Faded carpets.

[Splat]

My carpets haven't just faded slightly. If the colour of the carpets in my 2005 car started as a very deep tomato colour, then the worst areas are now the yellowie-green of an unripened fruit. It must be sun damage as by far the worst area is the rear bulkhead; still deep red at the floor but almost yellow/white at the top. Next worst are the horizontal surfaces; deep red at the front where the scuttle provides shade, but yellowing towards the rear.

Has anybody any experience of re-dying carpet? Can anybody here tell me, definitively, what material the carpets are woven from (nylon or acrylic)? Whilst I happen to have a spare (new) carpet set (don't ask!), I'm tempted to attempt dying as a first resort as it would be much easier and the original carpets couldn't look much worse!

[Westfield 129]

The carpets fade quickly here, our W11s parked close by, as we picnic on the beach, watching the whales pop their heads up in the bay gulping down fish, beneath cloudless skies and a warm sun.

All those red carpets, now the color of a yellow tomato from our local farms.

I have reached a point where I just don't install a full carpet set, as the W11 is essentially a race car, anyway.

That said, my own early car had the carpets dyed at one time prior to my acquiring the car. In the end (about 30 years of use), they were brittle and threadbare. I have removed the carpeting from all of the alloy surfaces, and I am trying to figure out how to get the stuff off of the fiberglass rear bulkhead. I think that the 'glass panel will have to be replaced with an alloy fabrication in the near future. I am planning a color change, and the red just won't due.

The quality of the dye job and the quality of the materials will determine the final results. However, the cost of dying the carpets may exceed making a new kit using better (fade resistant) materials, with your old carpets as a pattern. Or, you can just buy carpet, a knife, cut your own, and have the upholstery shop finish the edges.

Dying can be a DIY job, as your local auto parts store likely has a kit, or you can have an auto trim shop do the work. But unless you can get the carpets out of the car without damage (usually a problem with the center tunnel as the stitching rips apart, and the side panels as too much adhesive may have been used), the work will have to be done with the carpets in place. That looks uncomfortable.

I now cut the center tunnel apart and finished the edges so that the side panels are separate from the top of the tunnel panel, so that I can snap the tunnel top in place (along with the sill footfalls), and ease the removal of the tunnel cover for maintenance. Or, I just leave the interior in the bag. I just don't bother with the floor carpets. The alloy looks just fine, easily brushed up with some steel wool.

[biggles]

Tis a problem with TVRs too, and quite a few guys had a go at redyeing in situ with some success, using Dylon sponged on. If you search the Pistonheads TVR section I am sure you will come up with some good info.

Best of luck!
Tim

[Westfield 129]

Well, here, between the mastication of roasted chicken, the crashing of the waves, the bark of the sea lions, chirping of the dolphins and the singing of the whales, if you are really quiet, you can hear the W11s carpets fade...

Try a bit of the dye on an inconspicuous (or conspicuous) section of the carpet, and see what you get...

[Splat]

Good lord, Jan. You appear to be using irony. Fatherhood must be suiting you

I've already discovered the TVR threads (every pun intended) and have sent a small section away to a Tyneside business for possible colour matching. Watch this space.....

[bobwhittaker]

The trim in my car is absolutely minimal , I have the one piece seat back ( No need to trim the rear bulkhead ) with simple squab cushions , the cockpit sides and tunnel are bare aluminium with a brushed finish achieved by using a 1 1/2" wide by 4 " diameter fibrous wheel in a small electric drill , the dash / instrument panel is 0.8 mm thick brush finished stainless steel ( Bought like that ) which only needs a wipe with a damp cloth . My only concession to a carpet is that I have cut and fitted 1mm thick aluminium panels to exactly match the footwells and these are fitted loose to simply lift out and buff up as they need it . These also aid entry car as it is just a matter of sliding down into the car with no carpets to ruck up around your feet when entering or more importantly when driving . I can " Refinish " the interior of the car in about one hour . This minimalist finish is also in line with the use most of the original cars were put to and also makes full use of cockpit space , particularly if the one piece seat back is used instead of individual bucket seats , plus NO faded or WET carpets .
Bob Whittaker

[Westfield 129]

I have done the cars in bare alloy, and for my own car, the first thing that went on acquisition (even before the drive home) were the carpets, as they really got in the way of getting in and out, and would ball up around the pedals.

I recently stripped my old LHD car and buffed up the alloy with steel wool. This worked well, but...

Attending a local press gathering to drive the new Alfa 4C, the W11 was parked in the sun for a brief period. Usually, this would not be a problem but for the ambient air temp of about 42C... A Westfield version of those Boy Scout solar ovens.

I could have fried eggs on the alloy panels.

The plan is to eventually cover the sills and the top of the tunnel, which should reduce somewhat the oven effect. I still have to figure out how to strip the carpet from the rear bulkhead... I am replacing the bench seats with a pair of buckets.

[bobwhittaker]

JAN , here in Lancashire excessive ambient temperature and solar heating are are not a problem , we are more concerned with frost bite and that items are colourfast I.E. The colour doesn't wash out in the rain . One successful modification to give cockpit heating without plumbing , electrical items ( Blowers) and minimum effort was the fitting of simple sliding louvred vent plates over a hole cut in the tunnel wall one for driver one for the passenger . These have a fixed louvred plate pop riveted over a cutout in the wall and a sliding louvred plate to cover or expose the fixed plate , neatly pressed in aluminium , are the size of a standard house brick ,can be easily secured shut , cost about £3.00 each and are available from any builder's merchant .
Very unobtrusive against the brushed aluminium finish of the tunnel walls and again minimalistic . Best Regards Bob Whittaker

[Westfield 129]

I am well aware of the problems you have in the UK with weather.

Here, the problem is 160F temps in the driver's footwell in our LHD cars. The RHD cars don't have this problem, which is why I prefer to build them. They also have a better pedal box setup, ready for independent master cylinders. Much better...

I use stick on gold insulation on the firewall behind the header. That helps. So does properly sealing off the pedal quadrant.

Getting cockpit heat is easy with the LHD cars, as the exhaust is on that side. So is the possibility of CO gas, which is the thing that makes driving a W11 tiring after even after a short drive. I put a CO monitor into my car, after I was sickened (CO poisioning) in the US press car, and found that the cockpit was flooded with the gas, coming from the exhaust slip coupling on the header.

I had heard from other W11 owners who said that driving the car was "exhausting", or "tiring"... No doubt, with all the CO from the header's slip coupling, and ample spaces for the gas to enter the cockpit.

I would be very careful about venting hot engine compartment air into the interior of the car.

The fix is a simple one. Install a proper bolt on flange or V band (Marmon) clamp on the exhaust header to exhaust pipe for a tight, leak free connection.

Then, regularly inspect the header for cracks, as they form often on the Y pipe, especially if you use a modified Maniflow header. I no longer wrap the header so that I can inspect it easily.

As for color fast carpets in the rain, we have not had rain here for a couple of years...

'Fact is, the W11 is a race car, and it needs no interior. Especially carpets...

[bobwhittaker]

JAN,
your last comment says it all .