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New Carpet
07/20/09

When we lived in SoCal and I spent all my free time in the desert wheeling, it made sense that there was no carpet in the Jeep.  I could come home, hose out the interior and park the Jeep till next weekend.  Also, with the way I moved things around under the Jeep, there isn't much room for exhaust.  This led to the stock carpet melting in a few spots.  For the past few years, I've kept a blanket on the floor so Natalie's shoes wouldn't melt.  Now that we're up in NorCal and I wheel less often, I'm looking for a few creature comforts back in the Jeep.  Also, I'm looking to solve the melting shoe and carpet issue.

07/20/09 - Today, from Summit Racing, I ordered an interior heat shielding fabric, an exterior heat shield for under the Jeep and a single shift boot for the transmission.  I also ordered a full carpet kit and floor mats from "Auto-Interior" (online).  They had an option for a thicker and more heat resistant backing on the carpet, so I ordered that too.

07/21/09 - The heat shielding products and the shift boot arrived today.  Amazing how fast Summit gets things delivered.  The shift boot I'm not sure I like though.  It is very low profile and I don't think it's going to work on my shifter.

07/24/09 - I called Summit Racing today and talking to the guy about the shift boot.  The one I bought last week is cheap enough that it's not worth returning.  I've ordered a new boot that should be quite a bit taller.

07/27/09 - The carpet kit, floor mats and larger shift boot arrived today.  I guess the UPS guy is getting to know me because the packages were left in front of the shop instead of the house.  That's a first.

08/02/09 - I tore the Jeep apart today.  The seats, center console, tool boxes, etc all came out of the Jeep.  Then I vacuumed and hosed the interior.  Next I build a doghouse cover with tight clearances around the shifters.  Lastly I mounted the shift boots.

08/04/09 - Tonight I got some more work done on the interior of the Jeep.  I debated for a long time on whether I cut the carpet around the seat mounts, or do I mount the seats on top of the carpet.  I know my chances of cutting the carpet in the exact right spot are slim and I don't want it to look like a mess when I'm done.  However, it would be nice to be able to take the carpet out without taking the seats out first.  Also, the cutting brake levers have brake lines that exit the tub in the worst spot.  That means I have to cut the carpet from the edge, all the way in to the brake lines (about 24 inches).  What I decided on was to redo my brake lines, eliminate the cutting brake levers and mount the seats on top of the carpet.

    Instead of the cutting levers, I'm going to go with electronic solenoids for the brake lines that when activated don't allow brake pressure to continue to pass.  With one on the main line to the fronts and one on the main line to the rears, I can select which brakes are effective.  An option that I lose is selecting one back tire to apply brakes on at a time.  I rarely used this and won't miss it.  Pretty much every time I needed to do a front dig, I applied both rear levers.  I've been carrying in the Jeep for a few years now one of these brake solenoids.  I always meant to install in on the rear main line so I could have front brakes only.  I tried to order another from their website, but they don't do online ordering.  I'll call them tomorrow. 

    I did order a Tuffy center console and glove box from 4wd.com.  I still have the stock center console in the Jeep and it's just too small.  It has been nice because it left room for the cutting brakes to mount right next to it.  With the cutting brakes gone, there's finally room for more storage.  The glove box is for the Dashboard Project.

    I did manage to get the interior heat shielding cut and mostly installed.  I used sticky-back Velcro in strategic spots to keep it down on the floor.  I couldn't believe it, but I couldn't find any duct tape in the shop.  Tomorrow I'll pick some up and tape the pieces together.

08/05/09 - Today I got the main section of carpet trimmed and installed in the Jeep.  I also started working on the rear passenger side fender, but I'm not pleased with how it fits.

08/06/09 - I installed all the carpet pieces tonight.  I really like the way the main section under the front seats is installed.  Seems that was the most difficult piece to manufacture too.  The rear fender pieces don't fit very nice at all.  And the flat piece that covers the floor in the back, the easiest to manufacture, is too big.  I can't imagine why they made it 1" wider than the bed.  Anyways, I just stuffed it in there.  Maybe it'll shrink, I dunno.  I cut it and the fender pieces around the coilovers, seat mounts, seatbelts and roll cage.

08/11/09 - Some parts of the tub are visible around the carpet.  The inside of the tub is white, so it doesn't look right at all.  I painted some of the parts near the front seats since it will be hard to get to later.  Then I mounted the front seats in the Jeep on top of the carpet. 

The new center console, glove box and brake lockout solenoid arrived today.  I started looking at the new center console and it's really a tight fit between the seats. I concerned that opening and closing the lid is going to wear out the seats.

08/12/09 - The passenger seat has a gap of about an inch between it and the door.  I decided to move that seat over to give more room for the center console.  I welded on some tabs on the seat mount and drilled new holes.  The center console now fits much better.

08/16/09 - I've made some progress over the past few days.  The brakes are put back together and I test drove them yesterday.  The lock-out solenoids work perfectly.  With the flip of a switch I can turn off the front or rear brakes and do front or rear digs.  The carpet is completely installed and the floor mats are cut to fit.  The rear seat is installed and the storage boxes are mounted on the rear fenders.  Someday I should go back and paint the inside of the tub black where it currently shows white.  For now, it's back to the Dashboard Project.