Stock Carpet Wanted

Anybody have an original dark brown or black carpet for a 1980 X? Good condition or better...

I posted this a year or two ago. If your carpet is like most, 90% of the unsightliness is due to wear on the drivers side. Consider doing a permanent search on eBay (you set it up so that when your keywords appear in a listing, eBay emails the listing to you) for the color carpet you need, but limit the search to the UK. Taking advantage of their "driver's side" being the other side, you might be able to graft the good side of two "bad" carpets together into one pretty good one for cheap.
 
I posted this a year or two ago. If your carpet is like most, 90% of the unsightliness is due to wear on the drivers side. Consider doing a permanent search on eBay (you set it up so that when your keywords appear in a listing, eBay emails the listing to you) for the color carpet you need, but limit the search to the UK. Taking advantage of their "driver's side" being the other side, you might be able to graft the good side of two "bad" carpets together into one pretty good one for cheap.

I like this... the carpet in my car was replaced by the mechanic with standard floor carpet but he folded and glued it in such a way that it looked original - well except for the foot pad by the pedals. However that was some 20+ years ago and it's starting to show its age.
 
I'm not sure what the cost of a used carpet is, and I can only imagine the shipping charge to get one from the UK (from a right-hand drive car). But I bought a new X-specific molded carpet (in choice of colors) for around $120. So I don't know that doing a "cut and paste" with two used carpets is worth it?

This company supplies the replacement carpets to many of the well known specialty vendors: http://newark-auto.com/
 
I'm not sure what the cost of a used carpet is, and I can only imagine the shipping charge to get one from the UK (from a right-hand drive car). But I bought a new X-specific molded carpet (in choice of colors) for around $120. So I don't know that doing a "cut and paste" with two used carpets is worth it?

This company supplies the replacement carpets to many of the well known specialty vendors: http://newark-auto.com/

Up until recently the gold standard for replacement carpets was the molded NOS carpets sold by Henk in the Netherlands. Looking at his site today, it seems that he has sold out of the NOS and is offering a sewn-to-fit product.

Newark's currently posted application guide says "FIAT--Call for info". Has anyone called lately to find if they are the OEM-molded style or a sewn-to-fit style?
 
Anybody have an original dark brown or black carpet for a 1980 X? Good condition or better...
MWB has new OEM carpets and mats available in both Black & Brown for what I think is a reasonable price, considering they are made to fit.
Saw them on their website, today.
 
Has anyone called lately to find if they are the OEM-molded style or a sewn-to-fit style?
I've met with him several times at the trade shows and have purchased a few of his products for various vehicles (including my X). If you call him, be prepared to chat (he likes to talk) and expect the usual New Jersey dialog. For many models he offers a choice both types: molded or cut/sewn. I believe the only option for the X carpet however is a molded style (same as original). It is made a little over sized at the outer perimeter to allow for variances. So you will need to trim it to fit. You will also need to cut the openings for various mounting holes, etc. I won't mislead you, it is not the 'top of the line' material. Nothing compared to genuine German carpeting for example. But in my opinion it's as good as the original Fiat stuff (which I've never found it to be very durable). In some cases he can offer a choice of 2 or 3 types of material (loop, 60/40, pile), but honestly I don't recall if that is true for the X (it might depend on the choice of color?). I bought a grey one for my X to give a bit of a two-tone look with the black dash/console/door cards. The seats will be two-tone grey/black. Then black floor mats over the grey carpet. Did the same with a couple other cars and like the look.


MWB has new OEM carpets and mats available in both Black & Brown for what I think is a reasonable price, considering they are made to fit.
I can't speak for Matt, but I was given the impression the carpets he sells are from the same source??? I won't say more, as I don't have hard facts either way. I do know that the carpets sold by some other well known vendors (for many makes) are from Newark. For example, the largest American supplier of Datsun Z car restoration parts carries his stuff.
 
I've met with him several times at the trade shows and have purchased a few of his products for various vehicles (including my X). If you call him, be prepared to chat (he likes to talk) and expect the usual New Jersey dialog. For many models he offers a choice both types: molded or cut/sewn. I believe the only option for the X carpet however is a molded style (same as original). It is made a little over sized at the outer perimeter to allow for variances. So you will need to trim it to fit. You will also need to cut the openings for various mounting holes, etc. I won't mislead you, it is not the 'top of the line' material. Nothing compared to genuine German carpeting for example. But in my opinion it's as good as the original Fiat stuff (which I've never found it to be very durable). In some cases he can offer a choice of 2 or 3 types of material (loop, 60/40, pile), but honestly I don't recall if that is true for the X (it might depend on the choice of color?). I bought a grey one for my X to give a bit of a two-tone look with the black dash/console/door cards. The seats will be two-tone grey/black. Then black floor mats over the grey carpet. Did the same with a couple other cars and like the look.

