Anyone Remember Rubber Trunk Mats? '68 GTO
 

When I bought my first GTO in 1974 it was a '68 GTO and it came with a real rubber trunk mat with a black & White hounds tooth pattern.

I am wondering why I cannot find a new rubber trunk mat. With all the GTOs and other Pontiac family A-Bodies and F-Bodies out there, you would think SOMEONE would reproduce the RUBBER trunk mat.

So, everyone needs to call the major parts houses that sell A-Body parts and ask them to find a supplier for real rubber hounds tooth trunk mats.

Rubber is just nicer than vinyl. If someone still makes them, please let me know.
Thank you

Have you looked at the NPD mats?

C-TMR-415AA Trunk Mat Rubber Aqua And Black Houndstooth 1-Piece
and
C-TMR-415AG Trunk Mat Rubber Gray And Black Houndstooth 1-Piece

Great way to rust out your trunk floor trapping moisture. Trunk mats are a bad idea imho.

Don

Have you tried these guys?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-Pontia...AAAOxyW7tRh09b

Thanks. I will check it out!

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. If you have water getting into your trunk, you have bigger problems than having a rubber trunk mat.

I was referring to condensation. Constant cycles of heating and cooling will cause moisture to accumulate under the mat. It has nothing to do with leaks....

Don

Many years ago, I found a nearly mint rubber trunk mat in a 1970 full sized (Canadian) Pontiac;
I bought it, and cut it to match the stencil of a 1973 Firebird trunk mat.
I recently threw most of it out because it had fallen apart... I kept a bigger chunk of it though to compare against my intended eventual replacement mat.

You really need to listen to Don. He's right about rubber mats causing rust on the trunk floor. The rubber doesn't breathe.



I've seen it first hand. Causes tiny rust pin holes. Whole trunk floor had to be replaced.

Dry, no Olives and certainly not stirred or shaken!
 

I do not doubt that he is correct, but I like the rubber over the vinyl and can keep the trunk floor in rust free condition with the proper coatings. Where I live in Texas is a dry enough climate that we do not have the rust and humidity problems they have in Houston and the Eastern part of the USA.

Your not BS’ing about the humidity in Houston. There are days I can go in the garage and the entire floor is wet. This is with an epoxy coating so I think the condensation just lays on top rather than soaking into the concrete

I put the trunk at in my 72 Firebird that I bought from Ames and was surprised that it had a jute backing? I would think that would retain water and cause rust problems later on? Is that what was originally offered?

wow!?

I thought that the trunk mats were the same through to 1972;

I have only two good points of reference;
1) three owner, single repaint only, but otherwise completely original 1971 Trans Am
2) a painfully original 1970 full sized Pontiac that I removed the trunk mat from

both were a thin but heavy, rubber mat with no backing.
The second example, I actually bought, and used a 1973 Firebird trunk mat as a pattern to re-cut an place in my car.

I know that by 1973 the trunk mat should have been a jute material, at least it was that way on Firebirds.
A couple years later the material changed again to a thinner rubber skin backed black "carpet" trunk mat (I always liked these ones).

I mean it looks nice and honestly the only water the car will see is from washing so it should be fine. I was just surprised that was a factory option

A great product would be a houndstooth carpet, no rubber.

This happened to me. Moisture got in my tail lights, and started rusting my trunk floor. I caught it in time, and cleaned it up, and re sprayed with spatter paint. I no longer use the mat. I put a blanket on the trunk floor now for my chairs and cleaning tote that I can easily remove or it will absorb moisture and I can simply hang it out to dry and let the trunk air out.

To combat the heat/cold condensation problem,I purchased an inexpensive (Big Lots,Walmart,etc) velour/soft blanket. Laid it under the the vinyl repop trunk mat and cut it to pattern after the vinyl mat. Water no longer is trapped...the blanket "breathes" and the blanket is not visible. I hang a water dessicant bag (Lowes,etc) from the trunk rod(s)to absorb water vapor and replace it when necessary. Result? Dry trunk. No rust.

The '65 Bonneville 2dr HT I purchased a few years ago was owned by a doctor and his wife in Sedona, AZ. Nice dry place and the car was rust free -- right up until I brought it home and lifted up the rubber floor mat. Trunk floor was pitted through and will need to be replaced. The rear window wasn't sealed and the weekly car washes allowed the water to drip down into the trunk and under the floor mat where it never dried out.

I've used carpeting in 2 cars and it never rusts.

I'm trying to determine if my original 68 rubber mat is black and white or Aqua. I'm thinking Aqua but...
Late Fremont car with spare tire cutout.

Last photo is from early 80s

They make them for first gen Camaros, can't imagine why a supplier wouldn't have one for other cars if they were so factory equipped.

Our 69Z with deluxe interior comes factory with a pretty thick rubber trunk mat with a houndstooth design on it. I had to buy a new one, they are just over $100. Not a cheap trunk mat but very nice quality.

They were an available accessory option for basically every model of every year.

Absolutely agree. Condensation is a problem, especially if you have an air condition garage . The cool air in the garage will speed up the issue when pulling your hot (body) car in.
Next time at a car show, lift up someones mat. More times than not, you will see some minor rust starting.

That was more of an issue back East and pretty commonly seen when I lived in Ohio.

Out here in Arizona not so much of a problem when you have dew points in the single digits and 15% humidity. The mats themselves disintegrate from decades
of use while the trunk floor remains pristine.

The over the Pontiac Parts counter Accesssory style I'm acquainted with from the late '60's were of a thick light gray flexible material. I've had a few NOS from dealer buyouts & have a lightly used one.

Like the much thinner assembly line installed rubber mats, I don't like them. Just pulled in too many projects & parts cars from TX, OK, even from out in NM, where the thin rubber style mats were stuck to the trunk floor. Once the thin mat is carefully pulled up, there's a rust stain on the back of the mat, & at the very least minor rust pitting on the trunk floor. My '72 T/A had a thin trunk mat mat as part of DLX trim interior option. Unless I find a perfect used '72 mat & then go to the trouble of installing & removing it, I doubt the '72's trunk floor ever gets a mat again. Even after refinishing with epoxy primer & modern paint, I'm paranoid about condensation & rust.

this happened to my 67

Same opinion. My rule of thumb when I got paid to think was if average RH is below 50%, risk for corrosion was negligible. Sure, if water sits, it will cause corrosion, but that's a different discussion. Condensation in the desert southwest can happen, but any condensate won't last long before it evaporates, even under a mat.

There is a "technical" thing called capillary condensation that can bite you when two surfaces are in contact, but like Formulajones, if the RH is 10 or 15%, even that scenario is unlikely.

Mike