New Carpet In 1968 Cj-5

Hi everyone. I am new to ECJ5 and this is my first post. I have a beautiful 1968 CJ-5 that my dad bought in 1967 new, three years before I was born. I grew up in that Jeep, drove from WA to Canada a few times to fish with my dad growing up, learned to drive in it, etc. etc. Love that Jeep. Dad restored it in ~1995, removed the well-worn Dauntless, and replaced it with a Chevy S-10 4.3L engine. Runs perfect. He went through everything and painted it a beautiful yellow. Still has the semi original R10B overdrive, and the Koenig PTO winch. Dad died in 2020 and I inherited his trusty Jeep.

I'd like the Jeep to be, what I call, modern vintage. I replaced the hard top with a black RallyTops hardtop and will paint the doors yellow to match. I put fender flares on it and 2" spacers to widen the wheel base. I am considering a swing-away spare tire carrier too.

Ok, now for the reason for the post. Today I received new carpet for the Jeep from ACC, Auto Custom Carpets. Looks pretty good and I am preparing to remove the seats and gas tank to begin the install. I am pretty handy and believe that I can do the Jeep justice and not disrespect it. I will use the jute padding in the front to deaden the noise.

The Jeep (to the best of my knowledge) did not have original carpet so there are no natural features to secure the edges. How can I secure the edges? I really, really do not want to drill holes for snaps and such. Any ideas?

BTW, I know about rust concerns. I live in Los Angeles and it almost never rains here. The Jeep is garaged and not brought out in inclement weather. I will seal all holes prior to the carpet going in.

Thanks everyone!

 

Congrats on keeping a family heirloom in the family. Just a note on terminology: the spacers will widen the track. Wheelbase is the center-to-center distance between the front and rear axles.

 

Welcome from Northern CA. Its also quite dry most of the year up here in the Sierra

I just put their carpet in my 1966 as my tub was in rough shape and I didn’t want to spend the $ to do a lot of bodywork on the inside. The ACC carpet It’s far from a correct custom fit, it frustrated me quite a bit to get it in actually. Prepare to cut and push bends to where they should be, and you’re on your own as to how to trim it up under the dash and behind the stamped JeepV6 logos. I concede some of this is my lack of skills in the area of carpet wrangling.

As far as keeping it down, I have quite a few holes in my body where there shouldn’t be holes, so I just used fender washers and bolts to hold the carpet down here and there. The seats and fuel tank and roll bar will also help. For the toolbox lid I cut the carpet out as best I could (poorly) and used carpet tape to hold the cut out piece to the lid.

if you’re not going for car shows or a Beauty contest you’ll be happy with it as I am, as an improvement over what’s underneath.

 

In would recommend you cover the metal beneath the carpet with paint or the like. CJ's have a tendency to draw moisture and rugs like to hold it in, especially under the saddle tank, seat brackets, and the like. Keeping rust from forming in those hidden places will make the body last a lot longer.

I've always used various carpet remnants for my flooring. Looks like total crap, but is easily removable for cleaning and drying out.

 

The carpet kits from the day used snaps to secure the carpet. Lots of holes. Pretty sure you'll have to invent an alternative if you don't want to drill any holes.

One possibility might be to rivet your snap to a small piece of aluminum or stainless and glue that to the floor. Does not score high for reversibility, but better than drilling.

Another possibility might be to sew magnets to the back side of the carpet. flexible magnets exist which I presume could be stitched through, or you could look for small magnets that are perforated somehow and able to be sewn. Addition of some carpet glue to the magnet might help.

BTW I had indoor/outdoor carpet kits in my Jeeps when I lived in the LA area. I also put a lot of jute padding in under the carpet. Nice and soft on your feet, and makes a big big difference in heat and noise coming through the floor. I could drive bare footed, and did often. Kick off your sandals on the floor.

 

I’ve never seen an acceptable carpet kit installed in an early CJ. They just don’t lend themselves to fitted carpet. Cut out a big square to lay in the rear bed, and trim a piece down to lay across the footwell floors. Just lay everything in place so it can be easily removed and shaken clean. Call it a day!
An R10 overdrive in a CJ5? Thats gotta make a really, really short rear driveshaft. They can fit in a CJ6, but I can’t imagine it in an 81” wheelbase Jeep.
-Donny

 

Today I found a YouTube video from ACC (the carpet manufacturer) that showed install to a 70's Jeep. < They used a little spray-on adhesive to secure the edges. In the video they only used the adhesive on the rear wheel well installation, not in the front area. Seems like this could work if used sparingly. Obviously not if there is jute padding used. I may make custom hold downs for the front area, but I am going to install carpet first and see how it is holds using spray adhesive (sparingly in only key locations) in the back and the seat bolt downs in the front. I will take pictures and post.

I truly appreciate all the suggestions so far. Timgr, you rock!

To Keys5a, here is a pic of the drive line geometry.

 

Welcome to ecj5.com
I have black carpeting in my yellow Jeep (came with it so I do not know the brand)
It actually fits very well. It has a sewn hemmed flap the same size as the tool box lid!
It’s old, so has fading and such, but I like having the carpet.