The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors c'mon help me out here - carpet or rubber for '62 c-10

Bought the truck with a rubber black mat for the front of the compartment, but it had a crusty looking carpet from auto zone under the bench seat to the gas tank. What is it supposed to have. All carpet, half carpet, or no carpet. Thanks in advance

I am no expert but I am pretty sure its a full carpet. My 66 is basically the same as yours and it came with a full carpet. Every site I check out for stock molded carpet comes in the full length from firewall to back window.

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I think most came with the rubber mat but I would go with carpet,those rubber mats were the cause of the floor rust as they dont breath. With carpet when it gets wet it will eventually dry but the floor will stay wet with the rubber mat. Jeff

Im looking at the same options 0n a 63. Sound insulation of the carpet has real benefits, but durability of rubber is attractive. My brother had a 62 chevy stepside and it only had the half rubber, nothing under the seat (this was 20 years ago. Likewise with my 63.

mn

From the factory the '60-'66 Chevy trucks had a rubber half mat from the top of the firewall to the front edge of the seat. The floor pan below the seat did not have any covering. The entire floor of the cab was painted the same as the interior of the cab. The portion under the factory floor mat was covered with an impregnated sound mat direct to the floor, followed by a white foam mat and then the factory rubber floor mat.

There are many carpet options from the aftermarket truck suppliers, however carpet was not an option from the factory or dealer. Carpet and mat hold moisture for an extended period of time, whereas the rubber mat will not absorb and hold the moisture. Upon purchasing a '64-'66 Chevy truck the first thing I do is pull the floor covering and thoroughly clean the floor pan. At that time, I am able to determine the condition of the floor pan sheet metal. I then properly prepare and coat the floor pan, where necessary with POR 15 (or your product of choice).

The floor pans deterioate over time due to the dirt and grime that accumulates in these areas, as well as the cab corners, coupled with moisture, thus rusting the sheet metal. Preventative measures will eliminate the majority of this process. Maintenance, as well as a good cleaning and surface protection, will prolong the integrity of the floor pan sheet metal, regardless of the floor covering being rubber or carpet & pad.

Good luck with your project.

Tony

I opted for the rubber mat for my '65. It was cheaper, and with the vinyl seat, all I had to do to clean out the cab was hose it all down.

I'd have to throw my two cents in... My 63 had rubber mat on the front floor with nothing but metal under the seat. And I recently in an effort to muffle some of the road noise and elements, put cleared out everything and replaced it with insulation pad and then carpet. I couldn't afford a new kit so had to "custom" do the job with carpet I got a hold of from a buddy's job. But the results were pretty nice. Much more comfortable in the cab, less road noise, and just a good looking cab too.

If interested, email me ([email protected]) and I'll fwd you some pics. I can't seem to paste any here for some reason.

Tony