3 Door carpet in a 5 Door car?

Hi all,

I'm in need of a new carpet and I was going to purchase a nice biscuit coloured one from Newton Commercial
but they only do one for a 3 door Mk1, mine is a 5 door.

I have emailed them to ask if it would fit with any kind of modification and the sales assistant replied quite quickly saying
that it won't fit a 5 door car.

Does anyone one know the differences and if it would be possible to modify the 3 door one to fit?

Any help or advice would be great.

Cheers,

Britney.

 

3 door carpet doesn't have the same foot print that the 4dr hatch back has (5 door).  There aren't the cutout and  attachment places for the rear doors as the carpet has edgings that fit under the door cards and threshold (sill plates).  You would have to use your old ones as a template if it is possible at all to sew the attachments and such.  Even the rear Seat under and trunk area if you go the full route is smaller on the 3 door vs the 5 door.

Anything is possible I suspect if you have the skills and tools available to make its fitment look like OEM and not a pish-posh Irish engineered re-design.  But in the end you may be buying a 5-door piece to replace the 3 door one you ruined….My best advice is to get what is supposed to be there and you will have a better fitment as well as a more professional outcome…. Some things you just don't want to skip on to save a few quid, as you will be spending it on the stuff to make it work….

my two pence shillings or pounds as in pounding my head as to why I tried to be cheap.

Briano

Hi Briano1234

My problem is I can't find what is supposed to be there. 🤦‍♂️ I've looked for 5 door OEM moulded carpets for the past 3 years with no joy.

I have the original carpet and I have tried cleaning it several times but it just won't come up as good as I need it.

I'm having a complete interior retrim in a nice original biscuit colour because that is what the car has as standard but the trimmer says it won't look great if we do a patchwork carpet. Newton Commercial only do 3 door carpets and there is no way I can find NOS.

I was just hoping and praying that I could buy a moulded 3dr carpet and get the trimmer to chop and sew some new pieces in the places that I need them without too much hassle.

By the sounds of your description this wouldn't be an easy option for them.

Thanks though 👍

Hi, I painted mine using a vinyl dye paint. It is suitable for vinyl, plastic and short pile carpets. I had the same issue having a 5 door car with a blue carpet that was dirty and very faded. I originally purchased a new after market carpet to replace it.

 Unfortunately it did not have enough carpet to cover the area at the side of the rear seat and it was a bit light in colour.

A good shampoo of the original carpet, take it out of the car and use a machine to clean. I used a karcher jet wash and a small carpet washer by Bissel. When completely dry spray vinyl paint lightly from 4 sides / directions and bingo.

A dark or med brown should suffice to get an even coverage. It is dark when wet and dries lighter.

Please look at my project garythegolf, pages around 149 for the new carpet and page 327 on tapatalk for the old carpet refurbished.

Hope this helps.

Sent from my H3113 using Tapatalk

well jbugs, and they will send you samples.

https://www.jbugs.com/product/34-4038-COLORS.html


https://www.mtmfg.com/vw/169/Volkswagen-Rabbit-Cabriolet-Carpets-Floor-Mats-Rabbit-Cabriolet
 

Briano1234 said

https://www.mtmfg.com/vw/169/Volkswagen-Rabbit-Cabriolet-Carpets-Floor-Mats-Rabbit-Cabriolet
 

That is looking like a promising link right there.

I'm not feeling that JBugs one, I would like an original looking moulded carpet.

As for the MTMFG, that's a contender. For some reason I've never thought of looking in America. I wonder if they will send samples to the UK?

Thanks for your help Briano1234 👍

Let's get this interior finished.

Can I assume that your car is a LHD.

I am sure that you have thought of this. I had an issue in the past buying from overseas with my Golf that they do not cater for components or interior equipment for RHD market.

i.e. in this case, the drivers mat or additional carpet could be stitched on the wrong side unless you are able to specify its for the RHD market.

For info, I have attached some pictures of my original refurbished carpet installed.

carpet fitted.





.

Thanks Malcolm

This question will be asked when speaking to the supplier. 👍

Your carpet looks good, I think mine is a little far gone for a restoration but I will definitely consider it.

