40 Buick Super front floor mat?

[CarDrake]

Anybody out there have a source for a C body front floor mat?

[Fireball8man]

Try Bob's Automobilia in California.   http://bobsautomobilia.com

[CarDrake]

Interesting; I think I ordered the above from Bob's. About 1 hour later, I get a call from Bob himself saying that the above will not fit the C body cars. I believe that they do the ordering for the next year in December; he suggested that I call back then.

 

Now, who does Bob go to????

[2carb40]

2 hours ago, CarDrake said:

Interesting; I think I ordered the above from Bob's. About 1 hour later, I get a call from Bob himself saying that the above will not fit the C body cars. I believe that they do the ordering for the next year in December; he suggested that I call back then.

 

Now, who does Bob go to????

Bob's buys from Jenkins, the only source. I tried a work around calling Chevsof40's might work. They don't sell any more cuz they had quality issues with supplier!

Edited September 14, 2021 by 2carb40 (see edit history)

[kgreen]

I discussed the front mat with @2carb40 who wondered if making your own mat out of stock would have been an easier choice than struggling with a not-so-well produced reproduction.  I've been looking an found this possible choice: https://www.rubbercal.com/rubber-mat/boat-deck-mats/corrugated-ramp-cleat-rubber-runners.html

 

The trade off being the appearance of a force fit mat versus an incorrect patterned mat that fit well.  I'm continuing to think of alternatives.

[kingrudy]

I purchased my black front floor mat approximately 6-7 years ago from Bob's for my '40 56s. Nice fit and a good look. Maybe he has gone to a different supplier.This looks very similar to the one I purchased 6 years agol 

Edited October 23, 2021 by kingrudy
Better illustration (see edit history)

[2carb40]

I talked with someone who has an older, never used replacement front  mat. Mine is current production and slightly thicker than 1/8", while his that  he measured with a caliper is 1/16". A thinner mat is much more playable than the thicker one I have.  Once holes outlined for brake and clutch were cut I began trying to trim to fit side to side. It's nearly a full inch closer to driver's side than passenger with no option for adjusting once the holes for pedal shafts at the location defined by the raised bead moulded into the mat at manufacture are cut. Im thinking it will be hellish, but I'm going to remove the jute backing glued to the backside of the mat in an attempt to reduce the overall mass of it. I'm hoping it may become less stiff at that point. Jute backing is responsible for the rusted out floors in many vehicles and I don't know why it's even still in use? Not giving up, but at 400.00 plus shipping, I was not in my happy place assessing this situation! Happy to answer further ???s, but, I can only say what, not why! Details to follow.

[Bloo]

Jute isn't still used, at least not in North America, and good luck buying any if you want some. I found one potential source in the UK, but never bought any, so I can't confirm if they can really supply it.

 

The stuff we call "jute" in North America today is shredded old unwanted clothes, and has been for at least 50 years. Since an awful lot of old unwanted clothes are polyester, the mystery padding is typically not very absorbent of water when compared to real jute. Of course anything can get waterlogged if enough water is present. If you allow water to get under a rubber mat, it will stay there and rot the floor, padding or no padding.

 

I don't think a thinner mat would be a good thing, nor do I think lighter weight would be a good thing. Most of that rolled stuff these days is made of SBR, which is not very heavy compared to neoprene, EPDM or natural rubber. It feels kind of like plastic. Some is made of PVC, which is plastic. I recently bought a repro 37 Buick mat for my 36 Pontiac. It is not a perfect fit but it is fairly close. I was lucky to get anything as these repro mats seem out of stock everywhere recently for most years and models.

 

One thing that concerned me was that the mat would bunch up. Many GM cars, mine included, have things you need access to under the front floorboard. Permanently attaching the mat to the floor is out of the question. As it turned out there was enough weight (mass) in the repro mat. It is heavy and stiff like a piece of rubber from long ago. It is blocked enough by the steering column, dimmer, firewall pad, etc and stiff enough it doesn't move forward and bunch up. An acquaintance of mine used the rolled bulk rubber mat, and he had to attach it to the floor with snaps to make it stay put. That is a possible solution.

 

2carb40: For what it's worth, I bought an unpunched version of the mat and ignored the factory placements for the pedals etc. I lined it up according to the floor contour. In my case, that was centered in the car. Yes if you stick your head under the dash, you can see the holes are not where the mat maker intended, and also that I have cut off more mat than they intended, but that is way less noticeable than having the the mat not match the floor contour.

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[2carb40]

Thanx for sharing  your thoughts and actual experience. I'll check the backing on the mat as you have me curious about the material being other than jute. I will be sealing the floor with POR15 or the like, so my main motivation for removal is, hopefully, being able to achieve a better fit. No worries about this mat bunching up or moving around when it's as heavy and thick as this one! Maybe when I remove the backer I'll have the mat thin enuff to get the bottom of the gas pedal hooked to the pivot and install my new sill plates and close the door without scraping them with the bottom of the door! Whine,whine,whine,right? This to shall pass!

[EmTee]

Maybe just remove the backing from the areas where you're having interference issues (i.e., gas pedal & door sills)?

[2carb40]

2 hours ago, EmTee said:

Maybe just remove the backing from the areas where you're having interference issues (i.e., gas pedal & door sills)?

That's a great suggestion unless this is actually Jute! I hate that c____p!

[Bloo]

For what it's worth, the 37 Buick mat I put in my 36 Pontiac had the "jute" rolled up separately and not glued to the mat. I glued it on later after trimming it. There was a hole in the "jute" around the gas pedal, and If I remember correctly it lined up, though that was just a happy coincidence as the Buick and Pontiac gas pedals are not similar.

 

I trimmed the sides of the "jute" way back too. It probably would have worked fine as delivered in a 37 Buick, but that is a wider car. I trimmed a bunch off so the jute would be about as far back from the edge as it would have been in a Buick. You mentioned sill plates, and my car has none, so there cant be "jute" out close to the edge, as the weight of the mat is the only thing that holds the edge down. I can see that thickness would cause issues if your sill plates hold the mat down. The jute couldn't be too close to the edge in that case either, and if the rubber mat by itself is pushing the sill plate up against the bottom of the door, I understand the problem and why you would like a thinner mat.

 

I didn't mean to suggest that the modern "jute" was a cure for anything. It does absorb water less readily that the real thing, but I'm not sure it helps that much. The real thing soaks water like as sponge and then rots from being wet. However the modern stuff gets saturated with water too.

 

The "jute" that came with my new mat is the same or similar to what we were using when I was working in an upholstery shop in the early 80s. I'm not sure if you could buy the real thing at that time. Probably, but I never saw any.

 

Good luck, and I hope you get it sorted out to a nice fit.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[kingrudy]

My mat is also 1/8" thick (heavy mat, no chance it will bunch up). The man did not come with the "jute" backing, but I purchased some from Restoration Specialties and Bloo you are correct, this is not real jute, maybe faux jute. My intent was to provide some insulation from the heat and cut down on noise using as close to original as possible.

 

I trimmed the jute to just inside of the new sill plate and the mat fit under the sill plate without trimming and no scrape on the doors. I tried to find a similar mat material through Restoration Specialties an I got close, but there is some difference in the material, but with the seats back you never notice.

 

The front mat came with the holes already punched.  It was close, but I had to trim the gas pedal screws a little bit and the dimmer switch. 

 

Best of luck with your mat. 

[Janousek]

If rubber was used in the front of open cars then what type of flooring was used behind the front seat?