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56MarkII
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-- 10-14-2016 @ 10:36 PM
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Does anybody know of a source for a replacement trunk mat for a 1950 Mercury sedan? The part number on my original mat is 8L-7245456 but nobody seems to make an OEM reproduction or a close "will fit"reproduction. There seem to be many out there for the shoebox Fords but nothing for the bathtub. I was told this is difficult because most people customize theirs so there is very little demand. Mine is very stock in every way and I'm still running 6 volts with the original tube radio so anything that looks close would be fantastic.
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TomO
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-- 10-17-2016 @ 8:39 AM
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Is that a rubber mat or a vinyl mat? I am not sure when Mercury changed over.
Tom
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56MarkII
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-- 10-17-2016 @ 8:39 PM
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It appears to be a pebbly rubber mat with the Mercury or should I say the Lincoln part number molded into the right rear edge of the mat. Now the frustrating part is by word of mouth from another Mercury parts dealer was Pat Walsh sells a reproduction minus the part number and comes in different styles such as pebble, ribbed etc. BUT he refuses to email me pictures!! That is as bad as C&G Ford parts selling the Curb buffer set but due to them being a re seller or middleman they dont provide a picture for the reproduction set. It's bad enough working with a $0.75 dollar after exchange and that is also a factor in the shipping to get it up here to Canuckastan but I dont know what the d*mn thing looks like. Lets put it another way. Let's say i have a 1950 Mercury for sale on eBay but I will post it for sale with no pictures. One picture says a thousand words. Also it has been a number of years since I removed whats left of my mat from my trunk and I cannot remember if it was one piece or a set due to the spare tire and wheel well being involved here. Also years ago there was padding underneath kind of like what a coco mat is made out of and is that what they call Jute? It looks like the same padding under the wool carpets of my 56 Continental. This underlay or padding was discarded years ago due to it falling apart and before it was known to me how difficult these were to locate. Most of it remains but some pieces tore off. BTW Merle sells fantastic trunk cardboard panels that look spot on to mine. Yes he sent me a picture.
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TomO
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-- 10-18-2016 @ 8:26 AM
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Since no one makes a reproduction of your floor mat, try a Google search of "pebble textures automobile floormat"
If you find one that looks close in the photo, ask for a sample.
Pat Walsh gets most of his rubber from Metero Moulded Parts. If they have something close, they will usually send a sample.
Tom
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56MarkII
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-- 10-18-2016 @ 2:01 PM
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Thanks Tom
Before you posted this reply I continued with the google search with all the garbage popping up that consisted of 49-51 Fords but guess what? I don't have a Ford! Mac's kept popping up so I called them and a fellow there admitted they get their products from these people.
http://www.quietride.com/web/viewer.html?file=http://www.quietride.com/catalogpdfs/linc_merc_catalog.pdf
On a Hudson forum they mentioned that Pat gets his stuff at Metro as well as K-Get (and complaints of no returned e-mails etc.)
Since Pat refuses to send pictures that only forces me to search around and Jeff at quietride said he will send me pictures etc. and I informed him I will have to carefully remove my mat, lay it out on the carpet and take pictures. He said the rubber might or might not have the correct pattern and he isn't sure how correct the shape is. After I take mine out he said they could compare and if need be make adjustments to their patterns. I don't know how common it is to still have a survivor lurking in the garage or a survivor trunk mat but I do so we will go from there. I guess I will give Metro a shout as well because fishing around for K-Get seemed to be like fishing with no bait on the hook and to make things worse I'm up here in a foreign country so some of these companies are "Greek" to me. This IS NOT an issue of cost. It's a total issue of not knowing what I will receive while having a high cost! BTW as for quiet ride they have the firewall pad made as close as original but mine is still very fine but I will have to check the condition of the skirt attatched to the bottom of which mine is probably still there. I dont crawl under the dash very often.
Don
This message was edited by 56MarkII on 10-18-16 @ 2:02 PM
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56MarkII
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-- 10-18-2016 @ 2:21 PM
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Just phoned Metro Molded Parts and the response was no got. They suggested phoning Dennis Carpenter but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I guess for now I will go to my Merc and remove the mat for pictures etc. and who knows www.quietride.com might be my best and possibly my only option unless Pat hears my plea and sends a picture of which I doubt.
As for quiet ride they have the mat with or without the insulation underlay and Jeff mentioned they use fiberglass not the Jute like mine used to have.
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TomO
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-- 10-19-2016 @ 7:18 AM
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Don, be very careful when removing the mat. I would get a nylon egg flipper to help with the areas that the mat has stuck to the floor. I used that on my 65 Cutlass that had an original rubber mat and only added one more tear when removing it from around the gas filler pipe.
I had found QuietRide while I was searching, but their mat did not look even close, so I did not mention it.
Tom
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56MarkII
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-- 10-21-2016 @ 1:36 PM
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Thanks Tom
The mat is in some ways a bit rough but holds together when I removed it and whatever has fallen apart has already years ago. It has a hole due to a leaky bottle of oil I suspect and the cutout area for the fuel pipe broke off beside the slot and hole. The separate rubber mat that covers the inner fender has shrunk and cracked from heat and cooking. Yes this mat is rubber and looks like a fairly good quality soft flexible rubber that I was able to determine because the large rectangular area that sits behind the seat is still very good but the molded area that sits lower down in the pan has suffered a bit. I might be missing one of the fender covers unless there was only one and not for the other side obscured by the spare tire sitting in the way. Quiet ride admitted that as well when I mentioned the pictures weren't very clear. A fellow I spoke to (Jeff) mentioned they didnt have much to go by when they made what they made but he said they were certainly willing to tweak and alter given pictures and measurements. Sounds alot better than most of the "Usual Suspects" so I sent a number of pictures of the mat out and if need be reinstall it so it is shaped better where it is molded in the trunk floor pan and provide measurements and we will see what the response is. It would be nice if it was in better condition and by rights it should be because it is only 66 years old 
As for the search Dennis Carpenter only has a similar looking but ribbed for a 1949-50 Ford, Pat Walsh has a "secret mystery" mat, Newark has mats and carpets but no trunk mats for my Merc.
