Terry,
I have experienced the same fading on my TRF "original" grey
nylon loop carpet set. The fading occurs the worst on the pieces
covering the tunnel and gearshift bump and on the small pieces
that cover the door sills. There is also an orange fade mark on a
small section of the rear seat piece where it meets the tunnel
piece. This fading would just be a natural aging thing if it
were not for the strange orange coloring effect that occurs. It
is really noticeable.
I drive almost always with the tonneau cover on and with the
cover across the passenger side. I really only have the car out
uncovered in the sun all day at shows and gatherings or when I
have a passenger. Even then, I will have the tonneau on with
both sides down... still covering the rear seat section. On any
highway road trip the top is up.
I don't know whether it is all caused by sunlight or also has
something to due with getting wet. The Robbins tonneau covers
that TRF supplies don't have a cover flap over the zipper and if
you get caught in a shower with the tonneau cover on... the water
pools in the zipper and drips through onto the carpet. This
happened once to me and after that... I always laid a beach towel
under the zipper drop zone to prevent the carpet from getting
wet. The orange fade mark is the worst on the tunnel and
gearshift pieces that got damp that one time. But it could also
be the pattern caused by the sun shinning into the car with the
tonneau up on one side.
Based on what I have observed, I think the grey carpet TRF Magic
Carpet used on the early sets was not rated for auto convertible
use or maybe the color grey is just very prone to this sunlight
fading effect. Although my original 1962 TR4 had grey loop
carpet and it did not fade as I remember.
I must say that TRF has been very good about responding. I
commented on the list last year when the topic came up... really
not expecting anything from TRF... just trying to help the person
with their question by sharing my experiences. Soon afterward,
I got a surprise direct email from Charles Runyan himself to say
that TRF offered to replace any carpet pieces that had faded. He
said he wanted to see the faded pieces so that they could figure
out what was going on.
I never did send in the faded pieces due to laziness and old age.
I hate getting into the TR4 due to all the strange body
contortions that are required for interior work. I am on Advil
for days afterward. Based on your TR List question, I will have
to drag myself out to the cold garage and remove the faded pieces
and send them in to TRF for replacement
Before you decide... I would ask TRF direct questions about the
grey loop rayon carpet and whether they have solved the root
cause of the fading problem. The grey loop is the "correct"
original carpet for '61 through at least '63. It looks absolutely
wonderful when first installed.
Hope this helps. In retrospect... I wish I had gone for the wool
pile version. I think there was a grey color available. Maybe
its a "rayon thing"... I think wool would stand up better. Check
out my TR4 website for pictures of the grey carpet installation
http://webpages.charter.net/sanborn/
Brian Sanborn
Groton, MA
1962 TR4
|