floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

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Jim Clement
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Tag: 1957 356 A Coupe
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floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#1 Post by Jim Clement »

I am installing the finishing touches on my interior to a T1 356 coupe.

does anyone know the path of least resistance to installing the floor boards / rubber mat and then the tunnel cover that comes with its own rubber cover ??
 

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Jim Clement
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Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2010 10:46 am
Tag: 1957 356 A Coupe
Location: Calgary Alberta

Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#2 Post by Jim Clement »

okay.. back to trying to get the puzzle to fit together..
can anyone tell if the aluminum cover plate in the photos is original and correct.. or is it something that is incorrect that I inherited with the car when i bought it 35 years ago..
I cannot get the aluminum piece to fit over the tunnel, specifically i think it gets hung up on the nuts that hold down both the shifter and the shifter plate.
could it be that the larger hole was to be cut on the front side and the smaller opening for the heater shifter was to go behind ??
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Jim Clement
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Tag: 1957 356 A Coupe
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Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#3 Post by Jim Clement »

or a more basic question.
is there an aluminum backing plate between the transmission tunnel and the black tunnel mat ??
I looked in the parts manual and cannot find one ??
 

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Dan Haden
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Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#4 Post by Dan Haden »

Jim - I don't know why you are not getting any responses on your questions. Most of us have done this a few times. It has been a while since I did my two '59 A cars, but I will try to help. Your aluminum cover looks like an original, but it looks like it is for a later A car with the heater control in front of the shifter. If you can find the correct one, that would be the easiest, but if you cannot, modifying yours would not be a big chore. Do the size and contours of your aluminum cover match the contours of the rubber cover? If so, then you would need to enlarge the hole for the shifter and make a patch to reduce the size of the hole around the heater control. (If the contours are not the same, I think you need to find the proper original aluminum cover for the heater behind the shifter.)
I do not understand your question about an aluminum backing plate between the trans tunnel and rubber mat. If you are talking about the aluminum cover I was talking about above, yes, it is appropriate. If you mean another location, please explain.

As to sequence of installation, my recollection is as follows: The rubber tunnel cover should be glued to the aluminum sub-cover. That combined piece should be installed before the plywood floor panels and before the main rubber floor mat. In my '59 cars there are two steel tabs about 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inches by 1/8 inch with a hole near one end for the frontmost screws on the two seat tracks on the tunnel to go through. I put these tabs under the carpet at the seat tracks and between the rubber and aluminum of the tunnel cover. this holds the rear of the cover in place. My recollection is that the floor boards hold the front end more or less in place. The final thing to install is the large rubber floor mat. Its edges abutting the tunnel go over the coved edges of the tunnel rubber cover. I can't say for sure that this is the factory installation, but it seemed logical to me and works well with my cars. If you have to make the steel tabs, mine are slightly rounded at the ends. Not a full half circle, but maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of a circle. I think mine were originally beige or gray in color for one car and they were missing on the other. I would paint them to match the carpet color of your car.

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Jim Clement
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Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#5 Post by Jim Clement »

okay.. now I understand..
I i see that the aluminum piece is incorrect.. and yes.. i will modify to make more correct
i have not seen these for sale .. ever..

I think I know someone that can fabricate a new piece for me..
so should all work..

Thanks !!
 

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Jim Clement
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Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#6 Post by Jim Clement »

does anyone know where you can buy one of these pieces ?
 

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Dan Haden
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Re: floor mat / tunnel / floor board installation sequence ?

#7 Post by Dan Haden »

Jim - I would expect your best bet would be someone like Adam Wright at Unobtanium, Jim at EASY or someone else who buys complete derelict cars. Some of those cars would have the cover in them and it would not be taking a part from a decent car if it was removed. Pre- A and T-1 will be much scarcer than the later versions.

You didn't answer if the contours of your late A aluminum are the same as your rubber cover. If they are, I would still recommend recutting the shifter hole and patching the heater knob hole. Patch with sheet aluminum epoxied or pot riveted in place. No one will ever see it after you glue the rubber to the aluminum. If the contours are different (I am thinking of the bump-in area next to the gas pedal), I would agree that replacing the aluminum piece would be a lot easier. I forgot to mention earlier that my original aluminum cover has a thin bit of wispy, fuzzy material with the consistency of cotton candy on the side of the cover next to the tunnel. Presumably for sound deadening, but I can't believe it did or does much. Maybe a layer of 1/4 inch foam would be easier to source and more effective if you want something there. Or a layer of Dynamat may be even better (and cover up the patch from that side).

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