TF carpet replacement - need to remove centre console & cubby

Ive read the How Tos and searched for a few posts on carpets but wonder if anyone can advise from their own experience. Ive already unbolted my TF seats to clean them and recover the driver's seat back and have bought a good 2nd hand carpet as mine has a tear on the driver's side.

Im conscious that TF carpets are in 1 piece but that some people seem to cut the small strip that joins the 2 halves to make it easier to fit. If I do this will i be able to fit a new carpet without the need to remove the central cubbies, which as far as Ive been able to understand would need me to dismantle part of the lower dash first ?

The How to described adding foam under the carpet to lift it slightly so it is a better fit at the edges, less likely to pull away from the door shuts etc. Is this still the recommended way of doing thngs and if so can i use the foam from the old carpet under the new one to add that bit of extra height and body to the carpet ?

Sorry, can't help with the carpet fitting. But I did slide some extra carpet underlay under the carpet to help with the carpet pulling out. The result was very successful. I see you can get some flat plastic pieces to help with the carpet issue.

Thanks, that and other posts have convinced me to keep part of the old carpet/ underlay in place under the new carpet.

Any thoughts on how to remove the various centre tunnel covers and cubbies so i can get my new carpet in please ? I cant find anything on Youtube or elsewhere about this and dont want to risk damaging anything

I’m away for a few days so can’t refer to my workshop manual & trying to look at a technical diagram on my phone with my diminishing eyesight is futile.
I’ve had all that junk out to change the carpet plus other abortive ideas & don’t recall any problems other than a couple of tabs that I stupidly missed. I would have studied the book of words first so my advice would be to look in the technical section in downloads & download the workshop manual. I would download the electrical & circuit diagram pages also. Roverlike tells us there’s more information on the Rave CD & I might just get around to having a look one day, I’ve found those three sets of documents a TRIumph (sorry).

Have a look at the Newton Commercial website. There are instructions and work rounds

Sadly the Newton Commercial carpets are separate pieces hence their instructions suggest sliding the carpet under the tunnel sections. It only covers removal of the T bar and the adjacent vertical cubby at the back which i probably wont need to touch.

Given the temperature in most of the country at present it would be great to know the procedure so i can go straight out and dismantle the right bits and get the carpet and seats back in rather than flail around for hours

Just cu the carpet where you thought (between the two front areas) and slide it in the gaps under the sides of the centre console etc. If it's a Mk2 carpet with the built in underlay then it will be quite stiff anyway and stay in place easily. If you are really feeling OCD you could clip the two halves together under the dash - but honestly there's no need!

trevtherev wrote:

Sorry, can't help with the carpet fitting. But I did slide some extra carpet underlay under the carpet to help with the carpet pulling out. The result was very successful. I see you can get some flat plastic pieces to help with the carpet issue.

I recently saw these similar plastic pieces as well on eBay. I don't know the seller. Just passing on this information.

MGF & MG TF Carpet tidy for loose / baggy carpets - Easy fitting - Colours Buy It Now

Yeah the fit of the carpets in these things is shithouse!
When I redo mine I’m going to start again from scratch I have some carpets to use as a vague pattern, I’ll cut over size and trim off the green as I go, I intend to use steam to help with shaping them to suit the contours of the floor.
I guess we will see how it goes.

I removed the whole caboodle about four months ago. If you have removed the seats then the hardest part is done. Now if I remember correctly the centre gauge/switch/ radio panel comes out first. Gently prise out the air vents, then gently in lip the sides and you will be left with three clips at the bottom, you need to push the bottom forward to unclip the centre bottom one. Apparently these Dacia panels are brittle but mine had been out at least once before for painting. The gear-lever gaiter unclips easily. There are three or four screws each side holding the foot well panes on, after you have removed them there are two more screws holding the transmission tunnel cover at the front end each side. Then there are a load of screws holding the arm rest/cup holders on. One each side low down behind the seats. The bit I don’t remember is whether you have to remove the T Bar ( I had already removed it for engine access) but think you have to. When I replaced it all it took less than half an hour not including the seats.

Having done this in the past month and with the carpet still out, I can contirm that the T-bar has to come out. 3 screws on the top and then gently prise out the whole bar from the clips it holds onto. Left, right anc centre. The white volumetric detector box can then come out. It has a plug with a wire that has to come out.

THe battery has to have terminals removed and wait for 20mins before taking the seats out to avoid seatbelt tensioning triggering. Just saying to avoid that kind of problem.