04/06/2026
INSTALLING NEW CARPET IN OUR 1967 PONTIAC CATALINA--TIPS & TRICKS.
Aside from all new upholstery, nothing freshens up a classic's interior like a new set of threads, especially when the carpet it replaces is original, and soaked with 50+ years of dirt, use, and abuse. It's not a particularly difficult project, but it can be a bit challenging to make it fit as perfectly as new. Take a close look at the pictorial below as you keep in mind these points:
1) Get your new carpet out of the box ASAP and give it some time in the sun or on the garage floor in order to relax into its naturally molded shape. This makes fitting it inside the cabin easier, and leads to more accurate trimming.
2) Remove the seats, take up the old carpet (ours was far nastier than it looks in the pics, yuck!), making sure not to damage wiring for rear speakers, power seats, etc. We chose to leave the original black sound deadening material, as it was still in usable shape. Otherwise, you can scrape it off with a putty knife and leave it as is, or install new material.
3) Loosen and/or remove kick panels, rear armrests/lower door panels, remove the rear seat bottom, and clean out all holes where seat/seat belt bolts go through the floor.
4) Install the new carpet, making sure to line up the new rugs with the center hump, as well as making sure the heel pad is in the right location. This is where careful trimming is critical. Remember, you can always cut off more, but it looks really dumb if you cut off too much before the fitment is finalized! We try to stuff as much extra carpet behind kick panels, under sill plates, etc as will fit comfortably without stressing out plastics or warping shapes.
5) Cutting holes for the bolts can seem scary, but using a sharp, pointed punch or needle-like tool is a great way to do it with minimal damage and effort. We like to come from the underside to eyeball the area to cut, then actually jab the punch from inside the cab to minimize the appearance of any damage to the carpet itself. Then we use a sharp box cutter to cut an "X" across the hole, then remove the least amount of material as possible for the bolt to fit cleanly through. Don't forget to notch out the edge of the carpet where all the sill plate screws go, as it makes installation far easier.
6) Now that final fitment is done, and all necessary holes are made, reinstall seats, panels, and sill plates and admire your awesome upgrading skills! Don't forget to rehook up your power seat wires, too.
7) BONUS TIP: See that last picture of the dirty towels? That's all the dirt and grime that came off what otherwise looked like fairly clean seat belts! BOTH sides of the towels looked like that, so take the time to use some Dawn dish soap, water and a stiff bristle brush and you'll be amazed at how much nicer your belts will look and feel.
This 1967 blue on blue Catalina now has a near show quality interior, since it was otherwise incredibly well-preserved. If you're interested in making this fun fastback yours, give us a call today!
913-461-4890
