Boot upholstery

[ian4455]

My S3 has no boot carpets, previous owner must have thrown these away !

Are these available any more ?

[mercman]

My S3 has no boot carpets, previous owner must have thrown these away !

Are these available any more ?

I don't think S3's had boot carpets, my 82 S3 Turbo came from the factory with a boot bag and no carpet.

Les

[Boots]

Hi Ian

my S3 came with carpets so previous owner probably dumped them.

Have you tried SJ's?

Sue

[Bibs]

They're available from Lotus, call your local dealer and they'll have a set made for you

[Jonathan]

Making your own is easy - most kits dont fit.

Buy the carpet, cut it to size and sew the whipping around the edge (lady-eyes are usually best at this bit).

[slewthy]

Carpets in S3 - there will be evidence of poppers near the battery area and on the boot floor if this was the case in your car.

I made some replacement carpets in the stylee Jonathan describes but this wasnt that easy, even with the old tattered remains as a guide. Its tricky to sew them together due to the compound curves. Edging was a nightmare and ideally, I'd do it again but that job is probably 12 months+ away for me at the moment. I did send off my old carpets to another member as templates, so they are floating around somewhere.

[Wilf]

I've still got your old carpets and still faffing over carpets or boot-bag. If someone else wants to use them as a template I can make templates from them and pass them on.

[mercman]

So, am I right in thinking that you could order your car from the factory with carpets and no boot bag or a boot bag and no carpets.

Les

[slewthy]

If I was buying a boot lining, I would go for a boot bag because it looks neat and doesnt have to fit the curves of the boot interior exactly. Problem with carpets is that unless they are tailored very well, they wouldnt look very good. I'm reasonably happy with my carpets, safe in the knowledge I could hide them with the tonneau cover if I wished.

The carpets are also partially glued into place, so there is high temperature-peelability to consider aswell.

The original carpets were charcoal with cream edging, which shows up the dirt and any detachment. I edged mine with matching trim which is more sympathetic I think. There are some before and after images on my restoration thread (1986 S3 restoration)

[Simon350S]

I've got carpets, not sure if its a full set as I've not quite got a boot ATM.. LOL

[mercman]

Heres my boot bag in place

[FRANTIC FRANC]

My S3 has carpet and boot bag!

Saying that the carpet was a bit mouldy so I ripped it out and got a new zip fitted into the bootbag (only cost

[Wilf]

IS the boot bag a simple rectangular shape (ignoring the top part that poppers on). I'm tempted to make one myself when a new one is around

[slewthy]

The bootbag I saw was tailored to fit the contours of the boot. Not easy to do but easier than carpets since it doesnt have to be so accurate.

S'pose you could just do it rectangular, but if you are going to all the trouble....

[ian4455]

I've a boot bag, just wondered if there is supposed to be carpets. 1981 S3 N/A.

[wayneb911]

I have a boot bag with mine. Some of the parts that had been taken off the car were wrapped up in it. I thought it was an old wax coat so binned it!!! Lucky for me i then saw this thread and thought hey that had a zip and rescued it before the weather took its toll or the bin man collected it!! Not sure if i will be using it yet as i may make a tailored to shape removable box which clips in place. Will make it nice and light and carpeted. Will post pics when i get to that but thats down the line yet.

[b041ac1]

Make your own

Carpet from woolies.co.uk + hot glue gun, total cost cost less than

[tinywillyuk]

Is that http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/?

[b041ac1]

Yeah, sorry that's it.

[Choppa]

My boot carpet will be needing some attention soon. Did you go for their "thin ribbed carpet" @

[slewthy]

I bought their thin ribbed carpet, black. It was an almost exact match for the original in its looks and thickness.

Although it is very thin, it needs to be inorder to be coaxed around all the compound curves. Once stuck down, it looks perfect though.

To replace the entire carpeted area as per original spec for my year (1986) it took 2x2metres.

[slewthy]

Buddsy,

 

I have done my boot -first job when I got the car 5 years ago. I would do it again but better!

 

My battery board had disintegrated but no so far as I couldnt make a copy. I'm happy to trace the outline and send it to you if it helps.

 

Re edging, I did mine very poorly but I now know how to do this job better - I have made my own carpet set myself.

If you can fix an engine, you can work a sewing machine.

 

My solution for the edging is get some decent binding tape (edging) and either apply double sided tape or contact adhesive to one edge to get around the curves. Let it set then glue/stick the other edge.Now, it can be easily machine sewn to neaten up. I initially missed out this first step and the sewing was near impossible! As you go around the sharp corners, turn the machine by hand rather than power, to go slow and careful.

 

Happy to give a fuller account if you plan to do yourself.

 

Simon

[mdw]

That explains why all my corners ended up rounded rather than square!!!.  I used a normal  brother sewing machine and it did the stitching fine although I didn't bind in leather just the normal carpet binding from woollies.

[slewthy]

Hi. No, I didnt do it like this.

I used a semi industrial sewing machine, but most machines from 1980 onwards would really fit in this bracket and it was a standard foot, not walking. Getting the foot pressure and thread tensions correct were the critical parts of machine setup. 

I did buy a binding tool but that only really works for very thin material - dresses I guess! Ditched it.

 

The carpet is quite thin and the binding is cloth is stretchy so the pleating manouver is not required. If I get some time over the next few days, I'll post a vid of what I have learned! I've come on so far since my first attempt that I would seriously consider redoing my boot carpets. I got so cocky that I even reupholstered an entire outdoor swing seat/canopy in heavy canvas last year and it looks better than the original. Shame the winds broke the wooden bits though.....

 

Buddsy, the battery board is, em, board. Just thick cardboard, a little thicker than the glovebox material. Thin hardboard could work too I guess although more prone to snapping as it needs a little flex when removing/refitting.

I will sort out some kind of pattern and some pics, hopefully over the weekend if thats OK.

Simon

[Wilf]

Photos would be great, I still have my patterns taken from your original carpet set and still not done anything with it!