Custom CarpetingWhen Detroit's Art Cairo was restoring Henry Ford II's '64 1/2 289 Hi-Po hardtop for Ford's 100th Anniversary, he came to us with a request. Because the one-off hardtop had thick-pile custom carpeting, provided by Ford Design 43 years ago, Art needed to install the same material in his restoration. That's when we thought of Auto Custom Carpets.
Although Auto Custom Carpets sells plenty of ready-made 80/20 nylon-pile molded carpet for classic and Fox-bodied Mustangs, you can order just about any kind of material imaginable. If Auto Custom Carpets has it, it can be cut and molded to fit your Mustang. Art needed a thick cut-pile carpet in order to keep his restoration as authentic as possible. He also needed extra carpet for the trunk. Auto Custom Carpets was happy to oblige.
When we ordered Art's custom carpeting from Auto Custom Carpets, they asked us specific questions. Did the car have a vinyl heel pad? Was the carpeting molded? Should it be cut like a '64 1/2 or '65? We checked it all out with Art and passed this information along to Auto Custom Carpets.
Your Mustang's carpeting was secured with button-head sheetmetal screws from the factory in this location. Because these screw holes were randomly drilled, placing isn't always consistent. | 
A new razor blade makes trimming easier. We've learned the hard way to measure twice and cut once. Double-check your trimming locations and check fit. Then trim. | 
Few things are worse than cutting too much, then wondering how to hide the mistake. When trimming around the headlight dimmer switch, make sure it doesn't bind-and watch the wiring. |
Finding seat stud holes and seatbelt anchor points isn't that hard when you know how. Locate the holes and punch through the carpet as shown. Do the same with seatbelt bolt holes. Carefully slit the hole with a razor blade but don't go too far. | 
Mustangs Unlimited sent us Custom Autosound speaker kick panels, which arrived in black so they had to be painted the interior color. We scored a can of interior trim paint from Mustangs Etc. We suggest insulation behind these kick panels to improve acoustics and keep sound inside. | 
To get sill moldings right, cut and configure the carpeting properly. Here, we find screw holes with an awl and get them started. Once that's done, run each of them down slowly and watch the molding. Any resistance or distortion is unacceptable. Don't overtighten. |
The distortion here is caused by double carpet thickness. The rear carpet segment must be trimmed underneath the front segment to get it flush. | 
When a Mustang is fitted with an automatic transmission, T-handle and bezel removal is easy-and so is installation. However, when it has a manual transmission, a shifter boot and escutcheon are involved. Because we have a T5 transmission with a shifter handle from California Pony Cars, there's a faux reverse lockout to contend with. This necessitated having the boot on before installation. We had to carefully cut the carpeting around the shifter, then work the boot underneath the carpeting, followed by the chrome escutcheon, which hides any imperfections. | 
We see so many carpet and seat installations that lack these "seat feet," which hold carpeting down when the seat is installed. Many have been tossed because owners didn't understand what they were. Don't forget your seat feet, or order a set from Mustangs Unlimited when you buy carpeting. |