Merle at Classic Mercury doesn't have either and Merlin at Mercury and More doesnt have them and was the one who suggested Pat.
Metro Moulded Rubber as well and certainly not Shoebox because the name pretty much sums it up. They didnt even have the Mercury Radiator hoses and expected me to "shoehorn" 49-51 Ford rad hoses in there. The beef I have is the lower hoses are longer with a bit of a curve to them for the Ford so why should I have to chop and fit to make fit. Simple solution, just make a d!mn set for the Mercury. If you make em for Ford, a little bit more effort and you got a hose for a Mercury as well. On a positive note Pat and Merlin have reproduction door sill plates for the Sport Sedan and Sport Coupe and those I will certainly grab later on (from Merlin of course!). There is cr*p on fleabay for sale for the sill or step plates but they are stainless steel not the proper aluminum with Mercury "M" and pattern after all I'm not building a custom. Why would I?
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56MarkII
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-- 10-21-2016 @ 1:40 PM
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More pictures
I would post more but it appears I can only upload one picture at a time.
Ron compares his two exhaust deflectors as "Holy Grail' and "Uber" but I would think having a complete mint or NOS 8L-7245456 and other than purchasing a correct NOS quality set of correct Fog or Driving lights for this car from him, my Holy Grail item is an NOS gold hood emblem I got off of ebay a couple of years ago for $39 plus shipping. It looks beautiful with the bright perfect gold finish complete with the part number tag and I snapped that up like a duck on a June bug and I have never seen one for sale since.
This message was edited by 56MarkII on 10-21-16 @ 1:58 PM
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rotorwrench
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-- 11-23-2016 @ 10:03 AM
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Thanks for posting the photo links. I remember removing what was left of the trunk mat from my Pop's old 51 back in 1974. That reinforces my memory of what I remember it looked like. Yours is probably the best example of an original that I've yet seen. My old cars came from climates in Kansas & New Mexico where the summer heat & winter cold were not kind to the soft parts. They weren't bad for the metal though.
Pat Walsh has been around since Christ was a corporal and I don't think he ever had exact reproductions of the 49/51 Mercury mats. They were just made to fit. I have two 51 sport sedans now but remember a time when I first started looking for the interior floor mats. My Pop's old hand me down 51 that I ended up with after all my siblings used and abused it, originally had a brown or tan colored rubber floor mat that has since crumbled literally to dust. My other 51 had a factory optional carpet set up so it will be easier to reproduce. I've thought about making a mold for the mats but it hasn't gotten past the thought stage yet. Rubber materials are more available now than they were back then so I keep looking for the appropriate materials. I'd have to make the mold from scratch using an actual floor pan as the basis for a mold. I don't think too many of them have survived this long but I might be surprised. Getting all the details would be important and they aren't easy to come by.
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56MarkII
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-- 01-01-2017 @ 6:24 PM
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The car is in very good original shape as indicated by the trunk mat. My rocker panels are still original and the dead giveaway are the louvered drain holes facing towards the rear. Very slight bubbling in one small area about 3 inches on the inner rocker only on one side that you need to slide under with a creeper to find. That shouldn't be a problem to repair keeping the original rocker intact by a good body shop. One fellow on ePay had a very old NOS for sale but I missed that one. Rotorwrench you are very correct about New Mexico because that is where my 56 Continental came from with zero rust anywhere, but the leather seats suffered. As for the trunk mat, the damage in the middle pan area is from a leaking oil container grrrrrrrrrr! Other than that, at the filler pipe and the last remaining over the fender piece are cracked from heat I suspect. My floor carpet is still the original wool carpet in the back but has shrunk a small amount pulling itself from under the sill or scuff plates and the front only had a rubber mat and I suspect the front carpet rotted years ago and was ripped out and replaced with the rubber. That rubber mat was discarded by myself many years ago because it was rough (I hope it wasn't OEM). I would assume the front should be carpet as well perhaps with a heel pad as available on ePay by one seller who has a set but it is Nylon not wool. If they had a heel pad from new I will try to find a reproduction and just get a carpet set made here when I obtain the proper material and get my tired interior re upholstered. At least I have the rear carpet for a pattern and sample. As for Pat, I was entirely P!@*ed off with his attitude of not providing any pictures of what his so called mat looks like and I decided to not waste my time with no answered phone calls and few emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never even bothered looking at the last email he sent! My old mat can go back in the trunk. He also sells replacement door sill or scuff plates like what Merlin in Washington State sells but after this adventure Merlin will most certainly get my business. It's as stupid as C&G selling the Curb Buffer set or if you prefer stone guards but they also don't provide a picture. I guess these people aren't hungry enough. Also regarding the trunk are the cardboard panels and I still have mine. They are rough but at least I know what they are supposed to look like. Merle has a spot on reproduction but will only ship them by UPS. UPS does not come into my area and use very sketchy sub contractors instead. I will ask Merlin if he has those and if he doesn't, does anybody know who else has these??
This message was edited by 56MarkII on 1-1-17 @ 6:38 PM
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TomO
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-- 01-03-2017 @ 6:55 AM
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Check with Gene Napoliello, the V-8 Club's 49-51 Mercury Adviser, but I believe that the 49-51 Mercury came with a rubber front mat. I don't remember if the Monterey came with the front carpet in 50 and 51, but the 52 Monterey had a front carpet.
Tom
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