Positiveray

Update:
PLEASE SOME ONE REPLY ! Picture would help!

Original Message:
I just purchased a new set (two piece) trunk mat... for my 442. My old one was in dozens of pieces from dry rot... So, my question is how does the smaller of the new two pieces lay in the car. My car is a convertible with the back seat divider and hydrolic top divder. I can't tell if my original smaller piece went under the spare tire, or along the top back of the trunk... I looked at some pictures on eBay of cars for sale... and I saw two different ways, so obviously some others don't know either... Even my assembly manual does not show how they lay in the trunk... Anyone have a picture of their trunk mat (with out the spare tire in the way). HELP Positiveray

shatrab

Welcome to the site. Sorry you haven't received a reply yet from anybody. In 2011 when I received my 68 convertible (from other side of country), I had pulled out the original mat (came out in pieces) also. Once I was ready to put the new one in, I had the same dilemma! I ended up putting the smaller piece across the top back stepped area. I believe that is correct and that there is a bare area in passenger side under spare tire on over to the quarter panel. Hopefully somebody else will verify this as you are looking for correct positioning, not an "I think this is correct".

BangScreech4-4-2

Does it have the cutout for the jack hold-down? If it does, you can just slide the hold-down tab (attached to trunk floor) through the cutout into place and just orient the rest of the mat from there.

firefrost gold

Join Wild about car's they have Manuals on there for oldsmobiles or pick on up on Ebay helps with some of this stuff too . Lets see some photos of what you have .

Positiveray

Thanks for the replies everyone... I decided to follow some of the pictures I found on other websites and use the mat to cover the rest of the bottom trunk floor. Because the upper portion of the trunk behind the convertible hydaulic cylinder is a very small area and also it will becovered mostly by the convertible top well liner. The right way however, is as SHATRAB stated in his reply... but I prefered to cover the lower area under the tire and match the LH side of the mat by tracing it and using it for the RH side. I also plan on putting some carpet felt under them to keep out moisture since I live in a high humidity area. Can post a picture of the final look if anyone is interested.... THANKS

BangScreech4-4-2

Re: the humidity -- are the mats heavy rubber or are they the light felt-backed ones? If they're rubber, make sure you remove them frequently to let the area dry. Rubber mats create a lot of condensation.

droldsmorland

X2 what 69 said. I dont run one. I put towels down when I have stuff in the trunk for the shows(color matched of course). Otherwise I keep the lid cracked open with a bare floor in a climate controlled garage. Fusick or Year One can also answer questions regarding what the sell. I'm not sure the assembly or body manual has a pic of the mat? Never looked.

shatrab

Good advice from 69442ragtop and droldsmorland... I myself haven't thought about the condensation issue and am going to put down some felt. I was extremely lucky when I received my car (it was in Hawaii from at least 1970 to 2011), and the original trunk is intact with original speckle coat, just a little rust in pan bands (not sure if pan bands is right nomenclature...). I would hate to do damage now!

BangScreech4-4-2

Wow, that's amazing. Our family lived in Hawaii when I was a kid and I remember seeing cars that were just a couple of years old with huge rust holes in them because of the salt air. Very impressive that yours survived, and with the trunk floor intact, no less!

shatrab

I was told that more than once. The owner that had it from 1970 through 2011 hardly drove it... The car had 14k miles when I bought it... Talking to an Olds guru I found in Hawaii (Allen Wong), he said cars with as little as 40k miles were completely rusted out. It seems to depend on exposure to the elements vs. being in a garage most of the time. There is definitely "patina" on the car chassis, but most every surface has an undercoat (as I was told all Hawaii cars get to help them last). Also could be where on the islands you are located (prevailing winds beating into your property, or shielded by higher mountain areas facing away from direct storm exposure. I am no expert on Hawaii, just my research and thoughts based on this (I would love to live there to find out though)! There is another person on this site (JoesW31?) that would be able to definitively be able to tell you about Hawaii weather and why some cars fare better than others as he found a garage kept W31 in Hawaii also (he lived there also).

Positiveray

I purchased my Olds from the Original owner's estate. It's a South Texas car in excellent condition but is now "garaged" in Oklahoma. After owning it now for 10+ years I decided to put it through a full (frame on) restoration...It can sure get expensive redoing one of these cars... not as cheap to do as a Mustang or Chevy, but well worth the time (my labor) and dollars spent thus far... Having a little trouble trying to remember where a specific part goes, so take a look at my other post and see if you can help me identify it! THANKS