Most of us already know, driving with a V8 in a vintage ford is everything but quiet, don't get me wrong here, I love the sound of my V8, but with headers, flow musters, big exhaust pipes and low gears, you'll have to yell to your passengers so they will notice you are talking, trying to have a cell phone conversations is even harder....
Introduction:
When you go into a new luxury car, one of the first thing you will notice is the silent you'll get the second you close the door, even with a V8 engine Mercedes, you'll have no problem having a quiet conversation with the passengers while driving up a hill, and most of it is because the car has good isolation to sound.
There are more advantages in having a good sound deadener in your car except of quieter ride, if you will do it thoroughly you'll get rid of the nasty exhaust and fuel smell, your stereo will sound better and less vibration from the rod and tiers. Another thing I notice after I installed the sound deadener in my 68 mustang is the isolation from the out side weather, usually I couldn't seat in the car in a cold night without wearing my coat (I don't have the heater installed right now...), now the coat is absolutely inessential.
The Sound deadening I chose was Dynamat Xtreme Bulk Pak, it has nine 18"x 32" (457mm x 812mm) pieces of Dynamat Xtreme sheet's and it good for 36 S.Q "Use on rear decks, doors, floors and the floor of your trunk to get more bass, more music, lower road noise and better sound."
That bulk pack from Dynamat should be enough to cover the whole car but I wanted to get the most from my sound deadening pack, so I installed it without any gaps between the sheets, and left no spot on the floor without covering, it works better that way but require 2 bulk packs to cover the whole car.
Before you start, remember that pulling the carpet from the car's floor may uncover bad surprises, rusty floor pan are not uncommon and if you already taking the seats and carpet, it is a good idea to be prepared to fix the old rusty floor pans.
Step#1
So first thing to do is to take out the front seats, you have 4 nuts below every seat (on the floor from the outside). Then take every thing that hold the carpet like the shifter/console, kick panel, door sill plates etc... until you are able to take the carpet off.
I was surprised to find a good solid floor, and the original isolation
The sound deadening mats will prevent the road noise coming into your car by stopping vibrations from being transmitted through the sheet metal, it will add mass to the sheet metal, lowering the frequency of the vibration below the threshold of human hearing.
To take advantage off that function you need to make sure the sound deadening mats will stick to the metal, clean surface, vacuum out the big stuff and then wipe the area with denatured alcohol. Acetone will work, but it will remove paint, so be careful.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/forum_imag...ide/pic5.5.jpg
The old isolator sheets melted on the floor, it was very hard to remove the sticky leftovers of it, I know in the picture below it looks red like rust but look on the scratches near the red wire, clean shining metal.
Step#2
Now, preper the sound deadening mats but DON'T peel the release paper off yet, lay down the mats and see how they fit the area you want to cover, if you need, use a utility knife and cut the mats so they will fit till you'll get maximum cover, I tried to go as high as I could on the floor to cover the fire wall from the inside, I wanted to achieve another goal, leaving the smell of fuel and gasses out of the driver's cabin.
Try to cover every inch of the surface, cut the mats so they will fit into small area like under the shifter, cover every unused holes, and cover the holes you need and stab through the mats to get a good cover around the hole.
Step#3
Now, peel the release paper off the first inch and fold it back, line the piece and press the exposed adhesive down on the surface.
The mat is now positioned where you want it and if not, you will still be able to get it off.
If you are in the right place, start pulling the release paper down the length of the mat, pressing the exposed adhesive onto the surface as you go. Repit that procedure with every pice till you done don't forget pressing on the mats so they will stick on the metal rely good, you can buy the spaciall roller (
Accessories) but this is not essential, you can use a pice of wood or any thing else that will help you press the mats to the metal, I used my mother rolling-pin, after she got it back she tried to hit me with it, cause it was so dirty...
Step#4
Cut small stripes from the deadening mats to cover the small gaps between the sheets.
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It will be a good idea to cover the kick panel area, it will help to create an acoustic effect in the driver's cabin, specially if you are planning to install speakers in them.
Step#5
Now, install every thing back and you are done!
It took me 2 full day's (about 20 houers) to complete the task, but it was worth the effort(!!!)
Conclusion:
I was amazed how well it work, driving the car is much more quiet, I have flex-a-lite black magic electric fan which is very loud, I used to hear exactly when it kicks in and off, after the first time I drive the car with the sound deadener, I couldn't hear it, I thought it is broken... The gasses and other bad smells from the engine bay was mostly gone, and no more yelling on the cell phone, a quiet conversation is no longer a challenge and the sound system sound better too, sorry to sound like a commercials, it really works.
I also notice that seating in the car in a chilly night is nice and warmer then before. I got better results then I was expected, I definitely going to buy another bulk kit to do the doors, trunk and the inner quarter area.
Very recommended upgrade for every one!
Today
