Lack of foresight and planning.

[dougbgt6]

I've had a new polyurethane gearbox tunnel on the car for a while, I've put in access for gearbox top ups and reattached the foot rest. I'm part way thorough installing new carpet and I'm wondering about the tunnel. I think the original carpet had a triangular cut out to accommodate the foot rest, this is now a large ragged hole, which makes me not want to cut the new carpet. What have other people done? 

Doug

[Clive]

Do you use the footrest? Or would you miss it? ( I don't have one on my cars)

[Gully]

I wouldn't be without the footrest in my GT6. Mark the carpet, cut it and edge / trim around the cut in the same way the rest of the carpet edges should be. Bit of a phaff, but worth it with new carpets in my view.

Gully

[dougbgt6]

Or, I could take the foot rest off, install the carpet and put the foot rest back on top of the carpet. However that would trap the carpet and make the gearbox oil filler access difficult. if not impossible. Also the foot rest is held on with nuts, bolts and big washers, nuts and washers inside the tunnel, so that's a tunnel off job.  

I'm thinking Gully's right, do a proper job! Which means tunnel off anyway, laying in the footwell is difficult enough without the addition of cutting and sewing accuracy. I'll give the carpet people a call and see if I can get some matching binding. Now where is my sewing box?

Doug

[Adrian]

My footrest is in my box of spares. Couldn’t see the point with wide feet! 

I would be interested if someone could give me the centre and measurements for the gearbox cutout to save stripping.

[Colin Lindsay]

12 hours ago, dougbgt6 said:

Or, I could take the foot rest off, install the carpet and put the foot rest back on top of the carpet.

That would have been my first option.

One of the Spitfires I worked on earlier this year had a cut-out for the oil filler but I couldn't get down into the footwell far enough to use it, due to pedals, steering wheel etc. Maybe I should have taken those off first?  

[dougbgt6]

Adrian,

Sorry I haven't kept the measurements, but here's a picture. (Please note my carpet is not purple, but sort of pensioner beige) The hole was drilled with a recessed lighting thing for ceilings and the hole is now filled with a giant grommet/bung.