I thing I found carpet to match oem Options

[PanelBilly]

https://www.upholsterysupplyusa.com/product...ver-knit-carpet

Is this the right stuff?

[wonkipop]

@scallyk9 that tip of "haargan velour" was red hot mate. solid gold. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

i followed up on it and got further than i have ever managed to get before on the source for the 74 brown carpet and also exactly what it is and how to describe it.


firstly. here is "haargan velour". the yarn is spot on correct but i believe the cut is incorrect for a 914. it is however absolutely correct for 911/912 from start to 73.



this is what i was referring to as 911 carpet being fuzzy or cut plush.
the do it by cutting a loop pile. so it kind of looks like needle loom but its not.
it starts as loop pile where they cut it down. its a plush carpet and classed as a luxury carpet. feels very smooth and velvetty under foot.

the thing is the yarn is correct with the white threads in it.
which set me off down the rabbit hole.
the name for this kind of yarn is "hair yarn".
this info is so good to have found because i finally have the description for that very particular type of yarn that is in 914s (and upper end VWs like the 411/412 and the KG).

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second thing. i went through my L jet files to see when the black interior carpets changed over from the hair yarn type to the later mottled type.
i have only really concentrated on the L jet cars but they are being built in the same months as the LE came down the line.

here is what i have.

last early style hair yarn carpet is 06 and 07 March 1974.

first later style carpet (mottled) is 09 and 10 April 1974.

i have nothing in between on file. so the changeover is between those two dates.

this is a reliable sample of the early style carpet in a black interior.
its from a one owner very original car. very late october 1973 build.
you can see its hair yarn. but the cut is not velour cut - its full loop pile.




this is a reliable sample from a late style carpet in a black interior.
its from another one owner very original car. june 1974 build.
no hair yarn - instead alternate shaded charcoal loop pile threads. not a velour cut. full loop pile.




i have no examples on file that i consider reliable of any other carpet type.
thats not to say they might not have existed.
nor have i seen an example of a needle loom black carpet which did exist.
but these are the two loop piles that were on offer.
the loop pile was considered the better carpet of higher quality.
so LE more than likely had loop pile?
also - i have a distinct feeling that needle loom was not offered on the USA cars in 74.
they went up spec on all the USA cars in 74. vinyl on roll bars etc, whether appearance group or not, whether 1.8 or 2.0. across the board. i have a feeling that needle loom was only offered in europe where a lower spec 1.8 or 2.0 was available that was stripped down as it had been in previous years. everything i have on file with the L jets that is a reliable original condition car has loop pile. including mine which is a non appearance group 1.8 that had only a few very specific options ticked including factory sway bars.

@JeffBowlsby would know
a) what type of carpet was in an LE.
b) would also know i think much more precisely when the carpet changed loop type between earlier and later.
but given the examples of L jets i have on file there had to be a number of LE at the start of the production run with the earlier carpet.


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armed with the name of the carpet you came up with i kept going.
the original colour/interior brochures for the 74 914 really are quite ambiguous.
mine lists the loop pile with the following terms.
Schlingen velours (german)
Pile type carpet (english)
Velours Boucle (french)
Velluto Brocco (italian).

i followed up on Boucle.

and this is what i got. i think its the stuff.

i've been chasing the brown so i have some spare for my 914.
this is the closest i have ever gotten. the color does not seem to match exactly but that could be a product of how it comes up on screen and how it was photographed and scanned. they are not always super accurate.





i got on to it via this page.

https://www.tapis-deluxe.com/de/3456-haarga...mah2d8mnfROnC8R

there are other carpets there. all for german old-timers. and all seem accurate and correct.

the later 914 black interior carpet (mottled) appears to be there and in the first group of carpets termed loop poles.

the earlier hair yarn boucle carpets are in the final group termed hair yarn boucle.

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i also found the later style (mottled carpet) here.




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i've decided that what i am going to do is contact the Tapis Deluxe company and see if i can send them a sample of my original brown carpet. i have scraps i can use all in unfaded condition. i want to see if there is an exact match available for the brown and whether its the right color.

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anyhow. to the best of the information i have that is the two different types of black interior carpet that was used in 74 model year.

the hair yarn charcoal loop pile.
the mottled charcoal loop pile.
all the information i have says karmann were using VW materials in the 914/4.
same as what they kitted out karmann ghias with and later sciroccos when they started being built at karmann. every kg i have looked at from that time period along with the sciroccos have exactly matching materials. another example of this is the tartan interiors that went in during 75. they came straight from the scirocco and were part of VW water cooled across the board design revamp.


given what i have seen on 911s and i know these were original cars here with original carpets, i believe they ran hair yarn velour up to about 73.
then changed to knitted (more solid color) velour in 74. velour describes the cut where they cut through the loops and left them as a fine tufted surface.
911s did not share materials with the 914. they are up the scale a bit more in terms of materials. i know nothing about the earlier 914/6s - they may have shared materials with the 911s and karmann might have fitted them out with 911 spec stuff.


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@SirAndy if its possible it might be good to shift this topic to originality.
there is useful information here for folks who might want to get hold of the real deal material for restoring the carpets in their cars.
it might not get lost there.

[SirAndy]

@SirAndy if its possible it might be good to shift this topic to originality.
there is useful information here for folks who might want to get hold of the real deal material for restoring the carpets in their cars.
it might not get lost there.

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