Since purchasing my '88 Raider last year I've been wanting to redo the carpet. I'm not a big fan of the blue, plus it was pretty worn out and had an unpleasant smell.

I had the time recently, so I decided to yank the interior and try to do it on the cheap. It wasn't too tough to do so I'm writing this up to try and contribute something that might be helpful. In the end I spent around $100 total to do the carpet+ and $75 for the new seats. It's way more comfortable and smells a bit like a new car now.

Here you see the interior of the rig after removing some of the plastic, the seats, carpet and padding. This is also after a thorough cleaning of the floor (lots of dirt and spilled drinks). I used an expanding spray foam meant for windows to fill in all the holes from the rear seat and the random holes drilled in there throughout it's prior owners:




I picked up some felt carpet padding from a local discount carpet liquidator. Came in a six foot wide roll, which is perfect. Got an eleven foot section for about $25. Did the front half separate from the rear and used the old carpet to gauge the cut out for the center console, shifters, e-brake, and seat belts. Used a can of spray glue to tack it down. Wheel wells were a bit tricky, but just cut away slits to form the curves and glued it in place:


I used a gray indoor/outdoor carpet that I got at Lowe's for about $.50 a square foot. Came in a six foot width roll and had them cut eleven feet. I need to go back and get about another four feet to finish the job, so about 15 feet total. The carpet is fairly thin and pliable with a rubber-like backing.

Like the padding I did the front and rear separately. Front popped in pretty easily with the cuts made in the garage based from measurements of the old carpet:



...more later tonight.

I'm in the process of doing mine too. I'm going all black and am using duplicolor fabric\vinyl paint for the panels. It's not pic worthy yet, but it is seeming to hold up to scratch testing thus far.

Looks nice. I have had problems in my NW USA Raider using rubber mats - really bad condensation underneath. Could be a geography problem. I would probably use something non-waterproof.

Some of you guys have used pickup truck bedliner stuff on your interiors. How is that working out? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I used Rhino Hide below the trim line on the exterior. Works well. Can't really see the use inside except for hard core 4WD use.

I put a thin coat of herculiner in mine and it's ok. It doesn't damppen the sound enough for me, so i will be installing the matte and carpet over it. if you often have muddy boots or like hauling messy stuff, i think a nice thick coat of bedliner is the way to go.

I am wanting to replace the flooring in my 4dr so bad. I would like to utlize alot of the factory snaps to make it close to stock fill as possible. I going to put a thin layer of be liner or rubberized undercoating then I have some insulation that is pretty good as far as it is mold proof and fire proof. helps with sound a bit.

O yeah to healp with getting that carpet to fit the way you like it, is to let it sit outside in the sun for several hours it will get very pliable. Once it is in the truck using a heat gun will help with the little areas. it looks good. can not wait to see the final product.

This is all pretty cool <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> The carpet in mine is nasty. It wasn't good when I bought it, but after 4 years of driving around with 4 women... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> I would really like to change mine.

I like the heat idea Kenny. You would have to be careful with a heat gun since melting cheap carpet is pretty easy. I have first hand experience of this stripping paint off a pair of racing bike forks in my bedroom as a teenager...oops, sorry Mum <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> To be fair, I did put newspaper down first though <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

a buddy of mine used a hair dryer vs heat gun on plain ole car carpet. Looked just like it was molded in the end. although i have not put my carpet in yet, i bought a pre-molded kit. i hope it was worth the extra money.

Did 3 coats of Herculiner in mine - Looks great and is easy to wash out, but as mentioned before - It is not a great sound barrier