Model N, R or S floormat

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2009: Model N, R or S floormat
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Lukkarinen on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 03:27 pm:

Does anyone have a spare floormat for Models N,R or S or the means to fabricate a batch?

I had checked with Lang's who had sold them in the past. They tell me that they are no longer in stock and that their supplier had folded. I checked, and sure enough, they did fold in about 2002. I guess that orders from the old car hobby could not keep the plant of over 200 employees busy enough (although I found out their largest customer was Volvo).

I don't know a lot about fabricating floormats, other than you would likely need a mold or pattern and a press to form them out of rubber. Maybe a member has the expertise or an alternative method?

Thanks, brgds,

John Lukkarinen


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 07:47 pm:

Did you check any leads at the old place? I wonder if there is a chance of finding the mold? You never know if you do a little CSI stuff what you might find.
Herb


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Alex Alongi on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 08:21 pm:

John,
Not familiar with the N,R,S, if they don't have a "Ford" inprint, you maybe able to use generic floor mat stock & a simple mold to form the edges.

Alex


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By "Hap" (Harold) Tucker on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 09:31 pm:

John and others,

Several years ago, several of us tried to run down the molds for the NRS&SR floor mats from the company that had produced them but which was actually bought out by another company. We never really got a good answer about what happened to the molds for the NRS&SR floor mats. If someone had a good contact who worked at the company -- they might be stored in some attic or back room. But it is likely that they were destroyed or lost.

Due to the very low number of NRS&SR owners and potential customers -- it is a very small number of mats that would ever be purchased. Yes they wear out -- but Lang's and other dealers had them on their shelves not moving for years. If I remember correctly, it was not until one of the suppliers (I think it was Lang’s) went to order some additional mats that they found out the company no longer produced them.

Floyd Jaehnert another of our Early Ford Registry members http://www.earlyfordregistry.com/ did comment about the work some of the EMF owners http://emfauto.org/ did to have some EMF floor mats reproduced. If a good sample is available (and there are some) then a single or small run of a floor mat could be done. A mold can be made from the sample or the pattern can be digitized and used by a water powered cutter to "cut" the appropriate pattern into the rubber.

So your question about if anyone has one that they do not need (i.e. the car was sold but hey -- look this floor mat doesn't fit a T -- now what can we do with it) is one possible source.

Or if you are interested in finding out what it would cost to reproduce the mats -- I am sure several other NRS&SR owners would be interested in purchasing one -- depending on the price.

I see you have already put a posting on the Early Ford Registry. I would also recommend placing a printed advertisement in the various national magazines since not every NRS&SR owner is a member of the Early Ford Registry -- but some who are not, are members of the HCCA, MTFCA, MTFCI, AACA etc. It would be good to get a preliminary idea of who would be interested in an NRS&SR mat and more importantly who would be interested in helping to reproduce them – either providing a good copy or helping to find someone to do the work. The mats can be reproduced – just as the NRS&SR transmission parts, manifolds, etc. have been reproduced. And just as with those items – there will not be a need to produce a 1000 – but rather a small run will probably provide a slightly lower cost per unit that just producing one. The first one usually cost more due to the cost of the mold or mapping how the water cutter needs to cut etc. and the next one is often less expensive. For some parts that is not the case – but for others it is.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap Tucker 19l5 Model T Ford touring cut off and made into a pickup truck and l907 Model S Runabout (that also needs (maybe I want one for?) a floor mat). Sumter SC.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Alex Alongi on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 09:45 pm:

I can't find it now. but it's on Jay Leno's site. It's a computerized system which takes an original & makes a plastic duplicate from which a mold can be made, they threw in a crescent wrench & within minutes came out with a working plastic duplicate. Maybe more cost effective than starting from scratch.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Doogie on Friday, June 05, 2009 - 10:53 pm:

Alex, here's that link to the Jay Leno's garage video, talking about making tools and parts. Really cool stuff!

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=944641


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Lukkarinen on Monday, June 08, 2009 - 03:45 pm:

Here is a photo of part of the floormat for Model N, R or S showing the Ford print (before script was used). Note that the vehicles were right hand drive, with pedal cutout on the right (not shown in the photos). Maybe someone will recognize this floormat in their garage, and let me know.

Brgds,

John LukkarinenFord N, R and S floormatFord N, R and S floormat


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Alexander on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 02:34 pm:

How about a mat for the front of a '25 roadster or touring ? The ones for'23 and '24 fit but are too small to cover all the floorboard. Any thoughts there ?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By will_vanderburg on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 03:00 pm:

Bill, the one I have for my '25 is too big.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend, Gresham, Orygun on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 06:04 pm:

The 1915-1925 floor mat was only intended to cover the floorboards, not the sills or floorboard risers. The modern reproduction floor mat is oversized and needs to be trimmed.

Anybody have a picture of an original floor mat in place? Larry?

: ^ )


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Treace on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 08:01 pm:

Here is a pic of an original front mat from a 1924 touring.


Original mat, note the detailed borders around the pedal slot area and the starter button.



Modern repro mat, but cut to correct shape by using the original mat above for a template.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend, Gresham, Orygun on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 12:52 am:

Dan-

Thanks for the pictures.

What are the dimensions of the original mat?

Aren't they much thicker than the new mats (even the expensive heave one) and the original has a burlap type of material in the rubber?
Is the area up by the floorboard riser curved, or is it just the way the picture looks?

: ^ )

-Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Lukkarinen on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 03:21 pm:

Good news for NRS owners who need floormats.

A member has stepped forward and is offering to make floormats for Ford Models N,R and S, based on a pattern from his original mat. He has reproduced Model T mats in the past with success, and would be able to do the same for NRS.

If you are interested, let me know at sivell(nospam)@shaw.ca (remove bracketed info) and I can coordinate the order. The price will likely be based on quantitiy made. I suspect that this will be a one-off production run. Therefore, here is your one and only chance to have proper floormats for your vehicle, or as a collectible piece.

Brgds,

John Lukkarinen


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Treace on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 05:30 pm:

Keith

The original mat is about the same thickness as the new repros. Yes, there is some kind of weave in the rubber.




The repro on the left was nice and oversize and was easy to trim to the size of the original. Don't have all the dimensions, but the mat just follows the shape of the outer edges of the floorboards. Yes, there is a curve to the mat at each upper side to follow the curvature of the metal foot riser. The rear portion of the mat does just almost touch the metal heel panel in the body. The upper cutout is to clear the firewall protrusion.


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