Is my carpet Ford original?

[Lee Craner]

I am getting ready to install new carpeting in my '56. I am wondering if the carpet that is in it now is an original Continental Division product.

The door tag states 18-1B6M-112-2 which would make the carpet deep red. The carpet installed is dark brown (confirmed by the color under the front seat), very plush with a 1/2" nap. As you can see from the picture, the front seat carpet piece is very thick, with about an inch of padding as part of the carpet piece.

The bottom line is that the present carpet is obviously very luxurious and expensive. It does not look like an after market product So I am wondering if the original owner had her Lincoln dealer change out the carpeting for something better? Has anyone seen ultra plush carpeting in their Mark II?

Lee
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[Barry Wolk]

The Mark II I'm working on has that depth carpet with that same cloth border. However, I cannot say that it's original, for sure, but it looks right.

[Lee Craner]

Barry,

It is too bad my carpet was coming apart at the edges, since it sure was nice under foot.

Lee

[Pat Marshall]

Do some of the carpet sections of #2362 have canvas edging? Not binding but strips of canvas sewn to the canvas edging. Original carpeting did.

Mark II carpeting was absolutely top of the line, so I'm not thinking a dealer removed the original and installed something better.

Original carpet was wool. To test get a couple fibers, take a match and burn them. If the smoke smells like burning hair and there is no hard ash residue (it's powdery) it's wool. If the smoke has an acrid smell and there is a hard ash it's not.

Original carpet had thick brown jute padding (cushion). Jute is a natural fiber that is extracted from the bark of the jute vegetable plant.

Original carpeting had thin flexible backing (frequently called aviation backing). Because of the complex bends in the Mark II Carpet flexible backing was a must, especially in the driver's footwell.

[Barry Wolk]

Do some of the carpet sections have canvas edging? Not binding but strips of canvas sewn to the canvas edging. Original carpeting did.

Mark II carpeting was absolutely top of the line, so I'm not thinking a dealer removed the original and installed something better.

Original carpet was wool. To test get a couple fibers, take a match and burn them. If the smoke smells like burning hair and there is no hard ash residue (it's powdery) it's wool. If the smoke has an acrid smell and there is a hard ash it's not.

Original carpet had thick brown jute padding (cushion). Jute is a natural fiber that is extracted from the bark of the jute vegetable plant.

Original carpeting had thin flexible backing (frequently called aviation backing). Because of the complex bends in the Mark II Carpet flexible backing was a must, especially in the driver's footwell.

Was the carpet ever screwed to the floor pans?

[Pat Marshall]

Yes, that too!

[Lee Craner]

Pat,

My carpet has canvas edging, from 1" to almost 3" on some pieces. And it is wool. However, it is not screwed to the floor pans.

Lee

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[Pat Marshall]

My guess is that the carpet is original Mark II carpet, but it was carpet from another car that was installed in yours. There is no DSO specifying that your car had bronze carpeting. There is no evidence in the car's history that indicates that the original carpet was different than the 1B6M trim configuration. Not being screwed to the floor suggests that this was not a factory installation.

I vote original Mark II carpeting, but not a factory installation.

[Lee Craner]

Pat,

Once I pull this carpet up, it will be interesting to see if I can find the original holes in the floor pan.

Lee