cardboard mat under the rubber mat?

[BlazinCopper]

We just removed the interior and factory rubber mat from our 77. This is the first time I've seen a carboard type material, I am use to seeing the thick rubber mat but nothing like this. It looks to be origianl but wanted to know if anyone else has run across it before.
Is this a 77 thing,

 

[BRONCROB]

I don't know if it came that way but it doesn't look like very good idea.Is it rusted very bad under there?Seems like that would trap a lot of moisture.

 

[BlazinCopper]

Oh yeah, it was wet. Luckily the pan itself was ok. We have rust were the rear pan meets the front pan. At first I thought someone must have done it, but the way the holes were cut and the way it fit makes me think it was stock. Even under the cardboard mat, it had paper strips in the groves of the bed to make the floor flat.

 

[clarrance]

Yes, this is factory, I've seen them mostly on the 77 Rangers. There are strips of thicker cardboard wood type material stapled or glued to the sheet to fill in the ribs on the bed floor. Most had a foil type backing for heat reduction I'm guessing.

 

[BRONCROB]

Sounds like you got lucky and caught it in time.Those rubber mats are nice but I wouldn't have one without a good layer of bedliner under it and some drain holes in the floor to allow the moisture to escape.

 

[Eoth]

My 78 had the same material. Pretty stupid idea if you ask me.

 

[spap]

My 77 did not have that , just the rubber mat but it was just a regular sport I always think its funny how even in 77 the had wood and cardboard in our bronco s

 

[TX SS]

My 1977 ranger had the same.

 

[nickgp]

Obviously one if Fords "better" ideas!

 

[fordfan]

He's a few pics of the cardboard rear floor 'levelers' in the later '77s.

 

[BlazinCopper]

yea i bet who ever came up with this idea sold floor pans on the side

 

[thegreatjustino]

He's a few pics of the cardboard rear floor 'levelers' in the later '77s.

Those are some beautiful floors under there.

 

[BlazinCopper]

i cant believe you still have one intact.

He's a few pics of the cardboard rear floor 'levelers' in the later '77s.

 

[75Denver]

He's a few pics of the cardboard rear floor 'levelers' in the later '77s.

 

[Crush]

I Have one. Looks just the same. I believe mine had the rubber mat from the factory so this should be correct for any late 77 bronco ( mine is a 7/77 build date)

 

[NGABronco]

I had a 77' Ranger that had those!! Floor under it was in pretty good shape, a lot of rust outside of that mat??

 

[knack]

Those strips look like they might be the same material that was used in the door panels.

I have some Ford trivia for you:

My dad ran a small truck line in the 60's and 70's that hauled fiberboard panels from where they were made at the Superwood plant in Duluth, MN to the W-K Corporation plant on the west end of town. W-K stamped out door panels, headliners, and other pressed wood fiber parts for Ford. After stamping, they were run through a painting line where they got a coat of primer.

As those parts were replaced with plastics and other lighter weight materials the business dried up.

I remember W-K seemed like a rough place to work. Almost all the forklift drivers were missing a hand. The big presses that stamped out the panels were pretty unforgiving. No OSHA mandated safety equipment on those machines. When you didn't have two hands to feed a press with anymore, you were moved to forklift duty.

The old W-K building is still there, now used for warehousing, I think.

Superwood continued on, making panels for garage doors, hardwood siding, and other stuff. It was bought out by Georgia-Pacific. The plant in Duluth was closed a couple years ago.

 

[fatboy]

Those strips look like they might be the same material that was used in the door panels.

I have some Ford trivia for you:

My dad ran a small truck line in the 60's and 70's that hauled fiberboard panels from where they were made at the Superwood plant in Duluth, MN to the W-K Corporation plant on the west end of town. W-K stamped out door panels, headliners, and other pressed wood fiber parts for Ford. After stamping, they were run through a painting line where they got a coat of primer.

As those parts were replaced with plastics and other lighter weight materials the business dried up.

I remember W-K seemed like a rough place to work. Almost all the forklift drivers were missing a hand. The big presses that stamped out the panels were pretty unforgiving. No OSHA mandated safety equipment on those machines. When you didn't have two hands to feed a press with anymore, you were moved to forklift duty.

The old W-K building is still there, now used for warehousing, I think.

Superwood continued on, making panels for garage doors, hardwood siding, and other stuff. It was bought out by Georgia-Pacific. The plant in Duluth was closed a couple years ago.

Trivia for your trivia: The OSHA act did not come into being until 1971, probably as a result from many industrial accidents such as you describe. ;D

And the floor mat stuff is pretty cool!

 

[surfer-b]

Makes me think that the ones with the cardboard were the later build 77's, they ran out of rubber mats and just used the headliner material with some strips added.

 

[blubuckaroo]

The leveler is a great idea. It was used in Rangers that were mostly used as a commuter. It's a fiberboard material. Mine is still in perfect shape and hasn't caused a rust problem. Yours was probably abused by someone who needed a standard or sport model Bronco.