Sill Mats or Not ??????

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, how many of you guys continue to u:D se sill mats, mine are pretty beat up, thinking of pulling them and running the carpet to the aluminum edge strip. I know replacement mats are expensive, if you can find them, do they repro these for old Chrashlers.........Fred

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have no intentions of using them on my Plymouths...I cannot justify the cost when my cars will in no way represent stock vehicle...I believe this is the thing you need to weigh...

[Norm's Coupe]

Fred

I still have the sill plates in my coupe, but they were in good shape when I bought the car. If they had been bad, I would have looked for some good used ones or fabricated some kind of sill plate to replace it with.

I don't recommend running the carpet under the door for one reason. The sill plate has a ridge in it higher than the floor of the car. That's there for a purpose. When water gets between the glass in the door, it settles to the bottom of the door. In the bottom of the door are drain holes for that water to drain out of. It then hits the sill plate and exits the car. If you run your carpet under the door, each time water gets in there the carpet is going to get wet and stay wet for awhile.

So in the "What's it worth department", I'd have some kind of sill plate under the doors to catch the water so it doesn't get inside the car. You can make some with just a flat piece of sheet metal, then cover it with rubber mat from just about any store. Or, you can make aluminum ones with a ridge around the inside to direct the water out of the car.

Just my opinion on the subject, but if in the same boat as you, I'd do one of the above. I wouldn't pay the price of reproduction plates. I'd probably pick up a piece of aluminum and roll a bead into it and make a nice looking custom sill plate. Could probably make two out of one sheet for under $20.

[Olddaddy]

Norm is on the right track. You need something under the door to keep the water headed outwards. I plan to make up a pair for my 50 Suburban out of stainless with some sort of nice sanded finish.

[Frank Blackstone]

I have his email name from last year I will retrieve if anu one is interested. About 125.00 as I remember. Frank

[randroid]

Gents,

Just a thought on the sill plates; if they aren't made of rubber they'll be slicker than snot when they're wet so you might consider some non-slip tape or paint over them.

-Randy

[Norm's Coupe]

Randy,

Actually, sill plates don't get that slippery. Just look at about all the mid 50's to about 1980 sill plates. They were all either stainless steel or aluminum then. Never had a slipping problem. Actually, I rarely even step on mine. If my foot does hit the sill plate, I'm usually already sitting down in the car seat so it wouldn't matter if it was slippery. I've never had a passenger slip on any of those metal sill plates either in all those years.

[bmt47p-15]

Did any one see these sill plates on the bay? Will they even fit a P15?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1946-1947-1948-1949-1950-Plymouth-Dodge-Desoto-Chrysler_W0QQitemZ230126308111QQihZ013QQcategoryZ33705QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[BobT-47P15]

Hmmm.....it's possible these might work. I did not study on the measurements, but someone could get out their tape to see. Wonder if there are any 50s items off other cars that would fit.

[cwcars88]

I bought a set of rubber running boards from

Hundley W Acuff

1423 Wilson Rd

Rossvile,Ga 30741-2158

706-866-4875 $ 310.00 total with shipping

Yes they are expensive but they look great. Iam building a street rod and drive my cars year round. It will see its share of rain and wash jobs. Dry floors are a must, when you show your car the doors are normerly closed so you won't see them anyway.

[knighthawk]

Rocky : got a suggestion, I 'm thinking about useing the real thin diamond plate, maybe paint them black, as there won't be any chrome on the car. The rubber mats are available from Steele, I think, and quite expensive. But I'm a long wat from that point !