I found this carpet and matching jute on eBay.  It looked original to me, and I was interested in getting it for the purpose of using it as a pattern for having some custom carpet made because my opinion is that the kits that are available these days are rather lackluster.  
 

   

When I spread it out and took a close look at it, I was surprised.  I was expecting it to be loop carpet.  However, it seems like it is more of a pile carpet type.

To my understanding, one of the most "authentic" carpet kits currently available is this.  But, that is loop carpet - it is very different.  While from pictures, it may be hard to tell, this carpet definitely isn't compose of upside down "U"s.  It is more like each twisted strand of carpet has had it's top lopped off:

      

  

Since receiving it, I searched for information about original carpeting and come across various posts on this forum.  It seems, that original carpets included both a "pile loop" as well as "loop" versions, though it is not entirely clear to me which year cars got which.

From the information I found, I believe this carpet to be original.  I am mainly basing this on the color of the backing (underside) and the age, as apparent from the fading.  It is actually in pretty good condition compared to many I have seen in pictures.  I have seen several with more color fading, and several with more wear. 

  

Additionally, it came with one "block" of dense material.  This piece is normally glued to the hatch floor.  It is about the same thickness as the jute... roughly 1 centimeter.  

    

A few days ago, I became aware that Chester and Herod is still in business.  I thought they were out of business.  This was another reason I was thinking about having custom carpet made.  However, now that I have been looking through various carpet related posts, I have some new concerns.  From the most recent pictures and comments I have seen, I am wondering if the Chester and Herod kit's fit has degraded over the years, and if the loop or pile options they have are very different than this original carpet.  

Does anyone have any info to address my concerns?  I'll likely attempt to get some current samples from C and H to evaluate how similar or different it is, but I looking for additional opinions/info from anyone with recent C and H 240z carpet purchases.

Edited November 10, 20231 yr by inline6

Getting closer to the point where I will need carpets to finish the car.  I find the carpets in the Green BAT car to be different than the common loop that is available:

I think that looks like the carpet that I got off of eBay a while back:

This is what is commonly available:

The hatch floor piece I got off of eBay looks to be original.  I examined it closely, and it is loop.  However, the loops appear to be more densely situated and the pattern looks to be more uniform than what I see commonly available.  

This looks a bit more uniform, but still looks different.

 

This looks closer.  It can be easier to see the pattern when looking at lighter colors:

Anyway, I am pretty certain I have found all the available options.  I hope I can get some samples of what I found to see it in person.

 

 

 

 

I see that this was a hot topic back in 2008: