Trunk Floor - Plugs or No Plugs?

[dhodak]

I have a South Bend '53 Starliner. I have cleaned the old Mortex from the trunk floor (about 1/2" thick) down to the bare metal and repainted the surface the original loma gray. I wish to keep the trunk floor unmortexed in the future.

In this process I uncovered five holes about 3/8" diameter in the floor of the trunk. I am unsure of the purpose of these deliberately placed holes (water drain?). Should there be any kind of rubber plug to cover these holes? I find no reference in the part books.

Please advise.

[Roscomacaw]

Curious thing - those holes. I've never been able to get a good answer as to why they're there. What's supposed to be in them is those universal metal plugs you can find at any good harware store.

Miscreant at large.

[Tom Bredehoft]

My '53 coupe, (Los Angeles version) had several 3/8 holes in the cabin floor, with masking tape over them (on the inside, under the carpet, no undercoating.) I guessed they might have been drain holes for letting out tobacco juice, or whatever during assembly.

Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe
'60 Lark VI

[studegary]

I think that the holes that you are referring to in the trunk were assembly aids and they should have a snap in metal plug.

[Jeff_H]

My '53 starliner had those same holes. Most were filled with a combination of tar and sound deadener on the inside of the car under the remains of the carpet. I think as Gary says they are for assembly. I would venture that the factory had some sort of frame/jig/fixture that fitted into those holes to hold the separate sheet metal parts in alighnment before they were spot welded together. I am a electrical engineer and in my field printed circuit boards are often made with small drilled holes in the corners called tooling holes so that those boards can be held in the precise locations in the automatic machinery to put the components on (resistors, transistors, IC's, etc). Same basic concept. The repo floor pans had some of the same holes, although not in the same spots exactly and they were shipped to me with plastic plugs in them. Most of those I kept. A few of the holes I welded shut.

'53 Champion Hardtop

[bondobilly]

I leave the trunk holes open as water accumulates, but not from the seal, but actually fron the side windows. On the inside of the car I left them open in the rear and closed them up front. They were used as locators so each stmping wwould fit on a jig. Some cars had them tarredover, others had plugs