That once tan carpet is probably tarnished by some strange mix of dirt, oil, and soda stains - not to mention the cigarette burns caused by some previous owner. Top it all off with that funky “old car” smell that keeps your friends always seem to complain about every time they hop in the passenger seat.

OLD?!?! This car isn't old; she's just now getting to where we like her.

It’s bad enough most people don’t even know what an EXP is when they see it, not to mention that ribbing that we take about having an unhealthy obsession to restoring what equates to (in their minds) an old Escort. We certainly don’t need to add insult to injury by having our buddies running around spreading rumors that the interior of our beloved project car is reminiscent of some well trodden school carpet.

It’s time to do something, and do it fast. We also need to get it done on a budget that would make your average burger flipper look like Bill Gates.

Enter Stock Iteriors, manufacturers of replacement carpets for just about every car on the road.

Before ordering the carpet, we took the safe route and ordered the three closest matching color samples from their website. Ford used many different colors over the past 20 years and hardly any of them have the same name. Some are even the same color with different names so getting a sample to match against your carpet will save you time in the long run. Stock Iteriors will send you up to  three color samples for free.

If you are concerned about matching the true color of your original carpet, you should clip a remnant of the original carpet from under the passenger seat or anywhere that has been protected from wear or fading from sunlight. Matching the new color with this remnant will allow you to come as close as possible to the original carpet color.

With the correct color figured out our brand new carpet was in the mail for about $100. Our test carpet arrived fresh from Stock Iteriors factory pre-molded for our 86's floor pan. When you receive your new carpet it will come rolled up for easier shipping. You'll want to immediately lay it flat for a day or two to make installation easier. This will also make the carpet look a little nicer after it is first installed as the "wrinkles" from shipping will have worked themselves out.

The carpet was very well constructed with only slightly less carpet pile per inch than stock. The backing material was slightly thinner than factory as well. This was not a problem and actually makes the carpet somewhat lighter than factory by at least a few of pounds. These differences were completely indiscernible once the carpet was installed and it looks as good, if not better, than factory stock. This is also helpful if you decide that you want to add additional sound deadening and heat shielding material to reduce the amount of road noise that EXPs are notorious for.

The carpet comes complete with a heavy mildew resistant Jute pad bonded to the bottom of the carpet in the area where your feet rest. This padding helps to protect the foot area around the foot wells, softens the floor for your feet, and helps to deaden sounds from under the car. The kit also came with a properly sized OE style heel pad welded in the correct location on the driver’s side.
 
Some holes were pre-cut from the factory; however, the carpet ships with relatively few holes to ensure that it will fit in the widest variety of years. The floor pan in the EXP is almost identical from the 1983 to 1988 models. What changes throughout the various years are the holes used for interior electrical connections and trim options like the center console. So be prepared to do some minor cutting to your new carpet to get it to fit properly.

Installation is not difficult, but it is time consuming. Allow yourself three or more hours to do the job properly. The Stock Iteriors website outlines the process in some detail, but there are better resources on the Internet that include images and more detailed "how to" information.

When properly installed the new carpet looks amazing and it even brings back some of that “new car smell”, which is much better then that “old Micky D’s french fry smell” the car had before we put it in.

The quality of the product and the outstanding customer support that Stock Iteriors provided make it very easy for us to recommend this company to anyone looking to upgrade or restore their beloved EXP.