Undercoating in 1920?

[Guest VeloMan]

(My last post on this subject didn't work, so I repeat)

When was undercoating first used? It's on the interior of my 1921 car's metal panels, and I wonder if it was a 1950s addition.

Phil Jamison

PA

[Steve Braverman]

My 1933 Franklin Olympic has a tar-like goo sprayed on the inside of the body also. I doubt it was added later. This is the best photo I have.

[Clipper47]

As I recall Ziebart came on the scene in the 1959 or thereabout in Detroit.

I can't recall ever hearing about undercoating of that tar like stuff prior to that but I'm just a 60 year old youngster. My 47 Packard has some type of tar like panels on the floor and interior of doors but it is not for rustproofing but, I suspect, sound deadener.

[Guest VeloMan]

I think the idea on my car was for squeak reduction and (maybe) sound deadening. I've never seen inside one of these old cars except for mine, so I wanted to see if it;s correct.

Phil Jamison

[DavidP]

I had a 1938 NASH quite a few years ago that listed 50 pounds of a tar / sand mixture that was sprayed on the underbody to deaden sound in the origional sales literature ...

A very heavy coating was still on most of the underbody 50 years later ...

[Jay Wolf]

My 1916 Elgine HPOF had something on the inside of the door.

I just figure to coal tar pitch or something the body maker put to protect it.

[Rusty_OToole]

They also glued hunks of thick tar paper inside the doors and possibly other places. Have seen this on 40s cars, don't know when they started this.

My guess would be they had to spray some tar on flat panels to stop drumming and noise due to vibration. Certainly on the first all steel closed bodies but possibly even before that. A wood frame body would be quieter than an all steel body but I see the Franklin is wood framed and has the sound deadener in it.