I've tried cleaning on several occasions with different detergents and a pressure washer but it still looks grubby.

I guess there might be a professional cleaner out there that could do it better but for now I'll try and get a new one.

😁

Malcolm said

Can I assume that your car is a LHD.

You are totally right about the drivers pad.

CRAPAZOIDS I forgot all about that…Yall need to learn to drive on the right side of the road, your car dealers would love ya for it as you would have to buy new.  And the light colour of your carpet shows more grime over the years as it is getting up there in years.  I know that I had teh Saddle Plush Pile in my Diesel and a good scrubbing kept it fairly nice, along with good mats.

While you have yours out, don't discount the effect of Dynamat on the floors to quiet the interior noises as well as good padding under the carpet if your replacement doesn't come with it, as that changes the feel and actually assist with the fitment.

I have bought from Jbugs over the years and they are good folks to deal with, they at least answered the phone when I called them where others didn't.

I am surprised that places like werk34 and vwheritage don't have a supplier for carpets for the 4dr. (Ok 5 door if you count the hatch.)

 

It will obviously depends on how dark a brown or beige you want the carpet before using the paint.

After the jet wash, I used a Bissel Little Green Hand Held Carpet Cleaner, brilliant for this and household demands. See Bottom left on the link. Some are on ebay, with some prices being asked you might be better off buying a new one with warranty. Though there is one for £30 which looks good.

http://gameandroid.tech/best-handheld-carpet-cleaner/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bissell-1425-7-Little-Green-Machine-Pro-Heat-Compact-Deep-Carpet-Cleaner-Nice/283492784527?epid=26031501644&hash=item42017c998f:g:ny0AAOSwmrpctDYL

Unfortunately, It has been made obsolete and has been replaced by more sophisticated machines.

https://www.bisselldirect.co.uk/bissell-little-green-3698l

https://www.bisselldirect.co.uk/bissell-spotclean-pro-1558e?q=1558e

Paint - few suppliers, a little difficult to find here, it is used it a lot in USA. The blue was perfect for mine, I used in on the carpet, door speaker / cubby holes, parcel shelf mount, lower dash shelves and the top vinyl trim strips on the doors. Not the cards or the centre console

https://www.vhtpaint.com/specialty/vht-vinyl-dye

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/vinyl-dye-5193/paint---body-repair-16614/spray-paints-25279/f5504e6fe716/vht-vinyl-dye-buckskin-tan-satin-spray-paint/sp944/4776787?manufacturer=true&pos=5

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAGIX-180ml-LEATHER-VINYL-DYE-SPRAY-ALL-COLOURS-Shoes-Boots-Car-Seats-Sofas/232102142034?var=531302770191&hash=item360a5da052:g:mt0AAOSw1~JZQVG5

Agreed, I used a similar product to Dynamat on the floor plus underlay under the carpet to absorb the noise.

What I have found in my Cabriolets is the easiest way to clean the carpets in my case was to use about a half a gallon of HOT water with Dawn Detergent and about a half a cup of "Totally Awesome".

I poured the half a gallon per side one at a time and Scrubbed it with a good stiff brush and was it UUUUUguly coloured water soap and scum… After the Brushing, I sucked all of the water out with my 12hp WET/DRY vacuum…

A couple more 1/2 gallons of HOT rinse water and a brushing sucking it out…. (seats were removed) after doing all four seat wells and sides, I left the top down and out in the SUN with 2 24" fans blowing air one pointing to the front, and one pointing to the rear held in place with bungies off the "b" pillar….at night I brought it in the Garage and left the fans going but turned them around to reverse the flow of air.

After the second rinse the water was almost  clear….. After about 2 days I noticed that the carpet was a dull colour or dingy, and well it was getting to be 20 years young…I re-vacuumed the now dry carpet and I had a Brilliant Idea…..  I misted 303 Aerospace protectorant on the Carpet, and then used a very soft brush to move it about the pile, and wiped it with a rag, which came out more or less clean…. and what do you know it was shiney and looked like new for months….

I suspect that I need to do it again as it has been about 4 years since my last car show….

Just my Red-necked way of cleaning a carpet in the car.
Your results may vary…..