further forward.

jim i dont have a master coach but a coupe . the transmissions have been discussed several times for the 35-36 cars can be confussion for the first timers as what you have . a wm or toledo also the rear ends early or late . as for as hampton interiors and i have installed several is it is possible for them to make a mistake as i have had a few from them but not often . a while back i installed a interior in a 31 five pass coupe i all ready knew not to trim any thing as they do not give you a half inch to spare or extra on most parts but when it came down to installing the rear carpet i found the same thing as you have . the first thing the notches on the front seat pass side did not line up i was fumming fixing to call and do some ac along with the curtins were too long and no way fit the car but i called a frend of mine he has a similar original car so i went to do some looking and measureing that is when i found i had put the seat in wrong the seats are not centered but the passenger seat is set one inch to the center of the car once i relocated the seat the carpet notches lined up fixed that problem but the carpet was short at the seat riser and side panels back to the original car and discovered that the riser and side panel material folded down on the sills and tacked and the carpet lays over dont know about four inches may be a half to three quartes hampton does not explain any of this in their instructions and when you see this you may think it needs to fold under or trim but beware of the trimming they do say to lay all of it out before installing and get all pieces out of the box . i was very fortunate to get one of the taup front floor mat with the fisher logo in it dont remember who made it but it is one of the most asked questions of people who look at the car around the us . this along with several other pieces from 31 through 41 are getting hard to come by that was repoduced early on some has to be made or wait until it is repoduced or may show up on e bay and you find a bunch of others looking for that same part . to summ up it is a good idea to look at a original or pictures ofcourse every one i bought the owner said it was original and in good shape for the age hope this helps

jim i dont have a master coach but a coupe . the transmissions have been discussed several times for the 35-36 cars can be confussion for the first timers as what you have . a wm or toledo also the rear ends early or late . as for as hampton interiors and i have installed several is it is possible for them to make a mistake as i have had a few from them but not often . a while back i installed a interior in a 31 five pass coupe i all ready knew not to trim any thing as they do not give you a half inch to spare or extra on most parts but when it came down to installing the rear carpet i found the same thing as you have . the first thing the notches on the front seat pass side did not line up i was fumming fixing to call and do some ac along with the curtins were too long and no way fit the car but i called a frend of mine he has a similar original car so i went to do some looking and measureing that is when i found i had put the seat in wrong the seats are not centered but the passenger seat is set one inch to the center of the car once i relocated the seat the carpet notches lined up fixed that problem but the carpet was short at the seat riser and side panels back to the original car and discovered that the riser and side panel material folded down on the sills and tacked and the carpet lays over dont know about four inches may be a half to three quartes hampton does not explain any of this in their instructions and when you see this you may think it needs to fold under or trim but beware of the trimming they do say to lay all of it out before installing and get all pieces out of the box . i was very fortunate to get one of the taup front floor mat with the fisher logo in it dont remember who made it but it is one of the most asked questions of people who look at the car around the us . this along with several other pieces from 31 through 41 are getting hard to come by that was repoduced early on some has to be made or wait until it is repoduced or may show up on e bay and you find a bunch of others looking for that same part . to summ up it is a good idea to look at a original or pictures ofcourse every one i bought the owner said it was original and in good shape for the age hope this helps

Thanks to Coachill, Pushrod and to Mike B )who sent an email on the transmission). The Toledo trans has the shifter 2 inches farther back than the Warren transmission. I have the Toledo.

I spent today finishing a pattern for the rear carpet to sent back with the two carpets. I got the seats out of the attic to check location of the pads for the feet at the rear of the seats. I have not yet found the trim part that goes over the rear seat kickup, but will check it before I finalize my pattern and sent it in.

Jim:
I had the original carpet in my car and the Hampton Coach carpet matched it exactly. The rubber mat in the front was history, so I don't know if the mat from I got from HC is identical. I bought the HC kit in 1990, so I suppose their suppliers have changed. As you have discovered the hole in the mat for the shifter may not fit depending on which transmission you have.
The facia for the rear seat is covered in vinyl, not carpet, and came in my HC kit. The carpet lies flat on the floor and should come just to the rear seat support.
Coach

Thanks again to all.

I have sent back both carpets along with a pattern for a correct rear carpet and a request for a front carpet for the "other" transmission. Hampton Coach indicated they would sent what I need. I did find the vinyl which covers the kick panel in front of the rear seat. There is plenty of material for that.

There are lots of little puzzle pieces in this kit and its going to be a lot of fun puttin the puzzle together along with learnign how to blind stich, etc.

Jim:
Just a tip or two regarding the kit. The HC/LB kit fit really well, but I did need to trim some small areas of the fiber board backing from time to time. Nothing big, just a little trim around the edges. The seats were another story. I suggest you speak with someone locally who can show you a few tips about stuffing the seats properly and installing the buttons. Also, the paperboard tack strip that is riveted to the back of the front seats may or may not work for you. I had the worst time trying to stretch the fabric with one had, tucking it postion with another hand, and finally using my magnetic tack hammer to drive home the tack with my third hand, only then to find I didn't get a good bite with the tack. The idea is to drive the nail through the fabric, through the paperboard, and then bend or peen the point of the tack by driving it into the steel seat frame. I hope you have more success than I did.
Also, I tried using the original hardware to reinstall the button on the seat back. Good luck! The original hardware is brittle and breaks easily. Others have used braided picture frame wire attached to the button then threaded through to the seat back/frame. Be sure to get the buttons lined up straight; you only want to poke holes in the fabric once!
I understuffed the front seats. They looked fine when I first did them but as the stuffing compacted they lost their fullness. I've been advised since then that when you think you have enough stuffing in the seats, go ahead and stuff some more! The cotton batting really does compress after a while. I suggest doing one seat at a time so you can use the other as a model. Do not use the same number of layers of stuffing as the new material is not as thick as the old stuff.
Oh, and yes, blind stitching is a bear! I'd much rather have a wrench in my hand than a needle and thread. I got the hand of it after a while but it takes time and some sore fingers to get it right.
Let me know if I can help with any questions you may have.

Coach

Coach

How often are you in Michigan?

Jim:
Be careful what you ask for. Remember, I'm the guy who buggered up my own seats, so you can imagine what I might do to yours! Besides, advice and dumb looks are still free, but I think you'll find my travel and hourly rates to be rather expensive. However, if you're offering mass quantities of beer I might be persuaded to rethink my rates.
Coach

Only Corona and Labatts Blue Ligt in stock currently. Sons-in-law drank up the Honey Brown.

Just to close out this item: New carpets arrived yesterday from Hampton Coach, about a week after my sending back incorrect ones. The new ones are exactly as needed. Great prompt response. I spent a couple hours putting moth crystals in the bags with the "mohair" parts as recommended by Hampton when immediate installation is not planned.