This page describes the carpets for the MGTD/TF which includes
detailed installation instructions and snap placement. Some of the materials for this page have been supplied by Moss Motors and I have created the instructions below using their carpet set based on originality. Much of the information provided here is for left hand drive cars. For right hand drive cars there are some minor changes with regard to the accelerator placement.
The original carpet used in the T-Series was black Karvel, which is characterized by the distinctive grain which is a feature of the material. It has been described as being ribbed, or as having corn rows. This is especially apparent when you fold a piece of carpet in half. The carpet was almost entirely unbound, which made it less expensive to produce. Originally the exposed front edge of the carpet on the cover of the handbrake cables was trimmed. The gearshift had a leather boot sewn into the tunnel carpet. Underfelt was used only on the floors and transmission tunnel, and not on the toe board or the footrest on the passenger's side. Originally the TD's did not have carpeting behind the seats. You may want to consider a loose piece of carpet on the rear deck of TD's to protect the wood that can easily be pulled out for car shows and exhibitions.
Right hand drive cars and early MGTDs had a rubber pad sewn into the carpet under the drivers feet. Later LHD cars had a sunken footwell made of rubber. These were also sewn into the carpet through a 1/16" wide channel that was a third of the way into the footwell along the outer edge (see picture to the right). Todays reproduction rubber footwells do not have this groove and most restorers just lay the footwell into a cutout of the carpet, allowing the footwell to overlap the opening hiding the rough carpet edge.
Carpet Pieces
The numerals to the left of the descriptions match the carpet items in the picture below and are used in the installation instructions that follow. The orientation describes the grain, or corn row, of the carpet. Linear orientation follows the length of the car while cross orientation is side to side, across the car.
#
Description
Orientation
1
Floor carpet, LH
Linear
1a
Padding, LH floor
N/A
1b
Heel mat, plain. Plain heel mat is sewn to carpet for “flat floor” or early TDs
N/A
1c
Heel mat for footwell, w/MG Octagon. Carpets for the later LHD cars with the footwell have a mat that drops into the metal pan that fits in the hole in the floorboards. These were sewn into carpet originally through a recess in the edge.
N/A
1d
Hole for steering column
N/A
1e
Hole for pedals
N/A
2
Dipstick access cover
Any
3
Front bulkhead cover
Linear
4
Transmission tunnel cover
Linear
4a
Padding, transmission tunnel
N/A
5
Passenger's side foot ramp carpet.
Cross
6
Floor carpet, RH
Linear
6a
Padding, RH floor
N/A
7
Under seat carpet, LH
Linear
8
Propeller shaft cover carpet. Propeller shaft cover carpet was originally installed before the floorboards. Most people install it after the floorboards.
Cross
9
Handbrake cable cover. This is backed with cardboard. The leading edge is bound - it is the only carpet edge bound originally.
Linear
10
Under seat carpet, RH
Linear
11
Rear bulkhead (heelboard) carpet. Originally used on TF models only, this can also be fitted to TDs. Note: For TF's you will need to provide your own interior colored vinyl for the wheelwell trim portions (shown in red below). You can remove the black vinyl supplied as that edge is tucked under the side curtain box lip.
Linear
Required Fasteners
7
Lift-the-Dot snaps
2
Veltex hidden snap rings and button snap studs (optional install)
4
Lift-the-Dot woodscrew style studs
3
Lift-the-Dot machine screw style studs, nuts and lock washers (if not on the car already)
3
#10 round headed slotted woodscrews, 5/8" painted black
1
Quart tub of carpet adhesive
Installation Instructions
The following are detailed instructions on installing the carpet to original specifications. The numbers correspond to the carpet item number on the picture above.
The original carpeting was held in place with tacks, screws through the footrest and in some places Lift-the-Dot snaps. It was not intended to be removed easily but one could unsnap the carpet just in front of the seats and vacuum or sweep out debris. In order to remove the carpets in front of the seats you would have to remove the pedals on the drivers side and the footrest screws into the floorboard on the passenger side. As an option I have tailored the installation for the carpeting in the passenger seat securing it in the front with hidden snaps, making it possible to remove the carpet for cleaning, or drying if it gets wet. Unfortunately you will still need to remove at least the outboard pedal to remove the drivers carpet even though it was originally held down only with snaps.
The carpet padding is used on the tunnel and the carpet in front of the seats. It fills the void in any area that does not have two layers of carpeting on the floorboards. The carpet is glued to the padding so you can remove the padding with the carpet. To accomplish this, you will lay the pieces of padding in place and after all the carpet is in place you can apply carpet adhesive to the padding and then press the carpet down on top of the pads.
Step by Step Instructions
The following are step by step instructions for installing the carpet as original. There are a few options as the factory changed the installation around the seat runners during the production of the cars. You will have a choice on how to install the footrest during this process, either as original or in a slightly modified way.
