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I have a 1950 Packard sedan. The kick plate at the bottom of the driver side door is in poor condition. I want to replace it with a new one. It is a rubber mat attached to a metal plate with Packard imprinted on it. My question is how do I remove that plate. I want to attach a new one. Are replacement plates available? Anyone. JE

If anyone still has them it will probably be Kanter or Joel Ray (packards1) They were repro'd many years ago but IIRC from a discussion last year, I believe they are in very short supply if not gone by now. If there are still any expect the price will be high.

They are cemented on the metal plate which is held to the car by clips -- both press in and hook type. To remove that entire piece you have to get a flat bar under the mat portion next to the chrome or stainless trim by carpet -- not under the chrome but under the rubber and plate -- and gently start prying up. That side has the press in type. Once you get it up a little bit it will start to come easier. After the press in type are out there is a row of hook type clips on the outside edge which have to slide in toward the car interior -- not pull staight up.

Here is what the assy looks like. The press in types are in good shape but as you can see, some of the hook type clips are bent because someone tried to pry up from the pavement side.

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I inquired with Max Merritt not too long ago and they were available. As I recall, a four piece set was $700.
Good luck,
Mark

On my 47 Clipper-it has gray kick panels which while I was having the arm rests redone-he fixed the kick panels with some material he had-difficult part is I believe it is sewn into the cloth panels.

Anyway looks orginal

Here we go again, terminology scrabble.
I think he means "rubber mat assembly" what HH shows.
"Kick panels" are usually the covers under the dash where the vents grille attaches. I'm not sure what Packard called those, it'll be in the parts book.
The "scuff plates" are the stainless ribs next to the rubber mat assembly that attach with screws under the mat and hold down the carpet. That's why you don't pry them.
Best to get your correct part numbers, because they were a fiasco too.
If you find any let us know. Someone else wanted a set for a sedan a few months ago.
There might be 4 dr out there for 23 series but I doubt it. 2 dr are non-existent and I'm still working on that problem.
Max and Kanter sent me to "Joel" last year as the only source. All he made was the rubber.

About a year ago I got a set from Joel Ray for my 1950 23rd series 4-door touring sedan. They were expensive (about $700) and had a defect from the original part in the mold. My decent original ones were destroyed by the paint shop using a pry bar on the wrong side of the strip. That bends the steel and cracks the rubber and bends or tears off the clips.
The replacement set I got were the rubber only. Since my steel parts were bent and broken I decided to mount the rubber directly to the car. I used stick-on velcro tape that worked well. The rubber parts did not fit the car perfectly and had to be trimmed a bit to fit good. It was quite a project but it looks OK with the doors open. They can be removed easily because the velcro peels off without damaging anything. Adhesive would be a bad idea if you ever had to remove the carpets.

I replaced all the plates on my 49 and it's not fun! $700 for a set of 4 sounds what I had to pay. Toughest part was getting the rubber off the mounting plate once you had the plate out of the car. They really stuck the rubber to the plate and it won't come off in one piece. I spent 1.5 hours per plate pulling, chipping, scraping it off piece by piece and then finished with a sand blasting and repainting with Por-15. Then you can glue the new rubber on the plate and reinstall.
Good luck!

I'm fairly certain the rubber was molded to the steel. That's what the drawing I have shows and there's mold flash on the underside of mine. The rubber is not separate from the factory. It's bonded to steel and would be tough to remove if in good condition. Soaking in heavy solvent like kerosene, xylene, or penetrating oil might unbond them or blasting off the hardened rubber. Have to use an agressive abrasive media.