Carpet... Loop or Cut Pile?

stingray250

stingray250

True Classic
Question,


Anyone have any experience with the Bayless loop style carpet for the X? I have the loop carpet in my VW. I like the way it looks and it's very durable until you snag a run in it.

In my opinion, cut pile tends to show more "matting" of the fiber than the loop over time.

I'm really just curious if anyone has the loop and how it's been holding up.

Thanks!
 
I'm not familiar with the one MWB sells. But I also prefer loop in general.

There is a company that makes carpets for the X and offers a choice of materials (link below). Also a large variety of colors to choose from. For the X he only makes a moulded (contoured) one-piece carpet. The catalog says "contact for availability" for the X, but he has it. Price is a little over $100 if I recall. I have a couple of his products (VW and X1/9). It is good quality for the money, but not top "concours" stuff like good (expensive) German carpet is. Works fine for non investment cars like these. He provides all of the replacement carpets for several big vendors that specialize in certain cars (perhaps even some of the Fiat vendors?). I've met him in person several times; nice guy, but if you call him on the phone be sure you are not in a hurry (he tends to be talkative).

http://newark-auto.com/
 
Thanks... I sent them a request for pricing and availability. Looks like the "molded" carpet set is only available in the cut pile. Funny thing, the pictures for the carpet set thru Midwest are the exact same as several vendors on Ebay. Might be only a handful of manufacturers for the X I'm guessing.
 
stingray250 said:
Might be only a handful of manufacturers for the X I'm guessing.
Click to expand...
Possibly the guy I referred to above is the maker for all of them. He has been in the business for many decades and manufacturers the products. He has a handle of many niche car markets for replacement carpets, as the sole supplier to their specialty vendors. His business is actually wholesale but will sell direct if you contact him, so his prices are great.

I'd have to double check, but I think the X1/9 carpet I got from him is a loop rather than cut pile (?). Ask him to see what he can do. I opted for a grey color carpet rather than black. I'm doing a two tone interior with black and grey, so the grey carpet will contrast with the grey and black upholstery and black dash, etc. I did the same combination on another project vehicle and really like it. Got the concept back in the 80's when BMW came out with the 750iL V12, long wheelbase luxury edition - loved the black/grey two tone interior in it. Mine had more black trim (tops of dash and door panels), otherwise same colors as in this pic from the web:
download.jpg


On my X the seats will have cloth inserts with a grey/black 'houndstooth' pattern similar to this:
images.jpg
 

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lookforjoe said:
wish I had heard of him prior
Click to expand...
I've posted about him in the past, but not sure if it was before you got yours or not. I bought my first carpet (non Fiat) from him about 10-12 years ago, and it is still doing well (although I don't drive my project cars much). Bought the X carpet 2 or 3 years ago...but it is still in the box. :oops:

Like I said, his materials are good but not the top of the line. However it is the same as every other aftermarket 'pre-made' carpet kit I've found for most vehicles. There are better ones available for some higher-end vehicles, and naturally you can get anything custom made. However most older cars don't have a lot of choices, and as Stingray mentioned, many of the carpets offered by various vendors come from the same source.
 
I should also mention. Because he makes the carpets you can order it with 'heel pads' on either, both, or neither side. I opted to get none because I use floor mats on top of my carpets. That is another item that I like to have contrasting; say black mats on dark grey carpet.

A few years ago I restored an unusual edition of a German vehicle that has a longer wheelbase than the regular model. So the carpet needs to be about 5 or 6 inches longer at one point to accommodate the LWB. No one makes a carpet for that edition (quite rare model so no demand). He makes carpets for the regular (short wheelbase) model, and worked with me to create one for the longer model. I took measurements and pictures and he modified the original pattern accordingly. He now offers that (LWB) version in addition to the (SWB) regular one (although I seriously doubt he has ever had a request for it). In the end he gave me the new model carpet for free as a 'test' sample. Fit great. Likewise, on another project I wanted some extra matching carpet to add to an adjacent area on the car. He included the extra material with the carpet kit. It's nice to work with the source rather than a retailer.
 
Got this reply back from Newark...

"Thank you for your inquiry, we can manufacture a Fiat X1/9 carpet similar to the one shown in the attached picture in black loop (see second picture) for $142.98 plus $51.00 shipping by UPS ground. The carpet has a vinyl heel pad on the driver’s side, cloth binding on edges that will be exposed after installation and a heavy 20 ounce synthetic padding under the main floor areas. We can send you an invoice through PayPal or you can call us M-F 8-4 eastern time to order and pay by credit card"

Fiat x1_9.jpg


black loop with binding.jpg


Yup... Same exact pictures of the Bayless and the Ebay carpets... Must be the source.
 
Was that Ben or his wife? Both are really nice people.
He did say something to me about supplying his products to Fiat retailer(s), but I did not ask who.
The price seems to have gone up a little since I got mine (2-3 years ago). I want to say it was $120.? I don't recall about shipping. But is your ship quote to OZ? That would be more than domestic rates.
 
I installed the Bayless loop carpeting in my (former) X1/9. The overall fit was good and only minor trimming was necessary. It looked great! The carpet backing was less robust than I had hoped (felt a little flimsy to me) but installation went well. I didn't keep the car long enough to comment on long-term wear. I probably put 3-4K miles on the car over a two year period after installing and it still looked very good. However, it's stored indoors and I definitely babied it a lot. Some install pics and closetups in this thread: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/its-happening.30224/

Hope this helps!
 
stingray250 said:
Got this reply back from Newark...

"Thank you for your inquiry, we can manufacture a Fiat X1/9 carpet similar to the one shown in the attached picture in black loop (see second picture) for $142.98 plus $51.00 shipping by UPS ground. The carpet has a vinyl heel pad on the driver’s side, cloth binding on edges that will be exposed after installation and a heavy 20 ounce synthetic padding under the main floor areas. We can send you an invoice through PayPal or you can call us M-F 8-4 eastern time to order and pay by credit card"

View attachment 19649

View attachment 19648

Yup... Same exact pictures of the Bayless and the Ebay carpets... Must be the source.
Click to expand...

Well that is not molded carpet...it's cut/sewn to more or less match the contours of the floorpan.

I think if you were able to acquire a typical used carpet from a USA LHD car, and mate the passenger side of that with the passenger side of a typical used carpet from a UK RHD car, you'd end up with a lightly used, very nice looking OEM carpet. Later Bertone models would have plush/cut pile, but early 80s cars would have the "corn-row" style that you might like.
 
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