Carpet & padding question

Last year when the heater core went bad, it leaked down the firewall and soaked the passenger side carpet. I never saw a big leak, only a few drops on the rubber mat and thought that was all that happened at that time. But discovered my error when I was spring cleaning.

The carpet is aftermarket, black loop. I dismantled the entire interior this past weekend so I could steam clean the front carpet. The carpet looks OK, and the wool-type backing is in good shape, so it should clean and dry out fine.

Under the carpet was a padding that looked like yellow insulation, with silver foil on the topside. (Looked like duct tape!) It is across the whole front of the car and across the doghouse. Of course, it was soaked on the passenger side, and we had to throw it out.

Under that, on both sides, was the black tar stuff. Looked OK. I don't think it'll need to be replaced.

Question is - do I have to replace the foil backed padding? What is it called? Where do I get it?

I have been to all the carpet/interior supplier websites (ACC, Legendary, etc) and I'll I've found is the black tar stuff (sound deadener). I'm probably just not searching under the correct name. Is the foil backed stuff something original, or was it added when they replaced the carpet? I found something similar at the JC Whitney site, but just not sure if it's correct.

(footnote: I'd buy all new carpet instead of cleaning what's there, but it's in decent driver shape and since I plan on driving this car alot this year, I hate to ruin brand new carpet. I will replace it later when I do the correct restoration and it will be more of a show car than a driver car.)

Thanks!

 

I was technically a 'pro' carpet installer one week :laugh: I did three cars and got paid for it

In my expereince with GMs from our era, you should have the carpet, and jute padding under it, and the black paper like material was a kind of tar-paper as near as I can tell

The foil-backed foamy material was probably a combination sound deadener and heat insulator added by a previous owner, in my opinion. A Good Idea. My passenger side floor used to get warm from the exhaust, and I've actually melted a small area of carpet on the passenger side from my headers

Companies like Eastwood tool carry it, but they are notoriously expensive. A supply comapny like McMaster-Carr has it, but I don't know if they sell retail o No:

I would suggest calling some auto parts stores, it's possible that they might be able to help

Circled are the areas in the front in which you can barely make out the jute, and in the back, the jute is peeled back with the carpet. these are not original capets and pads, but the do duplicate the way my carpet and pad was originally applied. maybe different plants used different techniques, i don't know:

 

Thanks, Chris. That's where the jute (looks kinda like gray wool) is on the back of my front carpet. On each side, just under where your feet are, not on the entire back of the carpet.

Here's the stuff I found in the JC Whitney online catalog. It is a foamy material with foil lining - what I pulled out was more of a material that resembled fiberglass insulation with foil lining. But maybe this would be a decent substitute?

MYLAR-FACED FOAM SOUND/HEAT INSULATION WITH VINYL LINING

Description:
"Protects against noise, vibration, heat and cold
Contact adhesive sold separately
High-density fire-resistant vinyl lining between layers of foam blocks sound transmission
Permanent noise/temperature insulation ideal for use in engine compartment, hood, trunk and fender. Great under mats and floorboards. Acoustical-quality foam reduces airborne noise and noise from engine by absorbing vibration. Aluminized 1/2-mil. facing is attractive and easy to clean. Reflects heat and prevents absorption of dirt, fuel, oil, water, etc. Installs easily with contact adhesive (sold separately). Trims with scissors or knife for perfect fit. Instructions included."

Does this stuff have to be glued down, or is it just to make the carpet installation easier? Will it move around/bunch up later if not glued?

Also, the stuff I pulled out has the insulation side to the floor pan and the foil side to the carpet. Is that the correct orientation or should the foil side be towards the floor pan?

I'll do another search later for more of that stuff. The ACC website mentions a foil backed insulation, but there is no pic, so I'm not sure if it's the same stuff. I will have to call them and ask.

 

Hmmm, that's a tough question. the foil surface may just be more resistant to damage, and so you may want to put it Mylar side up just to keep from making dents in it that you may see as loose areas of carpet. Mylar is very tough stuff

that's a think I'd probably have to see myself to judge. maybe another member has some experience with that? Actually, maybe you could ask on one of the more race-oriented forums here? I'm sure the racers might have some input :TU:

I would consider gluing it, yes. One car I did, a late '80s grand prix, had such thick carpet that if i didn't glue the entire mess down it would have looked like a black bag was laying on the floor. It was factory stuff, too, but not pre-formed well. A spray glue like 3M's Super 77 may do the trick. I didn't have to use any adhesive when I did mine, though, it fit very well. but then again, i didn't use an insulation except the jute, like a dummy

 

i am a union floor installer myself .and i am changing my carpet also.what i will be doin is laying dynamat on complete floor board,and then i am puting a 3/8 felt pad,then carpet.the felt pad is like the original pad in the 70s if im correct.but thats what i will be doin.some ideas for you.

 

Take photos, Bill. I think I'm re-doing all that this year and I want to do a better job this time

 

If you're not running headers and noise is not a big deal (after all it's a convert so you get extra noise already) just go back with the original tar/jute/carpet and don't worry about all the other stuff. There's a million products out there that "block heat" etc...most of them pretty expensive. The JCWhitney stuff should block some heat and noise also---(air space from foam creates an insulating barrier) and seems reasonably priced so can't hurt. It's a slippery slope once you start dealing with this "noise" stuff---floor is done, now how about those doors, and the area behind the back seat, now...let's spray some stuff inside the door/qp shells, on and on and on!!!. It's possible to spend hundreds of $$$ on this stuff.

Keep it simple....those $$ can be spent on plenty of other parts!

 

When I restored my 67 GS 340, the original tar sound deadener from the factory was all dried out and brittle. I checked into that "Dynamat sound deadener", but I wasn't about to spend that kinda money on something you don't see. So, after removing all of the old stuff, I went to my local home improvement center where I purchased a roll of ice shield, used under roof shingles. It is tar based, and looked just like the original stuff, and only cost about $12.00. I just pulled off the backer, stuck it down and wa-laa! Then I took some of that real thin plastic sheeting they sell as painting drop cloths and covered the top part so the carpet pad wouldn't stick to the tar. I purchased my replacement carpet from Legendary, but found that the replacement padding ( attached to the carpet ) was about half the thickness of the original jute, and after putting it in, it didn't fit right. My old jute was still pretty good for the most part, so I layed it down, and put the new carped w/pad over the old. It fit way better and turned out great.
Tom

 

i will post pics when i get it done.