Flooring Insulation

[jerryacheson]

I'm replacing the carpet in my '62 Electra convertible. I've pulled the insullation up so I can POR-15 the floor. What are your ideas for replacing this stuff? Does someone sell the replacement pieces?

[palbuick]

Hi

I believe that the floor insulation is available from CARS inc or Bobs automobilia. This is the rubber/tar paper, you can get either one, but it only comes in large sheets and will have to be cut. IN 1994 i purchased a kit from Warshawskys all pre cut for a 1966 Buick or GM vehicle.

I would check a chebby dealer as the 62 Imp might be the same.

Jim Schilf / palbuick@aol.com

[Guest]

First, it's important to remember that this "tar paper" is a vibration damper. It's supposed to absorb vibrations in the body, resulting in a quieter ride. As far as achieving this goal, the OEM stuff is mediocre at best. In order to work, the dampener has to be "at one" with the body panels. The original insulation may be tacked to the floor, but it sure isn't stuck very well.

If you want improved performance, there are a couple of schools of thought. You can use purpose-designed acoustic material like Dynamat, RAAMmat, B-Quiet, Brown Bread, etc.. These are similar to the original in that they are asphalt based with an adhesive back. Dynamat comes in 1'x1' squares and is prohibitively expensive ($250 per car). RAAMmat (look on eBay) and B-Quiet or Brown Bread (www.b-quiet.com/) come in rolls and are cheaper. You can also do what I did, which is buy Peal 'n Seal from a roofing store; total cost $40 for my 64 Riviera. It takes a while to install this stuff, because you have to use a roller to get maximum adhesion.

Since these products are asphalt based, there are reports that it takes a while for the smell to disappear. For the first few days there's a whiff of asphalt in the car. However, I didn't notice it.

You can also just paint your floor with roofing paint. It serves the same purpose and is a lot easier to apply. It's the additional mass that matters. Any gooey stuff that eventually dries and sticks to the floor will work. Look inside your door; this is similar to the crap sprayed in there at the factory.

Unless you have you heart set on using something similar to OEM, there are better ways to do this. It made a huge difference in my Riviera. It's much quieter inside, and the car feels more solid. Let me know how it works for you; I'm doing my 63 Electra convertible next - but I may just paint that one.

If you want to see repeated discussions of this at an extremely anal level, go to forum.elitecaraudio.com. These are car audio nuts. They go a little overboard for our purposes, but there's a lot of good info there.

[rocketraider]

Jerry, I found this link awhile back. www.1aauto.com . You might check Fusick or Ames too as I've found that sometimes Chebby stuff, even though it's for the same series car, is just a bit different than the other Divisions.