>===== Original Message From "Westerdale, Bob" <bwesterdale@edax.com> =====
>Has anyone compared TRF's Rayon Loop Pile carpet set ( $299 @ winter sale)
>with the "Classic" ( i.e. midrange) carpet sets from John Skinner ( approx.
>$ 194 + ...?..) Any ideas on the underfelt/padding and the method of
>attaching the carpet- eg. glue, snaps, velcro... Any experience with the
>import duty/shipping costs with Skinner?
Bob, I can't help with TRF to John Skinner comparison... but I can share a
bunch of experience with the the new TRF "Magic" gray rayon loop sets.
During the winter of '98 I did a major strip out of my cars engine bay, dash
and interior. All the major bucks went to the engine, gearbox and engine bay
stuff. However the old black carpet in car was only fit for the garbage can.
I had to put something back in so and the TRF stuff was between $400-500.
So... I bought a very cheap set in the JC Whitney class from a lister in TN.
My plan was to use it for a while and then a couple of years later upgrade to
a proper quality set from TRF or Skinner.
The cheap ($149) set was fine and the good part was I could have it in
charcoal gray... which was not available anywhere at the time. It was a
TR4A-250 based pattern and needed a lot of fitting to get it right but it came
out looking great. It also came with an underfelt set already attached.
I did another extra step that I would recommend. That is... I completely
lined the area under all the carpets, including the firewall and gearbox cover
with that foam bubble wrap insulation that has a thick layer of foil on each
side. They sell it at the lumber yard. It really cuts down on noise and
especially the heat transfer into the interior that is so common and annoying
in TRs (TR hot foot). I used a combination of double-sided carpet tape and
Velcro to hold the stuff in place. No gluing the carpet to the body. I have
had the floor carpet out twice for drying out.
The downside has been with the the rug material itself. It is fading very
badly wherever the sun has a chance to beat down. It is fading from a gray to
an strange orange color. So this winter with the announcement of the TR4
"original" gray carpet sets from TRF and the winter sale... my wife bought me
a new gray carpet set.
I guess the bottom line is that quality does count... and doing a little
insulation work will make for a much more comfortable and quiet interior in
the summer. The TRF gray rayon set looks very good and has a much better
pattern fit with all the detail around the handbrake.
Brian Sanborn
62 TR4 CT16260L-O - Groton, MA
My TR4 Restoration Web Site
http://www.net1plus.com/users/sanborn
E-Mail: sanborn@net1plus.com
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