Seat removal and new carpet fitting

[craigydee70]

H guys,


I have already restored the wood and now its time to order my new carpets and also replace the black vinyl door strips. This may sound a tad stupid but;

1/ What is the easiest way to remove the front seat and do I need to take the runners off etc?

2/ What is the process for the removal of the gearbox tunnel carpeted area?

3/ Should I buy new carpet lugs / holders or are they reasonably robust?

4/ What should I look out for /tricky /pain in the a%%e potential or definitive problems?

5/ AOB?

I have ordered the carpets from Coverdale.


Thanks for your help.


cheers Craig.

[jorhenderson]

the easiest way (I have found ) is to take out the bolts which hold the seat down onto the floor and lift out the whole lot, beware it is very heavy, first time I did it I was convinced I must have missed a bolt (there are only four) because the seat did not seem to move.

There are two spacers under the seat at the door side front and back, both the rear bolts accessed from the rear passengers footwell do not have captive nuts just loose nut plates, the tunnel side one is easily held up when you put the seats back in, but the door side one will need the carpet edge pulled back to get at the nut plate.

[Brendan69]

Jun 1, 2020 10:49:05 GMT jorhenderson said:

the easiest way (I have found ) is to take out the bolts which hold the seat down onto the floor and lift out the whole lot, beware it is very heavy, first time I did it I was convinced I must have missed a bolt (there are only four) because the seat did not seem to move.

There are two spacers under the seat at the door side front and back, both the rear bolts accessed from the rear passengers footwell do not have captive nuts just loose nut plates, the tunnel side one is easily held up when you put the seats back in, but the door side one will need the carpet edge pulled back to get at the nut plate.

Agreed, heavy as hell and a right PITA to refit with those NON captive nut bolts. Fiddly as hell.

[craigydee70]

Thanks for the information. Sounds like I have a fiddly agonising time ahead of me  . Better get the swear box looked out !

Craig 

[Brendan69]

Jun 2, 2020 8:36:44 GMT craigydee70 said:

Thanks for the information. Sounds like I have a fiddly agonising time ahead of me  . Better get the swear box looked out !

Craig 

My swear box had about £10 in it by time i had finished!! LOL. On the refitting i used my little magnetic probe to hold the NON captive nut plates in place as i refitted the bolts and nuts. Fiddy but useful at the same time. Why the hell they designed them like it i will never understand albeit must have been something to do with " Minor " adjustments of the seats i think.

Good luck and enjoy. LOL

[jorhenderson]

even allowing for the time it was designed, I am amazed how many non-captive nuts are used all over the P5`s it must have put hours onto building them (seats in particular)

[3litrekiwi]

My favourites are the bolts through the fire wall. Not just a spinning head but covered by the interior lining! I think they were looking into the future at us to teach patience, tenacity and provide opportunities for creative solutions. 

[jorhenderson]

I think the daftest are the ones holding the petrol tank in, all nuts and bolts to make fitting the tank a two man job.Ford of the day must have had a laugh.

[craigydee70]

This weekend is the dreaded seat removal. You mentioned the " is to take out the bolts which hold the seat down onto the floor", before i start this i assume that these are accessible from underneath? 
Reason i am asking is that i have limited mobility at the moment due to a back strain but have placed my hand underneath and "feel" what seems like a bolt head? Am i correct ? If so what size are they and is it a socket?

To take out the center console I have found (not watched it yet though), a video on YouTube, but do have any tips on this removal / replacement as i need to re-carpet this and add new covering to the selector area?

cheers Craig

[velvet]

Seat removal is easy Craig, a modern socket set with a 13mm socket head is all thats required, the rear fixings are both internal on brackets, both front bolts are through-the-floorpan but the one closest to the tunnel/console goes through a captive nut whereas the front one closest to the sill is bolt on top and nut under the floorpan which of course you'll have to stop it from spinning in order to remove it. The hardest part is lifting the seat out of the car as it weights 28 kilos.
The console is only held in by 2 x 13mm nuts which are under the triangular part then it just pulls and lifts out. Of course you will have to deal with the cigar/lights/rear screen switches but it is possible to leave them on the on the angle bracket and push it through the opening leaving it behind in the car (fiddly but do-able)

PS i've used metric conversion but of course its imperial.

PPS take your time with the new rear tunnel carpet you're fitting, study it well first before you make any cuts.

[craigydee70]

Thanks Brenda.

I removed the passenger seat and the center console taking pictures and marking up all of the wires at the back of the controls. My plan is to recover the center console this week once my new staple gun arrives from Amazon. I will use contact adhesive but i noticed staples so will staple it again.

I laid out the new Coverdale carpets to familiarize myself with the replacement locations. I have no garage and the weather in the SE is not good for carrying on with the task in hand today so i will hope to complete it later this week.

I have also purchased good quality underfelt / deafening so I plan to offer this up with the new carpets prior to securing the center console and seats. I fear this may make the challenge slightly more time consuming as I expect the underfelt /deafening to compromise the carpet fitting but hopefully not.
I swapped the beige colour carpets in my Zircon Blue Saloon for Navy Blue which I feel will look great. I shall post some pictures later this week hopefully .

Thanks for your help and support
Craig 

[notenoughtime]

How did the carpet fitting go?