Begin by removing all of the seats, seat runners, old carpets and the passenger footrest. You will need to remove the
pedals and gear shift knob too. Now is the time to inspect and replace if needed the leather scuttle around the
steering column and the rubber draft excluder around the pedals. The rubber pedal excluder is fastened directly to the
floorboards by the medal pedal excluder trim and wood screws. (Note there is one floorboard machine screw into the pedal box).
A replacement heat shield is shown in this picture. See next instruction.
Optionally you can replace the existing or missing fiber heat shield with a rubber foil backed self adhesive
one as pictured. Follow the template to the left. The original material is sort of a dense tar paper-fiber called Irish Flax.
Note the original fiber shield may contain asbestos so its best not to disturb it unless you are wearing a mask and rubber gloves. Dispose of it properly.
You will need to remove the fasteners holding down the handbrake cable cover and remove the handbrake and the handbrake cable retainer.
Scrape the old carpet off of the propeller shaft tunnel. Note this picture shows a floorboard removed which is not necessary.
Dry fit the propeller shaft carpet (8) onto the tunnel. It should start at the front just rearward of the bulge at the front end and go to the platform for the handbrake cable bracket. Pay attention that the grain is even. Trim the carpet so it does not rest on the floorboards but is flush with them.
Note: The picture shows a carpet that extends beyond the handbrake cable bracket but that is not necessary.
Apply a thin layer of carpet adhesive to the tunnel where the carpet will go. Then press the carpet onto the tunnel and smooth out any wrinkles. When dry you can replace the handbrake and the handbrake cable bracket.
Begin by test fitting the transmission cover carpet (4). First lay the padding in place. It should not extend onto the floorboards. Trim if necessary.
Next place the transmission tunnel carpet over the tunnel and smooth out the carpet to your satisfaction. The stitched area to the front should lay nicely in the valley of the tunnel. The carpet behind the gearshift should but up tightly to the gear shift but should not fowl or protrude when moving the shift lever.
Once the tunnel and pad are in place to your satisfaction you will tack it down onto the floorboard at the edges with #6 carpet tacks. Make sure the carpet is sitting correctly in the valley. Also pay attention that the carpet under the gear shift is equal on both sides and taught. Place a tack every 2 - 3 inches just outside of the lip of the tunnel on the floorboard. Pull and use tacks to get everything smooth but don't pull so much you ruin the shape of the carpet. It should be smooth without creases or indentations.
Unlike the TD, the TF has an extra piece of carpet (11) covering the 7" gap between the floor and the side screen compartment on the heelboard. This piece has a vertical grain and is glued down with the top edge secured under the edge of the side screen compartment. The sides go under the upholstery side panels and there is a piece of upholstery coloured rexine edging sewn to the carpet to cover the exposed upper edge between the side panels and the side screen compartment. This edging is glued to the wheel well covers so that no raw edge of the heelboard carpet can be seen.
If installing for the MGTD the bound vinyl edge will be at the top.
Install the handbrake cable cover. Press the bottom of cover against the tunnel side while at the same time pushing the cover firmly against the back panel. Tack or screw the cover along one edge every few inches. Once secure repeat on the other side.
Lay the underseat carpet pieces (7 and 10) down. They should be trimmed so they are tight against all sides. You will need to notch the carpets slightly around the emergency brake cable cover.
Tack the edges about 3 inches in, every 4 to 5 inches and put a few tacks in the center. You may need additional tacks at the emergency brake cover to keep it pressed tightly against the tunnel and the carpet flat in that area.
Reinstall the seat runners on top of the carpets. You can use a razor knife to cut the carpet around the captive nut in the floorboard.
The carpet on the footrest and transmission dipstick access cover are glued on. Remove the old carpet from the footrest and scrap off any remnants of carpet using a heavy putty knife. Do the same with the dipstick cover.
Now spread an even coat of carpet adhesive on the outside edges and valley of the front of the footrest (see image 30). Do not put adhesive on the top lip where the holes are. Do not put adhesive on the sides yet.
Now place the carpet (5) onto the adhesive. Line up the notch in the carpet with the notch and bend in the footrest. Smooth the carpet out paying attention that there is equal carpet on both sides and that the grain is parallel to the footrest.
After it has dried then coat both sides of the edges and bottom lip (original method). Pay attention you don't get adhesive on the carpet. Do not glue the top lip. Now press the carpet into the adhesive and fold it over sandwiching the footrest edges between the carpeting.
Repeat the process for the transmission dipstick cover.
Note the transmission dipstick cover carpet was originally cut flush with the metal although most installers like to fold the carpet under to avoid having a rough edge of carpet showing.
While the footrest is drying you can install the small trim carpet (3) just over the transmission tunnel. It will be held in place with Lift-the-Dot snaps. The carpet should be flush with the top of the toeboard (scuttle). On the left side it should extend to where the accelerator shaft descends down, covering all of the accelerator shaft that is on the toeboard. The Lift-the-Dot snaps should be installed upside down on the scuttle area because you will pull the carpet down, not lift it up, to remove.
