Question regarding reproduction 1961 Bel-Air/Parkwood Carpet

tripower

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
I pulled the floor mats/carpet out of the Bel Air today. Here is a good example of what it is.
 

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Shake-N-Bake

Well Known Member
I pulled the floor mats/carpet out of the Bel Air today. Here is a good example of what it is.

Dan,
As far as you know, was it ever possible to option a '61 Bel Air or Biscayne with full carpet (like the Impala had)? When I stripped down my dad's car, it had full carpet door to door, not the rubber mats shown in your photo. When I asked him about it, he swears the car came with full carpet. His recalls this being a sore subject actually, because he really didn't want the full carpet. He saw it for the first time as they unloaded it from the train and he was a bit upset. The sales manager gave him a set of vinyl floor mats to help keep the carpet clean so he just let it go and accepted the car with the full carpet.

At the salvage yard, I see the Bel Air and Biscayne both ways. Some with the rubber mats, some with full carpets. Of course I have no way of knowing if the cars with full carpets are original so I figured I'd ask around and see what you guys think.

The first photo of the stack of cars is a fawn Bel Air by itself with two cars stacked behind it. The car on the top is another Bel Air, the car on the bottom is a Biscayne. Behind them, (not visible in the photo) is another stack of cars....Biscayne on bottom and Impala on top. The fawn Bel Air has full carpets, the blue Bel Air on top of the Biscayne has the rubber/carpet combo, the Biscayne on the bottom has rubber mat colored to match the interior. Behind that stack...both cars have full carpets (Impala and Biscayne).

The second photo is a Biscayne with carpet, the third photo is Biscayne with the mat.
The 4th and 5th photo is a Bel Air with carpet.
The last two photos are Bel Air with the rubber/carpet combo.

01 Bel Air stack.jpg 06 Biscayne.jpg 10 Biscayne mat.jpg 07 Bel Air Carpet.jpg 08 Bel Air Carpet.jpg 11 Bel Air mat.jpg 12 Bel Air mat logo.jpg
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
Good luck but I think the odds are against you in getting anyone to produce these mats. Pete Ciadelia passed away last fall but the company is still going so you could check with them.
 

1958 delivery

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
The problem is reproducing the mats, to do so economically you would have to make thousands of the rubber mats, and then to add insult to injury you would have to pay GM for use of their trademark, if you want to do them exactly. If you think you will be able to sell thousands, some what quickly, go for it.
 

Phil Reed

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 10
Tommy's right!! WAY TOO expensive to try to reproduce. I've always though Impala had full carpet, Belair combination of carpet and rubber mat and Biscaynes were all rubber mat.
 

models916

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 7
The only way to prove full carpet option on the Belair is to have a window sticker or a dealer's order book with the RPO. Otherwise it was half carpet, half rubber mat. Dealers added carpet to cars and carpet was available aftermarket back then.
 

Phil Reed

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 10
The only way to prove full carpet option on the Belair is to have a window sticker or a dealer's order book with the RPO. Otherwise it was half carpet, half rubber mat. Dealers added carpet to cars and carpet was available aftermarket back then.
OR.........they were out of the correct color Belair carpet and put in Impala to keep the assembly line moving.
 

real61ss

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 8
OR.........they were out of the correct color Belair carpet and put in Impala to keep the assembly line moving.

I don't think that would have happened. They had a Q&A system that would not have allowed the car to start down the assembly line unless the items to construct it were in stock.
 

rstreet

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 17
I don't think that would have happened. They had a Q&A system that would not have allowed the car to start down the assembly line unless the items to construct it were in stock.


I agree as my Dad had a Buick ordered in about 1980 and got a call from the dealer that an optional steering wheel wasn't available yet from supplier and if he would accept standard wheel car would be built that week and he got something off the order after the steering wheel deduct
Robert
 
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