Between 76 and 79 which trucks came stock with carpet and the door panels with the trim on them. Were these things optional or did they come with a certain trim level? My 78 f150 custom is pretty barren with no a/c, no extra trim, and a rubber floor mat. If I decide to buy another i want to have a more cozy interior and more options like a/c and all the extra gauges. with mine its basically like im driving in a cold metal box especially with no door panels.

 

I think it was part of the ranger package, but could prolly be ordered separately.

you could try JC Whitney, they have carpet kits and door panels, and you can get a cluster with guages at the junkyard.

 

I have both in my drive . I979 F-250 Ranger XLT and F-100 Custom. You may e-mail me with your questions.

 

There's nothing stopping you from adding all the creature comforts you desire. The wreckers are full of these trucks. The carpeting was usually found in the topline Ranger and Ranger XLTs. There was also the Explorer option packages. These were originally available just for dressing up the Custom series but evolved into a multilevel package (Package A,B,C,etc) by the late seventies available on both the Custom and Ranger series. On a late seventies Explorer, you could typically find carpeting, tilt steering, special striping and other goodies. I had a 79 Custom F150 Explorer a while back with 460, dual tanks, tilt, carpet, slider window and traction lok axle.



mike

 

That factory carpet, which retains moisture, has caused many a floorpan to rust through.

 

Out of the 30plus trucks I have bought and dissasembled for parts for my 79 Crewcab shortbed 4x4, 79 Bronco and 77 Shortbed 4x4, more floors are rusted from the rubber mat. The rubber mat does not breath whatsoever. So, if it gets wet underneath, it will stay wet for eons. As for carpet, it will breath and finally dry.

 

You may e-mail me with your questions.

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We at FTE would prefer that all technical info be placed on here in the forums.

Customs usually got rubber mats.

Everything above that trim line would get carpet.

The Ranger explorer got thinner carpet than the XLT & the Lariat got more than the XLT.

Door panels definitely had differences compared to the custom.

From two-tone colours on the explorer ,to door chrome trim to woodgrain trim insets, & finally to larger amounts of Woodgrain panels for the lariat.

 

Yes, carpet holds moisture and rubber mats do not.

Do a test, take carpet and put on bare flat steel. Take a rubber floor mat and do the same. Douse with water, lots of it.

Let stand 20 some years. Pull carpet, yep maybe a little rust, now take up the mat. OOOhh, rusted all the way thru.

The theory here is, H2O does not evaporate thru a material such as rubber. That is why wet suits are made of neopreme rubber. But if you did have a hole in that suit, its takes forever to dry it out.

Unless a vehicle is very well protected from the elements there is going to be some rust in either case. Ford and the other auto makers did not seal the floors or any other part of the vehicle well enough to withstand 20 or more years of torture.

 

Also most OEM Rubber mats had/have a felt sponge on the back of them to give rubber above it more moisture it can't evaporate.
I'm with classyfish on this one 100% I believe mats kill floor pans faster than carpets!

Here in the Bikini State we got a grip on rust out problems!
FBp

 

I an f250 4x4 supercab xlt. It has carpet, nice looking black and wood trimed door panels, A/C, cruise control, the interior is in great shape. But, the floor panels are rusted out. Not for long!!!

 

FYI, the carpet is not the problem. Carpet dries, the jute pad is what holds the water and never dries.

I pulled my carpet (dry) and the jute backing was soaked.

Plan is to Rhino line the floor and re-install the carpet.

Also the up-scale trucks came with carpeted kick panels !!
( by the E-Brake peddle)

 

Hey! I like that rhino-lining under the carpet idea...maybe I'll do that with mine.

BTW, my 78 F150 Ranger/Explorer has carpet and the carpeted kick panels. I pulled the carpet loose on the passenger side cause some gunk spilled on the carpet (previous owner) was eatin' the sill plate. Looked under the carpet - NO RUST!!!

Pretty excited about that!

Scott

 

Classyfish...........Can't argue with the facts! I have seen the same thing.......carpet versus rubber floor mats. Carpeting has come along way since the late 70's. Goodies like, quality, vapor barrier, sound deadening, heat protection from CC. Rubber floor mats are still rubber. Sure they have all of those goodies now, but the moisture from rain or snow runs off rubber and into every crack and space instead of absorbing into carpeting and then drying.

 

redeye rye........sounds like they just plain abused the truck!

I guess I am pretty lucky. I am restoring a 1951 F-3 pickup. When I got it, the rubber mat had been long gone. I am glad. Floor boards and cab are rock solid. It was a North Dakota truck originally. Thanks to ND for not using salt on the roads!!!

 

It's possible some abuse may have occurred, considering my ol' truck spent most of its life in the river bottoms, and it doesn't help that the state of Indiana uses road salt like its goin' outa style. It is very hard to find a solid truck over 20 yrs. old around here.