Forst Molded Carpet Review and Install

[MSGGrunt]

I just completed installing the Forst molded carpet I ordered from Heritage Parts Center in the UK. In no particular order.


Carpet Review:

- Shipping was pretty quick.

- No additional tariffs needed to be paid once the set arrived in the US.

- The molded wheel well sections were spot on.

- The hole for the shifter in the molded main section was not spot on and there was no adjusting it. Not a concern as this can be cut to fit and covered by the shifter.

- The marks to cut out for the parking brake were spot on.

- All the pieces were an exact fit. The only trimming I had to do was where the floor meets the B pillar behind the passenger's seat.

- I was initially not sure about the light color, but it matches the rest of the interior well. Not as dark as the original carpet. The Coco mats will go a long way to keep dirt at bay and protect the foot areas. I will also be ordering a custom piece that goes from the back of the walkthrough area all the way up to the fire wall. With my Subaru conversion using the Subaru auto transmission I will be using a pushbutton shifter and will need no hole in the floor.

- I think I would prefer the darker carpet as offered by sew-fine to hide the dirt better. This light color shows EVERYTHING. I also like the looks of the loop style carpet sold by Sew-fine. If only you could combine the carpet material of sew-fine with the molded features and better-quality vinyl binding of Forst.

- I was surprised that the driver's heel pad vinyl trim was black as was the rear walk-through edge. Would prefer a dark brown.

- I am very unhappy with the walkthrough section vinyl trim that is a light grey. This has to go. I removed the dark brown trim off my original carpet and will have that sewn on in place of the light grey piece. Forst missed the mark here, but it can be corrected.


Installation Notes:

- I used DAP contact cement for the install. I find this to be more controllable than a spray and it holds better. Spread on with a brush.

- First, wash your hands and wash again and again. If you touch anything other than the carpet or a paint brush you are applying the glue with wash your hands. This light color will show every little bit of dirt.

- Don't go too thick with the glue and let it set up or it won't hold upon initial contact.

- Protect the carpet with tape when installing the seats onto their tracks. I didn't at first and got grease from the seat track on the driver's side. Fortunately soap and water and some scrubbing cleaned it up.

- The carpet is very stiff, but I had no problems bending it around the seat pedestal boxes. I glued a little section at a time and moved from back to front.

- Don't forget to mark your seatbelt holes as you go.

- I used the rubber glove over the shifter to protect the carpet from getting grease on it.

[dhaavers]

Beautiful! Wouldn’t look that way for long where I tend to drive & camp, though…

Thanks for the show & tell!

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[4Gears4Tires]

That looks very nice.
_________________
'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition

[AndyBees]

Awesome... Wow!
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI, two trips to Alaska, 2014 & 16. 1989 Tin-top unmolested.
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine, seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003. 1975 Bay hopeful.

[uberaudi]

So...clean...

Is the pile about the same length as stock? It almost looks thinner, but that could be because it's so incredibly clean!
_________________
'84 Adventurewagen 1Z TDI, '08 Audi Avant Quattro 6spd BHW TDI

[MSGGrunt]

The pile may not be shorter, but it is not as dense as the OEM carpet. I don't know what it is about aftermarket carpet, or maybe it is the retailer, but they are not the same high standard as original. I just bought another set from the UK for my 1989 Range Rover Classic and experienced the same thing.

Now, the Wilton wool carpet I bought from John Skinner in the UK costs $463.00 Pounds and is as dense as a high-quality wool carpet you would put in your home, and it doesn't shed hardly any lint. So, high quality materials are available.

[ALIKA T3]

Thank for the pics and review.

They could have done the driver side foot pad brown instead of black , same with the center section.
_________________
Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[THE KESZTHELY KID]

One to put on my shopping list for Bezza .

Thank you for sharing as that looks really good.

Pity I would have to cover most of it with rubber mats to keep everything nice n clean
_________________
Current owner of 1980 T25 Westphalia Joker.
1973 Karmann Ghia Coupe - Semi-automatic!!
1983 Trabant 601S Sedan

Daily Driver - 2024 Dacia Duster Journey - Automatic

[MSGGrunt]

My thoughts are the same. The footwells will be covered by the coco floor mats and I will be ordering a mat for the center walkthrough section. What carpet is showing does look nice. The set did not come with a large section for the area in front of the rear bench seat, but I wouldn't want one this light in color there. My plans for that floor area will be something custom.