Maiden Voyage In My 1938 Plymouth P6

[keithb7]

I bought this 1938 Plymouth in late May 2019. I spent most of my spare time this past winter going over the mechanical and electrical systems in the car. I am attempting to make it reliable and road worthy first, and then go after appearance later. On Friday I took my first cruise in it. It was a success. I put almost 100 miles on the car over two days. I had one issue. The pivot shaft pin in my mechanical fuel pump backed out, the pump stopped working. I quickly addressed it and was able to drive home.  These old sedans are certainly affordable, fun, and easy to work on. I've got lots of work to go yet, but we have a road worthy, safe car! I am happy about that.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for floor underlay covering? I am not sure I want carpet yet, maybe a mat. However I think I want some type of thicker underlay to insulate from heat and noise. Also I am hoping it can effectively prevent any fumes from wafting up though any floor openings. For example around the pedals, shifter,  etc. Something common, available locally is preferred. I am trying to build a driver not a high point restoration. Thanks. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[Bloo]

Good question. For noise maybe Dynamat?

 

In-period would have been (natural) jute. It is hard to get and basically non-existent west of the UK (and not common there). The only thing you can get in the US that resembles it it coconut fiber, but I would not put that in a car because it is extremely flammable.

 

The "jute" sold at upholstery suppliers is not jute but shredded up old clothes. It holds water less than natural jute, so I guess it is technically better. It is also readily available in North America and not horribly expensive. You can find a similar product, just a little stiffer at a carpet shop. The only downside to this stuff is that it is pretty obviously not from the 1930s. Your mat or carpet would hide it.

 

I have heard of people using some insulation product from the home improvement stores made of foil and plastic air bubbles to hold back firewall and floor heat. It does not sound like it would be durable, but I have not used it.

 

A car of that period almost certainly had a rubber mat in the front and carpet in the back. IMHO if someone makes a repro Plymouth front mat, or even one thats close enough to use, buy it. For my Pontiac I figured I would make something up out of black rubber floor runner, but found that the stuff in the home improvement stores is expensive. It is also plastic, or maybe vinyl. If you want rubber, well, that is even more expensive. McMaster Carr has some. Even if you get rubber, most of it is SBR rubber, which feels more like plastic and weighs not very much. One couldn't really expect it to lay down and stay put like an old heavy rubber mat would have. It needs to weigh a lot. Does your car have anything holding the edges of the mat down? Mine doesn't. McMaster Carr does have some heavy rubber floor runners, but the cost goes up again. Restoration supply has some too but their patterns look more appropriate for the Brass or Nickel eras than the 30s. All of it is expensive. Then you still have to cut and splice and mold it to the floor somehow, unless your floor is 100% flat. I should have spent the $300 for a Buick mat (close enough for Pontiac) when they were available.

 

[jpage]

Restoration Specialties sell some nice rubber matting and the cloth "jute" material. I think that their "carpet" texture mat would be a good choice and close to the original texture. I would also go with the jute material as a backer. It will hold some water but I doubt that you'll be soaking it anytime soon.I don't know of anyone who sells precut "original" type mats for these cars, but it's not rocket science to cut your own. I have also used the jute material as an insulator on my firewall pad. Good hunting.

[broker-len]

Company in California--------------RUBBER CAL-----------has a few runners that are perfect for front floor and running board of cars     pliable, will not crack, last I checked maybe  $ 9.00 a ft   have it in both my 30s cars

[keithb7]

Thanks for your responses folks. I will take a look around locally first and see of I can find some jute options. If not I'll try some other optionsbmentioned. I did find this:

 

https://www.stockinteriors.com/items.asp?ModelId=546&MainCatId=1#CatDescTable

Edited April 14, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history)