Willys Repo Floor Mats

[jbailey]

MarkH:

Back in 2013, you began a post regarding reproduction floor mats for Willys Aeros available from Brazilian Vendors at the following web site - http://lista.mercadolivre.com.br/tapete-dianteiro-aero-willys-1960-a-1971_NoIndex_True

One vendor shows the front mat only for 1240 Brazilian Reals, while a second vendor shows the front and rear mats for 1150 Brazilian Reals ($382.82 & $354.03 at today's exchange rates, respectively).

Has anyone ever ordered these mats?  How well did they fit? Were you satisfied? How much did shipping come to?

Thanks,

John B.

[MarkH]

Good timing.
I bought one of those back then and recently did the floor & tunnel padding & started to fit the rubber mat. It appears to be an exact duplicate in the embossed patterns & smooth spaces. There were two mats available when I ordered mine, one for the early Brazil model (basically a US '55) or the later Aero, with or without rear rubber, I ordered the early front only.

The tunnel area seems to be for a slightly bigger tunnel or is simply a loose fit, otherwise it's sized properly. I tried another layer of pad in various areas of my tunnel but after chasing the poor fit allover the place, I decided to let the upholsterer take a look. He agrees just the tunnel section is too big but thinks with some properly placed tunnel padding he can make it look good. He should do that about any day now.

Can't say if the mat is molded wrong, if I got the later version or if it would fit a '60 Brazilian model tunnel like a glove. Regardless, I think it looks good and can be made to fit about as good as the original without any glaringly obvious padding changes. If I ruin this one cutting the pedal holes, I'd order another.

I think the exchange rate was 2 Reals to the Dollar when I ordered mine, can't remember what I paid for shipping

[jbailey]

MarkH:

Thanks for the update.  I now feel more comfortable about ordering some.

John B.

1952 Willys Aero Wing basket case
1961 Corvair 700 4dr

[MarkH]

Finally got the rubber mat done. The upholsterer fought the poor fit as much as I did but didn't give up. He chased the wrinkles around to different places than me and then did some creative tunnel padding to end up with a pretty good job considering the issues. There was one big one left behind/under the heater box location & I told him to leave it & after I cut the pedal holes I'd split it &  re-glue to see if it would lay down.
Last pic shows where I cut the split, and a round hole to keep it from "running"  any further later.

 I think I may have figured out the cause of the fit issues. This is basically a '55 mat, which according to the '54/'55 parts book supplement, has different floor pan numbers AND a different floor mat part number than the earlier models.

All told, I don't know where I'd find anything else as original looking and am fairly pleased regardless of the fit issues.

[jbailey]

MarkH:

The mat looks good.  Thanks for posting.

John B.

1952 Willys Aero Wing Basket Case
1962 Chevrolet Corvair 700 4 dr

[MarkH]

MarkH:

The mat looks good.  Thanks for posting.

John B.

1952 Willys Aero Wing Basket Case
1962 Chevrolet Corvair 700 4 dr

Thanks, and you're welcome. Maybe this will help too.

I discovered I couldn't accurately locate my pedal holes off the old mat so I cut those after the mat was fitted. Before padding, I got a sheet of poster stock and stuck it to the floor with magnets, then traced the firewall holes to cut out. Then temporarily installed column, dimmer & pedals and cut correct mat size holes for them in small pieces, attached like hinged "doors" with tape. Once the mat was installed, I used a gas pedal screw hole and an upper left hole from the engine side to orient the template & restuck the magnets. Also attached the gas pedal base first & cut 2 small slots for just the "ears" rather than a wide slot for the base of the pedal.

I checked my record, the mat & shipping was $430 USD when I ordered mine.

[Barnum]

Looking really good ! Great tip.