Tearing Out the Seats and Carpet

**Ripinator** · 06-10-2010, 04:19 AM

Some of you may remember the god-awful hatch leak I had last winter that rendered the inside of my Camaro almost uninhabitable. This weekend I plan to finally tear the interior apart and see if I can get rid of the musty smell I've had to put up with till now.

Does anyone out there have any pointers on how to approach the removal of the seats, console and carpet ? I'd also appreciate any suggestions on how to get rid of the musty smell. I've priced a complete OE-type carpet and floor mat repalcement, and it looks like its almost $600.00. Obviously, I'd like to see if I can salvage the carpet I have. . .

Rip

**jiveass** · 06-10-2010, 04:35 AM

Originally Posted by Ripinator

Some of you may remember the god-awful hatch leak I had last winter that rendered the inside of my Camaro almost uninhabitable. This weekend I plan to finally tear the interior apart and see if I can get rid of the musty smell I've had to put up with till now.

Does anyone out there have any pointers on how to approach the removal of the seats, console and carpet ? I'd also appreciate any suggestions on how to get rid of the musty smell. I've priced a complete OE-type carpet and floor mat repalcement, and it looks like its almost $600.00. Obviously, I'd like to see if I can salvage the carpet I have. . .

Rip

im thinkin its all pretty simple. pull the seats, door sill plates, console, and some side panels, to get the carpet out.

**tpilews** · 06-10-2010, 09:10 AM

Yeah, none of the removal should be too tricky. It's all pretty easy. four nuts for each seat. Center console comes out really easy. Sills are straight forward.

Check out ebay. I just found a complete one piece carpet in ebony that's currently at $70 shipped.

**LeadFarmer** · 06-10-2010, 10:03 PM

I had this exact problem with my car, the smell drove me insane up until I got rid of it. You don't need to get rid of all the carpet, just lift it all up and use a heat gun/air dry. It might take a couple days but the smell will come out once everything is dry. Also I found it easier if you start removing stuff from the back first. Plus I noticed that's where all of the water tends to flow towards anyway

**Ripinator** · 06-11-2010, 03:59 AM

Thanx alot, you guys. I'm hoping to get started on the tear-out tonite.

I checked E-Bay last nite and found a complete front-only carpet set for under $200. If I have to chuck the old carpet, maybe I'll go that route. . .

Rip

**Ls_won** · 06-11-2010, 04:59 AM

i had the same problem. now i just have two seats, a console and a dash!

**Ripinator** · 06-11-2010, 05:07 AM

Originally Posted by Ls_won

i had the same problem. now i just have two seats, a console and a dash!

I guess after tomorrow I'll be in the same situation until I decide what to do with the carpet. . .

**Ripinator** · 06-13-2010, 03:16 AM

Well. . . I got that POS carpet outa the car. I only had to quit and run up to the harware store twice. Nobody mentioned that I'd need male T-50 and T-30 Torx sockets to get the seatbelt anchors out. . . Including travel time, it took me about three hours to remove the carpet.

I had a little hassle with how to get the shift knob off the A4 gear selector, but a search of LS1.com revealed the answer: that little staple-like clip you hafta use a tiny screw driver to remove from that hidden location at the front of the knob. LS1.com FTW !

Also, you know what ? After all the time and drying out that has gone by since I had the hatch leak fixed last winter, water was still present in the recesses of the drain plugs in the floor pans under the rear seats ! I'm so glad I went ahead and removed the carpet from the car.

Now that I got the carpet out, I don't think I'm gonna re-install it. After all this work, I'm gonna put a new carpet in there.

Thanx again for all the help, guys.

Rip

**Z28_Driver** · 06-15-2010, 07:29 AM

A little bleach solution will kill the smell on the floor pans. Just wipe them down with about 10% bleach and water mix and let the interior dry and air for several days. This works on flood and kid damaged cars.
Post a few pics once you get the project done.

**Ripinator** · 06-15-2010, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by Z28_Driver

A little bleach solution will kill the smell on the floor pans. Just wipe them down with about 10% bleach and water mix and let the interior dry and air for several days. This works on flood and kid damaged cars.
Post a few pics once you get the project done.

Thanx for the Clorox tip. I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure how strong to make the solution.

I'll see if I can put together a few pictures. It would be a good time - I guess - to figure out how to upload photos.

Rip