Impala Carpet replacement notes

1994 Impala SS

Owner: John Feinberg
NAISSO member 3017
date: 9/1/98

Today I installed the black Fleetwood carpet in my 94ss. The car looks a lot better. The previous owner of my car smoked, so the original carpet really needed a new home. Such as at the bottom of a kitty litter box! It was truly filthy.

Anyhow the install went fairly smoothly, even for someone as inept at car work as myself. Getting the seats out was particularly easy. Only six 5/8 bolts per seat, one per corner in the front and two per corner in the back. Also there were little plastic trim pieces held on by phillips screws covering the seat bolts. The rear seat is just a push and release action. No bolts at all!

After I got the seats out I removed the floor trim under the doors. That's held on by philips screws. Then I had to remove the seat belt bolts. I had purchased a Torx 50 socket driver from Sears, but that turned out to be too big. It is a Torx 45, which I believe is the same as that used for doing brake caliper removal. Fortunately I was able to borrow the right size from a friend. It was a good thing, since by the time I needed the torx driver my car was not exactly ready to be driven anywhere! Once the seat belts, seats, trim, and center console were removed all I had to do was pull out the carpet. It came out easily.

Before I put in the new carpet I covered the floor with Dynamat. I used four packages of Dynamat super to do one layer. Each package was the one in the $75 range. If you are going through all the trouble of removing your carpet really think about installing the dynamat too. Most of the work of installing Dynamat is uncovering the surface, and here you have uncovered the floor "for free". It makes the car a lot quieter. But, keep in mind putting down all that dynamat can add 3-4 hours to your install.

Then I put in the Fleetwood carpet. The carpet needs to be cut horizontally across (left to right) since it is longer than the Impala SS carpet. Unfortunately I cut it in the wrong spot, so I ended up needing to cut it twice. But in the end it still looks great. And, my car is quieter!

When you order the new carpet be sure to also order new floor mats. The matching Cadillac floor mats (very plush!) are about $50 and look great. I didn't get mine right away, and I was using thin black rubber floor mats which looked awful.

Cadillac carpet order info - GM part #s:

10276337 Carpet, Flr Panel Lt. Grey $368
10276338 Black $368
10276339 Adriatic Blue $368
10276340 Lt Neutral $368
10276342 Red Bordeaux $368

Floor Mats - be sure to get a set!!! Full set is about $50

12370406 Front Mat Black
12370411 Rear Mat Black

1127409 Front Mat Red Bordeaux
12370414 Rear Mat Red Bordeaux

I don't have any part #s for the other colours.

Also you can install rear foot warmers, which are in the Cadillac Fleetwood. I ordered these parts, but when I started putting in the new carpet it was late and I was tired. So I still have mine in a box in the garage. Here are the part numbers if you are ambitious:

Distributor 10164972 $10 list
Outlet 10164975 $13 list
Outlet 10164974 $13 list
Retainer 20030401 $.40 list (2 req)

I ordered everything (black carpet, four floor mats, heating ducts) from Dal at Lambert Buick for about $350 total.

Scott Boyce sent me a great set of instructions for installing a new Cadillac Fleetwood carpet to replace my stock carpet. I wish I had followed them more closely! I did a not bad job, but if I do it again I will be wiser through experience!!

I HIGHLY recommend getting the matching set of Fleetwood floormats. To put it lightly, take the improvement in quality from stock to Fleetwood carpet, double that and you get the improvement in quality from stock to Fleetwood mats. No B.S. snaps (little rubber nubs) and no cheap vinyl piping around the edges.

As far as installing, you have to cut the carpet horizontally (from driver's to passenger's side) in half. I suggest making the cut where the carpet is notched for the seat belt. If you cut at the back of that notch, so that the rear piece is straight across, installation is a lot easier. You also have to cut holes for the shifter, where the seat belt buckles bolt to the floor, and for the 4 center console screws.

To measure, just lay the front piece in the car and mark w/ a piece of chalk, then take the piece of carpet out, lay it on the ground, and take measurement in and out of the car to double check you marked right. Then do the same for the rear piece.

Cutting the carpet is a BITCH. Actually, the carpet isn't the problem, the padding is. The carpet cuts relatively easy, but the padding takes a big sharp blade b/c it tends to tear easily and is pretty thick. Once you have gotten all the cutting done, install the front piece, then the back. The back will overlap the front, but the seats, center console, and trim will cover the seam. Then reinstall all the trim, seats, seat belts, and center console.

The only other thing you might want to know is that the notch that is cut in the carpet for the seat belts causes small holes in front of the seat belt trim pieces on each side of the car, where the edge of the notch doesn't reach the trim. Since I tried to cut a section out of the middle to eliminate the overlap and make a flush seam (DONT DO IT UNLESS YOU CAN FIND SOME GOOD CARPET TAPE AND CAN MAKE EXTREMELY ACCURATE CUTS IN THE CARPET.) I had some extra carpet, from which I fashioned a "patch" for each side of the car that sits under the carpet and covers the holes. You can get plenty of extra carpet from where you cut the hole for the center console. Good luck w/ it, and take your time!!!!

BTW, One more thing. Try and do the cutting somewhere cool, as the heat will cause the foam backing's adhesive to soften and peel away from the carpet (Trust me, you don't want to have to deal with that.

Scott A. Boyce
'96 BBB
Bradenton, FL