Re: TC Carpet Sets

[rkegg465@cs.com]

Would anyone like to comment on the relative quality, fit, etc. between Abingdon Spares Carpet set and the Moss set? Thanks, Randy Kegg

[Thomas Caperton]

I have purchased both the Moss and Abingdon Spares carpet sets.

The material from the Moss set was remarkably flimsy and cheap, the sections did not fit well, and some of the pieces included seemed to be just carpet scraps. I returned this to Moss for a refund. However, this may have been what the original material was like. Maybe someone on the list has a further comment of this.

Then I ordered the Abingdon Spares kit. The carpet material is much more plush and thicker. In fact, too plush. It was so thick that I had to cut out the backing so that the fasteners would go through the fabric. On my original order the rubber heel mat was sewn in the wrong way, that is with the "MG" facing to the left instead of to the right. Further, the hand brake boot was installed backwards, so that when it was engaged it pulled back on the whole carpet installation. I sent this carpet back to Abingdon for a replacement, the hand brake boot still is not quite correct. I haven't installed it. It is sitting in the closet and I put duct tape in strategic places to keep road crud and dust out of my face when blasting down the highway.

Good luck

Tom Caperton

[Mark McCombs]

Thomas- sounds like this Abingdon set was made, ironically, for the worlds only left hand drive TC on the old Moss catalog cover! Has anyone made up their own set? I was figuring on going that route. Regards from Ohio Mark TC8126

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] caperton@cybermesa.com [b]To:[/b] mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Tuesday, March 05, 2002 9:27 PM [b]Subject:[/b] [mg-tabc] TC CARPET SETS On my original order the rubber heel mat was sewn in the wrong way, that is with the "MG" facing to the left instead of to the right. Further, the hand brake boot was installed backwards, so that when it was engaged it pulled back on the whole carpet installation Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

[Orlando llenza]

What about the complete set, I'm about to order one and I'm concerned with the leather parts(seat cover ect.). Thank You --- Thomas Caperton caperton@cybermesa.com> wrote:

> I have purchased both the Moss and Abingdon Spares > carpet sets. > > The material from the Moss set was remarkably flimsy > and cheap, the sections did not fit well, and some > of the pieces included seemed to be just carpet > scraps. I returned this to Moss for a refund. > However, this may have been what the original > material was like. Maybe someone on the list has a > further comment of this. > > Then I ordered the Abingdon Spares kit. The carpet > material is much more plush and thicker. In fact, > too plush. It was so thick that I had to cut out > the backing so that the fasteners would go through > the fabric. On my original order the rubber heel > mat was sewn in the wrong way, that is with the "MG" > facing to the left instead of to the right. > Further, the hand brake boot was installed > backwards, so that when it was engaged it pulled > back on the whole carpet installation. I sent this > carpet back to Abingdon for a replacement, the hand > brake boot still is not quite correct. I haven't > installed it. It is sitting in the closet and I put > duct tape in strategic places to keep road crud and > dust out of my face when blasting down the highway. > > Good luck > > Tom Caperton >

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[cshiplee@141international.com]

I bought a Moss UK set. The fit is ok although a little short on Width on the Drivers side. To be fair they warned me that I may prefer to have a set made up with edging etc. However I decided that I wanted to have a replacement that was as close as possible to the original and from what I can see this is what they have supplied. Charles

[DougPulver@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/5/2002 12:30:11 PM Pacific Standard Time, rkegg465@cs.com writes:

Would anyone like to comment on the relative quality, fit, etc. between Abingdon Spares Carpet set and the Moss set?

Randy, I would like to comment that I recently bought and had installed a carpet set for my TC from: Heritage Upholstery & Trim 250 "H" Street PMB 3000 Blaine, Washington 98230 (360) 332-3022 (phone) (360) 332-0984 (fax) www.heritagetrim.com The quality was great and they have 3 flavors including Wilton Wool. Also, they will send you samples. At the time I purchased mine (last fall) their price for the "Heritage Carpet" was comparable to Moss. My friend who installed it (and who as a professional has installed many Moss kits) really liked it a lot. Doug Pulver TC 5850

[Martin Johnson]

