Which rubber floor mat is best (D.C., Bob Drake, NPD, etc)?

[robroy]

Hello Folks,

When I pulled up my rubber floor mat to look for rust it came up in pieces! So it's time for a new one.

Has anybody had experience buying one of these? I tried to buy one from Dennis Carpenter but they're all sold out. I'm also thinking of Bob Drake's mat.

Thanks for the great advice!
-Robroy

[19674x4]

i bought mine from NPD. if you have a manual tranny and 4x4, you will have to cut your own shifter holes though.

[peanutman]

Got mine from lmc. If you buy the vinyl full cab version they are all trim to fit and NOT custom fit. They are kinda hard to get them to lay down and contour to the floor.
I used a heat gun, looks ok.

[robroy]

Hey folks, thanks for the replies. I decided to go with the Bob Drake mat for $120 because it looks like it has the holes pre-cut.

I'll post pics when it arrives.

Thanks!
-Robroy

[old_mare]

Yes yes keep us posted cuz I gotta buy one too!

So you're from Palo Alto? My wife went to school at Los Altos HS. You know the area then! Small world.

-JT-

[robroy]

Hey JT, yes I'm sitting here in Palo Alto this very moment! My girlfriend tutors math students from Los Altos HS.

I moved here for work a couple of years ago but I prefer living in the country.

-Robroy

[Doug Comer]

I'd like to see the pics too. I need something for my truck. Doug

[robroy]

The Bob Drake mat arrived!

As stated on in their catalog, the mat doesn't have the exact same texture as the original one. I think the texture it does have is a little too "busy" for my taste, but it'll still look great installed and it's a big step up from my decomposed old mat.



It seems to have all the holes pre-cut. The only hole that's not pre-cut is for the transmission shifter, and I think that's done on purpose just in case somebody's installing it in a truck that was converted to a column shift or something. Despite not having this pre-cut, it does seem to have a hole perforated on the underside to make cutting easy. I haven't tried to figure out if this hole will work for me or not quite yet.



I'll post more photos of it once it's installed. I have full resolution versions of the photos--just ask if you're interested.

Thanks!
-Robroy

[robroy]

I just got to looking at the mat again and noticed the square hole under the gas pedal--what's this for? If I'm looking at it right this hole will appear sort of under where the gas pedal goes.

Do ya'll think this hole is there to make the mat work with trucks that have a floor-mounted pedal? That's pretty awkward for our trucks! Hopefully I'm just looking at it wrong.

-Robroy

[1971ford]

all our trucks have a square cut out of our cab and puttied back in (with some type of sealer paste) for some reason. i used to know why it was there but im having a brain fart at the moment.
some bumps had that square cut out from the factory for the reason i am forgetting.

someone here will come up with the reason.

[robroy]

Hi Ryan! Interesting; I'll be curious to hear about that (the square that's cut out of the floor of Bumpsides).

I tried the mat in the cab today, and it was clear that I need to send this thing back--it doesn't really fit.

It seems to be made for the pre-Bumpside trucks. The footprint fits the pre-Bumpside floor board layout, and the headlight dimmer switch cutout is in the right place for those trucks. Not to mention the hole for the gas pedal! It's supposed to fit '65 through '72, but I think it's primarily designed for '65 and '66.

Sure maybe it could be adapted in with lots of work, but there's no good way to plug those useless holes, and it just doesn't look right in there.




On top of that, there were lots of fine cracks in the rubber, like it may have been sitting on a shelf for many years before I ordered it. This probably isn't the case, but it doesn't seem to have the proper level of neoteny I'd expect out of a new mat.



Hopefully they'll accept the return! Now if I can just figure out how they ever managed to get this thing to fit in that box!

-Robroy

[Jake11]

That looks like Shxt. I want a nice rubber floor set too. You must be pissed. I am just lookin at that. I see you did
your dash and it looks good. Having "truck" floormats is a plus. Hose it out and your good to go. Ain't fancy, but way
practicable. I'll see if I can find out anything about this too. Jake

[robroy]

'Morning Jake,

I must admit I was a little disappointed with how poorly the mat fit, considering Bob Drake sells it as a '65 through '72 part. But I still think Bob Drake's an awesome place; they're just not familiar with Bumpsides. They normally deal only in parts for older Fords. And to their credit, they did express a warning that the texture of this mat doesn't match the original '72 design--I just think they could have used a much stronger, more detailed warning!

Thanks for the compliment on my dash! I removed the rotten dash pad about ten years ago and really enjoyed the upgrade in appearance, not to mention that the heater vents worked better with fewer louvers to push air through.

Now that I've had the pad off for a number of years though, I'm thinking of installing a new one. It's undoubtedly safer with the pad in place, since every bit of insulation between the passenger's skull and the iron is bound to help in a collision, and the pad will look newer than the somewhat oxidized paint. But that's not super high on my list so I may not get to it for another year or two.

I agree that "truck" floormats are really cool; you don't have to worry about them. That's the same reason I'm having the seat re-done with vinyl--so my friend can eat his Super Chicken Burrito from the taco stand in the truck free of worry. Plus I like being able to lift up a corner easily to check the health of the floorboards.

Thanks for your reply Jake!
-Robroy

[robroy]

Just spoke to Bob Drake. They said that I should never have to cut my own holes in the mat, so there must be some mistake with their parts listing. In any event, they gave me an RMA without hesitation. They seem like good folks.

When I tried to order the mat from Dennis Carpenter they were out of stock, but that was a few weeks ago so I'll try there again!

-Robroy

[peanutman]

#50 i have yet to find one of the rubber mats for our bumps that are true custom fit. Sounds kinda like the full cab mat i ordered from lmc. I did have to do some cutting and it never did conform to the floor like i thought it should. I was gonna send it back but after taking a heat gun and heating and stretching i got it looking pretty good.
But most that orders these mat say the same thing.
You might try green sales or macs and find a true ford brand mat, but will cost you $$$. Mat does look weather cracked to me. But unless someone knows different whoever you order from you will have fit issues unless you find orig fomoco replacemrnt.