Old cars had running boards. A vestige from this bygone era, the modern car door sill is nothing more than a decorative piece to prevent one’s shoes from scuffing the body painted entry threshold. This plate is likely to be of plastic assembly with the make or logo embossed. On the exterior side is the tarmac and the other side is the carpet. When shut the door covers the sill plate.

The door sill/scuff plate on ‘Ponton‘ era Mercedes-Benz were not that far removed from the old running boards. They could be described as internal running boards as they were enveloped by body when the closed door overlapped them. They are really not wide enough to stand upon nor were they so intended but there they are welcoming gateway to driver and passenger. From the illustration below observe that the vertical chrome trim plate and an aluminium surround piece serves to offer scuff protection. The flat sill spans between them.

The original rubber sill (above) is aged and brittle. It has seen better days. The refurbishment project was initiated some years back (pre-internet) where it stalled due to non-availability of replacement parts. Recently, I began the search anew. The problem is that there is no longer much demand for this style ribbed rubber material. What I could find was in black only or some egregious industrial offering. The pursuit picked up when I found “grey mat for Mercedes”. ‘Imported’ from the limited description sounded promising but the bulk size and color were not and were likely for some later model.

Finally, success! An outfit in Germany called Niemöller Ersatzteile für Mercedes-Benz Veteranen seemed to have what I sought. I ordered their self-described hellbeige ribbed rubber with high expectations and was not let down. The material was rolled in bulk so a paper template had to be drawn and the mat trimmed. The new piece was cemented down after the fasteners removed and the shiny bits cleared for access.

Factory labor intensive, I counted 15 individual screws for each door entry (for which holes also had to be drilled). I don’t suppose that they had bots or even electric screwdrivers to speed that process. A contrast in manufacturing technique, today’s sill plate application must take the assembly line person mere seconds to snap in to place.