Now I get to start thinking about carpet and head liners and door covering...

Any pearls of wisdom available?

I want to find a suitable material for my rear panel behind the seats first (ally), then the floor pan and doors.
What should I use for the rear panel?
The head-lining?

I want to use carpet for the floor and up the sides and over the pod containers, so it can't be too thick.

There seem to be many carpet types, but what is best?

Ideas please?

Things to think about for you.

Panel behind the seats - this is a heat source for the cab so alloy not a good idea as it is a good transmitter of heat and noise. Thin ply would be better.

My roof is trimmed in dark grey flecked carpet stuck on with high temperature automotive carpet adhesive. Cheap, easy and effective IMO.

Floor carpet - I opted for a synthetic carpet rather than wool. All my carpets are held on with velcro so can be removed for cleaning/access. If it gets wet it will not rot or smell. I have clad the sides and floor but not the top of the side pods. If the doors are wet when you open them they dump a lot of water on the area at the front of the luggage cover area.
You could use carbon which I may do next winter. What ever you use will probably get scratched.

The look of your interior will depend on the quality of the workmanship, so take your time or get an expert to do it.


Paul

I purchased my Ultima from the original owner/builder. He was a serious craftsman as well as a racer and wanted to something other than the 'kit look' as he put it. He used a RacePak digital dash in place of all of the analog gauges, used a set of stalks and behind-wheel surround from a Plymouth PT Cruiser (a very odd car that had a short lifespan in the U.S. but after measuring and analyzing the electrics, it all fit perfectly). He wired the rear turn signals with relays (it was built in 2005) to create a sequential pattern of the rear three lights when the turn-signal is activated. The floor, vertical sections in the leg area and the rear firewall are each done in black carpeting used by Bentley, and a leather dash and a console between the seats so a motorized DVD/GPS could be added.
I'll take some pics if you are interested though I suspect my photo skills may not do his work proper justice.
V

I often wondered if we are paying over the odds for auto carpet from trimmers, rather that go to a general carpet outlet and picking the appropriate quality from these people?

However I notice that some trimmers use a black-latex backed carpet, and I was wondering if this is special in some way?

As for the main foot-wells, some use wool, but is that not an overkill on this car, are we better off using synthetic to combat wet or damp?

Interesting ref carpet being used as head-liner... never though of that, but isn't it a tad thick?

cheers

You might consider that part of the door is actualy roof, after the door is closed, so we ran the headliner materail down to the bottom of the window on the doors. That idea came from my interior guy and he was correct. Used what is called square weave carpet for the floor and up the side pods. This is like the carpet that came in old Porsches. It very easy to keep clean looks good and is available in a number of colors. We held the carpet back from the rivet lines by an inch on both sides of the rivet lines and then trimmed the edge in a contrasting color. This was my idea and I think it does a very nice job of reflecting the race car nature of the car while still looking like a finished interior. We did the back firewall in the same gray alcantara that we did the roof in and it has proved to be a good choice for looks durability and easy of keeping clean.The one fellow said that he did the engine side of the firewall with the gold foil and I agree with that path completly. The next time my motor comes out that is high on my list of mods. The other day I left Super Car Sunday and the temp was 109f. The car was in traffic for 15 minutes and the water temp stayed at the thermostat temp the entire time 565HP LS motor. But the A/C was struggling to keep the car at about 80f would be my guess. Not horrible but I think there's room for improvment. Lee

Ok Craig

I stand corrected - to an extent. I think your gold foil is having a big effect here. Without the foil you would probably find I am correct.

Paul

Agreed.

Plus the heater never seems to be completly closed off.

Steve

Daniel: I agree with the top up on the freon certainly worth a try. When you consider that the A/C pump is the same size used on much larger interiors and in those apps you can get the interior down to the mid 60s on a very hot day either the evaporator or the condensor or the airflow to the condensor is not getting the job done to a high degree of efficency. My guess is airflow through the condensor. I base that on how long it takes to get the condensor to reject the heat accumulated when the car has heat soaked and then restarted. I have some ideas about ducting more air through the condensor with side scoops. Anyone have any input? Lee

I agree too and pictures are worth a thousand words.
Thanks
P.S. Pity that photos are not really used often on the Ultima forum...

You will see a marked difference with film screens on the windshield and side windows. The side windows really make a difference. One thing to consider when applying film to the side windows don't place the film where it splits your view of the mirrors. 1/2 IN THE CLEAR AND 1/2 in the film your eyes will have a difficult time focusing through the split. Yes I know from experince. I will work on some photos of the carpet. Lee