I know that I have had some frustration installing the rubber door sill plates in my Js as they tend to get bound up under the door and don't let it close. I've tried gluing them in place with no success. The Factory HJ Parts Book lists a "Drive Nail", part number 213944 as a fastener and says there are 14 of them (7 per side I would conclude). Has anyone ever seen these "nails?" That nice original '52 in Chanhassen, MN was at the show I attended this morning and it has them:
Not easy to see but I circled them in red. The pic is driver side, rear of scuff plate. They look just like finishing nails. Anyone ever installed them? KF Service Bulletin 333 mentions a kit to retro-fit these into the '51 Henry J and '52 Henry J Vagabond which would not have had them originally. In those cases it says to remove the rocker panel screws (all I've seen have been spot welded but maybe not the '51s?), use the round end of a ball peen and "counter sink" the hole, then use the screws to fasten the sill plates. My '52 Vagabond had screws and I removed them but I'm not sure I want to use them to fasten the plates. Maybe that is the answer though since none of the adhesives I've tried have worked. I also noticed that the part number for the scuff plates in the retro-fit kit is different from those listed for the '52-'53 in the parts book? Maybe this is why they won't stay fastened? Anyone know the difference?
Oh and by the way, here's a picture of my '53 next to that '52 this morning. Great pair of cars to display among the 400 or so that were there this morning:
