Rubber Sill Plates ---- A Non-Chrysler Project

[rb1949]

Those infamous rubber sill plates, one of the first things you notice getting in the car. What condition were yours in? Mine were old, dry, hard, brittle, worn, cracked and just plain nasty. And that one piece construction with the rubber molded directly to that metal strip creates rust underneath. With those pins on the metal going into the rubber grommets in the rocker, it was a handy way to attach them. Being SOOOO ugly, those were one of the first things I removed on the 4 door. Each one also had 2 screws, lucky to get those out without drilling. And the rubber grommets came out. Next to attack the rust, then prime and paint. It's not visible, slop on any color you got. I had Rustoleum Black. Now you've got a 'clean' rocker panel with big holes in it. Better than looking at broken pieces of rubber and a rusty plate.



While searching for other parts, original replacement sill plates popped up. And the price. WHOA. These were definately NOT going to be a part of my budget for parts, to put my feet on. Time to be clever for some kind of non-Chrysler replacement that would look nice and serve the purpose. Going non original is no problem. After much debate, I settled on using rubber floor mat material, which comes in an array of patterns. Frowned on the 'ribbed' design, which would be hard to clean, and catching lots of beach sand. A smooth surface would be more suitable, and a Diamond Plate design caught my eye. Searching got lucky, spotting this pattern in the necessary 36" width, 1/8" thick, and it was 40% off. Only needed a foot long (4 pc X 3" each). One piece was carefully cut straight, and put in place using a good adhesive, no screws. So far so good, it looked nice. Quite functional, but also quite plain. Something was missing. Ah, it was the boring match of the rubber to the carpet, which could be improved with a piece of trim, similar to the carpet-to-tile stuff. Had the right idea, but shopping wasn't finding anything 'exciting' to cover this seam. Finally settled that 3/4" width would be the best. Picked up a piece of aluminum, 36" X 1/8" X 3/4", cut to 32". Buffed that sucker out to a glossy shine. Now we're getting somewhere. Not done yet. How could I add some class to this stick of metal? A perfect idea came to mind, producing the intended touch of class. Take a look at the result of my effort with this piece of aluminum. The first of two finished pieces. It was difficult to get a good photo with the reflections.



CHRYSLER is centered, and I wanted the raised (shiny) letters with an engraved background. This was done freehand using a Dremmel. Needed some practice first with various bits to obtain the result. Grinding is tricky. And a steady hand. Here it is installed, using stainless oval head screws. Perfect for the intended purpose.



Do you like it? I think it's a classy addition to the '49.

[Oldguy48]

RB,

  Nice job...looks good.  Your engraving skills are impressive.  That trim looks like it was done on a milling machine.

 

Wayne

[1940plymouth]

Congrats on a job well done, they look great

[knuckleharley]

*I* like it.

[T120]

 Nice work.

[Niel Hoback]

You freehanded that??? Holy mackerel Andy, you're good!!

[rb1949]

Thanks for the all around compliments on my burst of ambitious creativity for a sill plate upgrade. Far from original, and guaranteed nobody else has them. When forced to do a non-stock replacement, get creative. In case some of you were not watching my Instrument Cluster post, that project got out of hand, resulting in re-painting the dash components. Here's that result with Metallic Charcoal and Satin Nickel finish. Gotta love trivial projects.

 

 

[DLK]

Thanks for the all around compliments on my burst of ambitious creativity for a sill plate upgrade. Far from original, and guaranteed nobody else has them. When forced to do a non-stock replacement, get creative. In case some of you were not watching my Instrument Cluster post, that project got out of hand, resulting in re-painting the dash components. Here's that result with Metallic Charcoal and Satin Nickel finish. Gotta love trivial projects.

 

You ought to go in business! Sharp looking.

[Worden18]

Upon first glance I thought it was milled as well.  Wow nice work!  Looks spectacular 

[40plyrod]

Awesome job. I've tried engraving with a dremel before it's very tough to do, you nailed it!

[rb1949]

Yup, one slip and your work is kaput. I didn't care for the Diamond Bits for this purpose.

[ptwothree]

What bits did you end up using?  Great use of creative thinking!  I might give something like this a try......

[rb1949]

Thanks again. Don't MILL after MILLer Lite. Main use was a 105 and 107 engraving bit. Took longer than expected to get the depth I wanted. Tried a few different Diamond Bits but wasn't happy with the progress. Can't say whether the aluminum was soft or hard grade. 3/4" is a pretty small area to be working in. I nixed the idea of using a 3" wide piece of material for the plate, that would get scuffed up more than rubber.