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*I take no responsibility for your injuries if you screw this up and hurt yourself, do this mod at your own risk*
When i bought my Festiva, the carpet was nasty, and had a bunch of holes in it, as whenever the previous owner had something to fix under the carpet he just took a knife to it to get it out of the way, but that's whet you get in a $500 car. I wanted to get some nice new carpet to put in, but was unwilling to pay the $150 that the folks on ebay wanted for a new carpet. So i decided to do an expierement to see if i could mold my own carpet into the Festiva. The results were surprisingly good! Instructions are as follows.
Tools and Supplies Required:
Socket set (really only need 10mm and 14mm), ratchets, extensions,
Phillips Screwdriver
Razor knife, with plenty of replacement blades (it will Dull Quick)
Scissors
Needle nose pliers (the smaller kind with the curved tip)
Punch (needs to be a sharp one, i used an old broken screwdriver that i ground the shaft into a point)
Double Stick Carpet tape
6'*8' Area Rug (needs to have a very flexible backing, not a stiff plastic one)
3'*5' Smaller rug (matches the other rug, this is for in the hatch)
I got the large rug for $16 and the smaller one for $9 at a store called Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Look for them at your usual discount store. Everything else i had laying around the house.
The Procedure:
*Note, this is a good time to do the Escort console Mod if you have been thinking about it, or any mod to your interior for that matter*
Start by removing the seats, your interior should look like this:
Then continue to remove the seatbelts, seatbelt controller, console, under dash box, and supporting bracket attached to the floor, and the trim along the bottom of the doors.
Finally, remove the carpet, You should look like this now:
You need to take the padding off the back of the carpet, and also make sure to get the white plastic clips that held the carpet down at the doors.
Put the padding back in it's proper places and secure it with the carpet tape.
Get you new carpet, and start by cutting a X in the middle of it for the gear shift and the E-Brake, then lay it over those parts. Start under the dash on the drivers side, laying and smoothing the carpet, tacking it down with carpet tape when necessary. make sure to keep it smooth so it won't get caught in the pedals. As you get to a place where something bolted it, pull the carpet smooth up to that point, use the punch and razor knife to make a hole, and bolt down the part over it. Try to place bunches in the carpet under things where you cant see it, like under the seats or console.
I did the drivers side first and then the passengers side, using the plastic clips under the doors to hold it in place there as the original was. Make sure to pull everything tight and put any lumps where they will not be noticed/ dangerous.
Finally tuck the carpet in slots in the back under the trim for a neat finished appearance.
Congrats, your car now has nice new carpet! Enjoy!
When i bought my Festiva, the carpet was nasty, and had a bunch of holes in it, as whenever the previous owner had something to fix under the carpet he just took a knife to it to get it out of the way, but that's whet you get in a $500 car. I wanted to get some nice new carpet to put in, but was unwilling to pay the $150 that the folks on ebay wanted for a new carpet. So i decided to do an expierement to see if i could mold my own carpet into the Festiva. The results were surprisingly good! Instructions are as follows.
Tools and Supplies Required:
Socket set (really only need 10mm and 14mm), ratchets, extensions,
Phillips Screwdriver
Razor knife, with plenty of replacement blades (it will Dull Quick)
Scissors
Needle nose pliers (the smaller kind with the curved tip)
Punch (needs to be a sharp one, i used an old broken screwdriver that i ground the shaft into a point)
Double Stick Carpet tape
6'*8' Area Rug (needs to have a very flexible backing, not a stiff plastic one)
3'*5' Smaller rug (matches the other rug, this is for in the hatch)
I got the large rug for $16 and the smaller one for $9 at a store called Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Look for them at your usual discount store. Everything else i had laying around the house.
The Procedure:
*Note, this is a good time to do the Escort console Mod if you have been thinking about it, or any mod to your interior for that matter*
Start by removing the seats, your interior should look like this:
Then continue to remove the seatbelts, seatbelt controller, console, under dash box, and supporting bracket attached to the floor, and the trim along the bottom of the doors.
Finally, remove the carpet, You should look like this now:
You need to take the padding off the back of the carpet, and also make sure to get the white plastic clips that held the carpet down at the doors.
Put the padding back in it's proper places and secure it with the carpet tape.
Get you new carpet, and start by cutting a X in the middle of it for the gear shift and the E-Brake, then lay it over those parts. Start under the dash on the drivers side, laying and smoothing the carpet, tacking it down with carpet tape when necessary. make sure to keep it smooth so it won't get caught in the pedals. As you get to a place where something bolted it, pull the carpet smooth up to that point, use the punch and razor knife to make a hole, and bolt down the part over it. Try to place bunches in the carpet under things where you cant see it, like under the seats or console.
I did the drivers side first and then the passengers side, using the plastic clips under the doors to hold it in place there as the original was. Make sure to pull everything tight and put any lumps where they will not be noticed/ dangerous.
Finally tuck the carpet in slots in the back under the trim for a neat finished appearance.
Congrats, your car now has nice new carpet! Enjoy!
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