When the dipstick cover and footrest are dry, install them. Do not install the screws at the bottom of the footrest yet.
Installing the Carpets in Front of the Seats
This section will describe how to install the carpet in front of the seats. Regardless if you have chosen an original footrest installation or the modified version, the process is the same with one small deviation regarding the attachment of the front of the passenger carpet. That will be called out within the instructions below.
Note: The pictures in this section will depict the optional footrest procedure.
Place the passenger carpet padding (6a) into the recess between the footrest, the transmission tunnel carpet, and the underseat carpet. It should fill the void between the carpet pieces so everything is at the same level. Trim if required.
Now lay the passenger carpet (6) down onto the padding. Adjust the carpet so the grain runs parallel to the car and there are no gaps between the edge of the carpet and the sides of the trim panels. The front of the carpet should stop just at the base of the footrest but covering the bottom tab. Carefully trim the two sides so they are flush with the panels and the transmission tunnel. The carpet should not climb the sides. Do not trim the side closest to the seats at this time.
Once the carpet has been trimmed you may decide which method you want to use to secure the footrest, original or modified. With the original installation the footrest bottom is screwed down on top of the passenger carpet. Three black round headed screws will slightly show at the base of the footrest. You will fold the bottom of the carpet under the footrest and then drive the screws into the floorboard securing the footrest and front of the passenger carpet. The shown edge will be nicely rolled over but you will notice the black screws if you look closely.
The optional technique that will allow for the passenger carpet to be removed with snaps is to secure the footrest to the floor first. Do not fold the footrest carpet over the bottom lip but rather let it lay onto the floorboard. Then lay the front edge of the passenger carpet over the footrest lip hiding the screws and secure it just behind the footrest with two hidden Veltex snaps.
Repeat this process for the drivers side carpet (1). First lay the carpet padding down (1a). Again it fills the void between the the existing carpets. You may need to trim it a bit around the footwell (1c). It should be even with the sunken edge.
Next lay down the carpeting. Its position will be determined by the hole (1e) for the pedals. Pull the rubber pedal boot around the carpet and push the carpet down as far as it will go.
Position the carpet so it is smooth and grain is parallel with the car. Make sure there are no gaps.
Trim the carpet against the transmission tunnel and panels. Do not trim the area in front of the seat. It should lay flat and not climb the sides. Push the carpet around the steering column (1d) and under the accelerator shaft.
To install the Lift-the-Dot below the steering column you will push the carpet over the stud until it pokes through. Then remove the carpet, install the snap upside down and replace the carpet in the car.
To finish the carpet installation we will need to secure both the driver and passenger carpet to the floorboards with Lift-the-Dot studs and snaps. Two on each carpet just adjacent and behind the seat runner hinges. The rear edge of the carpets will be cut out around the seat runners.
Cut the carpet around your seat runners just behind the hinges and extending back along the runner. You should be able to lift the seat runners up to install the seats without fowling the carpet when installed correctly.
Note: Most MGTFs had their carpets extend only about 1" behind the hinges while MGTDs could up to 2" or more of carpet behind the hinge.
Trim the carpets to the length you desire, if necessary. Its best to remove them from the car and use a straight edge and razor knife in order to have a straight cut.
You will have your choice on where to place the two snaps based on how deep you made the cutouts. See the gallery below for original pictures.
Basically you will want the Lift-the-Dot snaps to be about 1" from the bottom edge of the carpet. You can place the snaps about 1" to 1 1/2" from the sides of the carpet. Install the woodscrew type of Lift-the-Dot studs accordingly to match the snap positions. Insure the carpets lay flat and do not have any folds.
Optionally you can glue the padding to the passenger and driver carpeting. A simple way to do that is to pull the bottom edge of the carpeting back revealing the padding. Don't worry about uncovering the entire carpet padding. Just enough so you can hold it in position when removing it.
Cover the padding with carpet adhesive and then smooth the carpet back down. When dry, remove the carpet and finish gluing down any areas that could not be glued when the carpet was in place.
Install the rubber footwell if required when done. Reinstall the pedals and seats.
Gallery of Original Carpet Pictures
The following pictures are taken of carpeting on unrestored MGTDs and MGTFs that still displayed original carpets.
The original carpet used in the T-Series was black Karvel, which is characterized by the distinctive grain which is a feature of the material. It has been described as being ribbed, or as having corn rows. This is especially apparent when you fold a piece of carpet in half. The carpet was almost entirely unbound, which made it less expensive to produce. Originally the exposed front edge of the carpet on the cover of the handbrake cables was trimmed. The gearshift had a leather boot sewn into the tunnel carpet. Underfelt was used only on the floors and transmission tunnel, and not on the toe board or the footrest on the passenger's side. Originally the TD's did not have carpeting behind the seats. You may want to consider a loose piece of carpet on the rear deck of TD's to protect the wood that can easily be pulled out for car shows and exhibitions.