This bears some investigation, as genuine original molded carpet has reached unobtanium status. Chris Obert has some original molded OEM carpet on his site but it's priced according to its rarity. Everyone else is selling third-party sewn*** solutions, which at least in the pix that accompany the product and IMHO, just don't look as good as molded.

***Clarification: sewn-to-fit, meaning pie-cuts and sewing.
 
Last edited:
I’ve never cared for one-piece molded carpets, mainly because they usually have a plastic backing that traps moisture under the carpet and rusts the floors from the inside out. I’ve always preferred individually bound-edge carpet as found in the more high end cars. Here’s a shot of my ‘74 I did:

79429EB8-622E-40BC-8753-9A9F20F6985F.jpeg

The main purpose of the binding, besides looks, is to keep the carpet from raveling. But if you choose a cheap non-woven carpet, you could forgo the binding.
 
Last edited:
It's possible there's a little confusion with the nomenclature. I know it was for me initially.

The term "cut and sewn" does not refer to the individually pieced and bound ("segmented") carpet as Mark has described and illustrated. It is used to describe a method of using one large flat piece of carpet, then making some "pie cuts" at key points, and sewing them into corners or wedges. This is how they get a 3D shape, to fit the basic contours of the car. "Molded" is where the large flat piece of carpet is heated and pressed into a mold to create the 3D shape. Similar to how body panels are made. Both can be done with all types of carpet material. Actually all three methods (molded, cut and sewn, and segmented) might be of any quality of carpet. Usually the prices reflect not only the quality of material, but also the process of making the shape. Cut and sewn tends to be the least expensive, molded second, and segmented the most labor intensive and therefore most expensive. I have purchased segmented carpets for vintage VW's that were of poor quality material and made from poor fitting patterns. By the time the binding is cheaply done, the result is a terrible carpet kit. Likewise I've seen some really nicely done cut and sewn carpets. It varies widely depending on who is making it.

I agree with Mark, a good high quality segmented carpet is the best looking result. Aside from having it custom made (at a considerable expense), I don't know of any such carpets for the X. To my knowledge most factory carpets are molded. It seems to yield the best look for the money.

As for a "OEM" Fiat carpet, frankly I don't get it. To me they were shitty carpets, so why would I want to buy another one? Especially at an inflated price? But that's just my view. If I wanted to build a 'show' car (although I can't imagine going to that extent with a X), then I would have custom segmented carpets made to perfectly fit my specific car, using top quality German materials in a custom color. Otherwise I would look for an affordable carpet that fits reasonably, looks decent, and isn't difficult to source or install. To me that is what Newark offers. As I said earlier, it isn't the best, but well suited for these cars.

When I have time I can dig out a Newark carpet for the X that is buried in my storage and take a couple pictures. I might also have a cut and sewn carpet for a VW that I can show for comparison. But really that won't tell anyone anything. You will have to see/feel it and try installing it to know if you like it.
 
I’ve never cared for one-piece molded carpets, mainly because they usually have a plastic backing that traps moisture under the carpet and rusts the floors from the inside out. I’ve always preferred individually bound-edge carpet as found in the more high end cars. Here’s a shot of my ‘74 I did:

View attachment 17615

The main purpose of the binding, besides looks, is to keep the carpet from raveling. But if you choose a cheap non-woven carpet, you could forgo the binding.

It looks amazing. Can you post an overview of what you did to do that?

Larry
 
It’s the same as how the 124 Spiders are carpeted. Here’s a picture I found on eBay of a premade set for the X1/9(RHD):
AFB75DF1-CDD8-430B-9968-0D7107323A2F.jpeg
And here’s a couple pictures I took of my handmade installed:
68942B6A-2F1F-4D06-9481-5935A36BC162.jpeg
80EA842C-8484-4A41-A791-F2A38762EEA6.jpeg
The sill and tunnel pieces go down first and overlap under the main floor pieces. I glue everything down so it fits really tight.
I first line the areas with padding cut in a similar manner but without any overlap and glue it down. Headliner spray adhesive works well.

It looks amazing. Can you post an overview of what you did to do that?

Larry
 
Back
Top