Randy: I'll second what Doug says about Heritage. I purchased a complete interior kit from them for my Austin-Healey 3000. The workmanship was very good, and the price surprisingly reasonable in light of the quality. Everything on the Healey fit EXACTLY right, with a minimum of trimming. When I get to that point on my second TC restoration, I'm pretty sure that I'll be using Heritage. They are very conscious of things like correct colors, and -no kidding- the right hardware! Further, they own the rights to market a carpet type called "Karvel" which has not been seen in many years. Pre-1950 Karvel contained hogs hair and wool. The backing was rubber dipped with jute attached. Karvel has a distinctive corrugated pile in which you can see the weave pattern. No two milling runs were the same. Remnants of original Karvel and examples on unrestored British cars, appear to have a whitish fleck in the pile. According to Heritage, this is entirely due to the fact that the aging of the material and exposure to sunlight had faded the original dye color from some of the fibers. Original Karvel was a uniformed non-flecked color. Karvel was manufactured by John Crossley & Sons, Halifax, England. They stopped producing it in the late '60s. BAS Ltd., the parent company of Heritage owns exclusive rights to Karvel carpet. The only drawback to Heritage I've experienced is that just recently they have been very busy, so plan on some amount of lead time, although they shipped my order on time to their commitment. I don't know if you can reasonably expect more than that. In the end, the wait was worth it for my Healey. According to a recent (12-01) price list I have for a complete carpet set on the TC: Heritage carpet: $200.00 Wilton Wool: $340.00 Karvel: $295.00 By the way, on my first TC restoration in 1984, I used only Moss interior items because I didn't know about any other sources. I found the fit adequate. Heck, how many T-series interior kits have they made now, anyway? They ought to have the average dimensions down pat! I'm disappointed to hear they are still making adjustments to manufacturing quality. Really, there's no excuse for a modern manufacturing company to have substantial variations in quality. There's a ton of resources out there to help get things like dimensions nailed down permanently. Oh well... Have fun... Martin Johnson Custodian of some interesting British cars. Heritage Upholstery & Trim 250 "H" Street PMB 3000 Blaine, Washington 98230 (360) 332-3022 (phone) (360) 332-0984 (fax) www.heritagetrim.com http://www.heritagetrim.com>

[John T. Seim]

I have used the Moss kits, with good results. I have also used their TD-TF kits. They are not cut to fit. Do you think that the factory did? You cut and trim the carpets to fit. No hemming or bunting was done on the edges, to keep them from fraying. The fabric that Moss uses is close to the original. It costs $1.00/yard more than the looped pile stuff, which sounds like what Abingdon Spares sells. John Seim Irvine, CA

[paulhuck@bellsouth.net]

I noted there is a second left hand drive in the recent TSO, page 12. Shows Gillespie drive a passenger around, and he is on the left side of the car. Magically the car has left hand drive in all other pictures. PTH

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] rudge@core.com [b]To:[/b] mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com ; caperton@cybermesa.com [b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, March 06, 2002 11:48 AM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [mg-tabc] TC CARPET SETS Thomas- sounds like this Abingdon set was made, ironically, for the worlds only left hand drive TC on the old Moss catalog cover! Has anyone made up their own set? I was figuring on going that route. Regards from Ohio Mark TC8126 ----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] caperton@cybermesa.com [b]To:[/b] mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Tuesday, March 05, 2002 9:27 PM [b]Subject:[/b] [mg-tabc] TC CARPET SETS On my original order the rubber heel mat was sewn in the wrong way, that is with the "MG" facing to the left instead of to the right. Further, the hand brake boot was installed backwards, so that when it was engaged it pulled back on the whole carpet installation Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

[Ray]

Rather a telling argument. So who DOES make the best carpet kit????? Best Regards, Ray "Remember- It's the collision with the planet that counts!"

----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Caperton" caperton@cybermesa.com> To: "mg-tabc" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 8:27 PM Subject: [mg-tabc] TC CARPET SETS I have purchased both the Moss and Abingdon Spares carpet sets. The material from the Moss set was remarkably flimsy and cheap, the sections did not fit well, and some of the pieces included seemed to be just carpet scraps. I returned this to Moss for a refund. However, this may have been what the original material was like. Maybe someone on the list has a further comment of this. Then I ordered the Abingdon Spares kit. The carpet material is much more plush and thicker. In fact, too plush. It was so thick that I had to cut out the backing so that the fasteners would go through the fabric. On my original order the rubber heel mat was sewn in the wrong way, that is with the "MG" facing to the left instead of to the right. Further, the hand brake boot was installed backwards, so that when it was engaged it pulled back on the whole carpet installation. I sent this carpet back to Abingdon for a replacement, the hand brake boot still is not quite correct. I haven't installed it. It is sitting in the closet and I put duct tape in strategic places to keep road crud and dust out of my face when blasting down the highway. Good luck Tom Caperton