1939 floor mat, jute backing

[klicker]

How much of the floor should be covered by the jute? Clear up under pedals, or is that too far? And how close to the edge (near door) works best? Also, I seem to recall a mention of another pad that goes under all this. And one more.... I recall seeing a mention of a separate mat piece that goes between the seat and door (matching the floor mat). I realize this is not of earthshattering importance.....

 

[Kube]

How much of the floor should be covered by the jute? Clear up under pedals, or is that too far? And how close to the edge (near door) works best? Also, I seem to recall a mention of another pad that goes under all this. And one more.... I recall seeing a mention of a separate mat piece that goes between the seat and door (matching the floor mat). I realize this is not of earthshattering importance.....

I've never seen an authentic mat with jute backing for 1939. Rather, all the authentic mats I've witnessed were backed up by a fairly thick piece of oil impregnated paper. Very similar to the stuff the tool tray was originally lined in.

The coupes had a small "filler mat" that was placed at each side of the seat - between the front mat and the rear storage area. The rubber was the same color as the front mat - Benton Gray, and had the same finish as the rear area of the mat - a small "pebble" grain.

I may have a photo of these mat fillers as well as the insulating pad for below the front mat. If you'd like either, let me know.

 

[klicker]

Thanks, Mike. The jute came with the mat from Carpenter. And the old one i took out had a bit of it. Wasnt sure if original or not. Is there a source for these other pads and the mat between seat and door? I'd appreciate your pics! Thanks again!

 

[klicker]

Also, to hi-jack my own thread. I decided to replace what seem to be original toe boards. They are 5/8" plywood. Is this correct. The Bob Drake seals are 1/2" too long on the sides. (They came from Carpenter in BD box). I lined them up with the ancient Bob Drake seals that were on the car. Same part number. But on the new ones you can see where "made in USA" was ground off....

 

[Kube]

Also, to hi-jack my own thread. I decided to replace what seem to be original toe boards. They are 5/8" plywood. Is this correct. The Bob Drake seals are 1/2" too long on the sides. (They came from Carpenter in BD box). I lined them up with the ancient Bob Drake seals that were on the car. Same part number. But on the new ones you can see where "made in USA" was ground off....

Yikes! Drake and I went "head to head" on the Barn a few years back in regard to the seals being too large.
He insisted (typically) that I had the only set he'd ever seen like that. Uh, huh. I had even posted photos of them hanging loosely on NOS boards.
Another problem? I had a number of sets that were too large.
Anyway, what you have are poorly made seals. Unfortunately they are probably the best marketed. The only option is to cut them and make them fit.

As far as the ground off "made in USA"... this is no doubt that the mold(s) was shipped to China along with Drakes other projects and the stamp within the mold was crudely ground away.
It is very possible that even with the same molds, the rubber pieces could come out too large if the proper processes were not used making them.

 

[Kube]

Thanks, Mike. The jute came with the mat from Carpenter. And the old one i took out had a bit of it. Wasnt sure if original or not. Is there a source for these other pads and the mat between seat and door? I'd appreciate your pics! Thanks again!

Here's a photo of the authentic backing within a '39.

I'll get a photo of the filler pads later as time allows. Time to clean the stable now

 

[G.M.]

ALL of the old floor mates I have seen were
backed with a fiber type material I would
describe a jute. This material held water.
This is what caused the metal floors to rust
out. G.M.

 

[Drbrown]

Don't recommend using wood anywhere near exhaust manifolds and pipes.

A touch off-subject here but the talk about jute backing reminded me of a fun time .... Had an old 6 cyc Chev once with jute padding under the rubber mat and had rusted-out holes in floor panel. Unknown to me the jute caught fire from the exhaust pipe as I went down the highway. It was night and I couldn't see the smoke trailing me. Scared the devil out of a service station attendant when I pulled into his parking area. He rushed out frantically waving his arms to direct me away. My very young daughter thought it was all funny.