I spent most of the day yesterday tearing out the interior of my 56. I figure the carpeting was shot and who knows what was underneath. I finally found the mounting holes for the seat tracks. They were pretty rusted and the carpet went over them without any holes cut. The floor had quite a few holes in it and someone really put a big plate on the floor just to mount the B&M Shifter. Did a lot of sheet metal patching yesterday also. I found 7 screws, 11 cents (dime and penny) two wire ties and a drill bit. Great find. LOL... Now I'm pulling the tank and taking it to the radiator shot for hot tank. I'm still debating on pull the tank and locating it under the rear of the truck. I was pleased that there was very little rust if any under the carpet. I think I may purchase a carpet kit from Mid Fifties or Blue oval parts. Looks easy enough to install. I post more photos as I go along. Here's a shot of the interior.

 

Looks like you can do the interior without the usual rust problems. Wish mine was in as good a shape as yours!

 

You lucky dog! That floor looks ready to go.

Don't forget to add some good insulation under the carpet. Really quiets thing down. The floor in these Effies is like a big drum head for engine and road noise.

 

Lowr

I've purchased my last few carpets directly from ACC (Auto Custom Carpets) That's who makes most of the ones the F100 vendors carry. It will come with insulation already attached. You can add more of course, but don't go nuts. I had to pull mine back out and add something a little thinner.

 

That sure brings back memories from a year ago when I did mine! I debated on my tank, too, but decided to leave it since it was in good shape and didn't really create a problem for me. I built a cover for the front and top, carpeted it & mounted my rear speakers in the corners...frenched antenna is in there, too. I built my console to raise the shifter up a bit...now's the time to do it if you're thinking about it.

What color carpet you after? I've got some new never used brown/tan from LMC I was going to use and never did. You can have it cheap. I went with house-type wall to wall so there'd be no seams.
Norb

 

Fatfenders - Thanks for the advice on the carpet, I'm going to do a search on the place you said, unless you have the website handy, and probably order a kit from them. Are the holes and everything already punched into the carpet, seams.?

56 Effie - I like your idea about the speakers and the cover over the gas tank. That tank can look pretty ugly. My tank appears to be in good shape, definitely needs to be cleaned and coated. I get a sour smell in the interior like old gas. As for the carpet kit, I appreciate the offer, however I gotta go with black carpet. The interior is going to be black as is the seat, headliner, etc. I was thinking about going with household carpet too, but figured if I'm going through all this trouble, may as well get a kit and make it look purdy. Not to mention I'm not the greatest carpet layer.

 

I added a new rubber hose in-between the tank and the filler neck, the old one was saturated with gas and stunk the cab up, new one really helped. -4speed

 

Fatfenders- I found the carpet kits, however they have several types, nylon, etc. The kit for the 53-56 Effie is #8203. It says it is cut and sewn? Do they carry a molded type? The kit runs $205.60 plus the $25 on shipping. They cost more than the aftermarket F100 places. Also, they recommend a Heat shield foil???? That's about $50. I don't mind paying the price but what is the difference from this carpet kit from others. or is there? What did you order when you purchased yours?

 

I can shoot a PIC if you'd like. It is cut and sewn. But it is not a bunch of pieces cobbled together. It is one piece except an almost separate small piece at the top of the trans cover where it kicks up the firewall. I know it sounds cheezy. It is not. My interior is the highpoint of my truck. I wouldn't cut a corner in there. The carpet goeas wall to wall, including under seat. (Some don't)

$50 is too much for heat shield foil. You have options there. I may not be the guy to copy here. I have the audio habit as you'll recall. In areas of non extreme heat, I use Peel and Seal sound deadener (i.e. gutter repair tar and aluminum 60 mil thick). Deadens road noise and stereo sheetmetal distortion/vibration. Plus it would seal out future rust, but my floor is sound, and well painted. Under the seat and back wall I used Hummer floor mat. About 3/8 thick and extreme overkill on the durability part. For a time I even had standard house carpet padding under it. Way too thick and looked like hell. The ACC carpet comes with a thick jute pad already. You probably don't have to use much anything under it if the truth be known.

 

What can a person put down to keep the moisture from getting trapped under the carpet, something that will breath. I see the carpet listed with nylon backing and vinyl won't both of those trap any moisture that gets in between? I already fixed one rusted floor board don't want to do it again. I have been thinking of the rubber floor mat for no othe reason than it fits with the era of the truck. Maybe put the tin foil insulation under it to keep the noise down. The tim foil can be bought from Menards in the insulation section easily around here. I read somewhere that the jute padding holds in moisture also. Is there an open weave padding that could be put under the mat? Maybe 1/4" think?

 

Wish my 51 floor was that straight, It looks like someone dropped the trans on it a few times trying to remove it.

 

[The floor had quite a few holes in it and someone really put a big plate on the floor just to mount the B&M Shifter.. ]

imlowr2

I've been looking into the B&M Shifter for my '55, but have thought it may be a little low. How comfortable is yours? Looks like it's just mounted to the floor, without a fabbed console to raise it up. My plan is to install a reverse pattern manual valve body in the transmission, and slam through the gears with a rachet style B&M Shifter (in a straight line of course).

Floor looks real good, consider yourself lucky.

 

Unless you get a one piece molded plastic unit, all carpet backing is woven so that moisture evaporates. Don't put down a non porous layer on the floor unless you seal EVERYTHING where moisture can enter under it or use the self sealing insulation like FF. Trapping any moisture between the floorboards and a non porous layer is asking for rust out.
If you use automotive carpet or household carpet, DO NOT try to drill a hole thru it! If you need to put holes for seat mounts or ? either cut an X with a very sharp utility knife over the hole or make a punch out of a short piece of steel conduit by sharpening the edge with a file, disk sander or grinder. Put a piece of wood under where you need the hole and hit the conduit with a hammer to cut a clean hole. Running a drill thru the carpet is likely to wrap a thread around it and put a run all the way across the carpet, ruining it. Small screwholes can be punched with an awl.

 

Christopher

Attempting to seal would do more harm than good. The difference in temperature would cause condensation to be trapped under the plastic. Whether you run carpet or a mat, use a good rust resistance coating on the floor. My favorite way to do it is Rustoleum primer and John Deere Blitz black paint, applied with a brush. The rustoleum has an oil base and does a decent job of sticking to the residual tar in the floor seams. I follow up with the JD paint after a day, the primer will still be soft. I think it offers better rustproofing properties than automotive paint. I know for sure it will stick better. You can substitute the paint with a Rustoleum product. But it will take forever to dry unless it is very warm out. The JD paint seems more durable.

 

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and see what they have foil lined hot water heater wrapping or get some regular carpet pad and the widest heavy duty aluminum foil and glue it down. Good Luck