Need help from the experts! I'm doing the "bench to bucket" conversion, and new carpet at the same time. I've removed my original bench seat and carpet, got the bucket seat brackets welded in, and now it's time for the carpet. The original sound deadener on the floor is completely intact and "looks" good, but I question if it is really doing much. It is very dry/brittle and not stuck down to the floor at all - just kinda laying loosely in place - probably a result of 40 years of West Texas heat. (See photo below, taken right after I pulled the carpet up) I ordered the "GM Sound Deadener" kit from Legendary, along with my seat covers. I just now opened the box, unrolled the pieces, and laid them in the car (over the original stuff) for a trial fit. It looks like they are cut exactly like the original "tar paper", but they are not anywhere near flexible enough to follow the contour of the floor pan. My question is: HOW THE HECK DO YOU INSTALL THIS STUFF? I tried heating it with a "paint stripper" heat gun until it was so hot I couldn't touch it with my bare hand, and it still won't relax and mold itself to the floor. I can't figure out what to do with it, so I'm asking for help. Any assistance will be appreciated!
I bought the GM tar paper stuff also. I layed it out in the car to relax for a day or two. It did relax a little bit but not much. I bought some upholstery spray adhesive at Napa. It was the higher priced version (they have two types) and it comes out kinda like silly string or cob webs when you spray it. I sprayed the floor then the underside of the tar paper. I waited a minute till it flashed, then carefully pressed it in place. Make sure you have everything lined up, because once it makes contact, you cannot get it apart. I'm stalled at the point of putting in the new carpet. I have it layed out in the car to relax and that's where everything stopped. Alot of family issues and kids activities are holding me up right now. Also, I'm reluctant to start cutting holes and such in the carpet until I have a full day to focus on it. You can only cut once ya know!
I bought some of the old style once also. But I would not use the tar paper stuff. Technology has improved so you can get better and lighter material today. If you do use the old style, you need to let it sit in the sun and slowly unroll it. Otherwise it will break. Once it is unrolled continue to let it get as hot a possible in the sun. Then apply it to the floorboards.
Randy: I'm sorta disappointed with this particular purchase. I expected it to be a little easier to apply, or at least to get some sort of instructions with it. I assumed it would just take moderate heat to make it settle down. If I had done more research, I would not have gone this route. Don't know if I'll use it or not...I'm considering alternatives. Just hate to waste the money I spent... Jim: Thanks for the reply. I think I'm leaning towards agreeing with you - there are better products out there, so why use 40 year old technology? Like I said above, I should have looked into this more before I put in my order with Legendary. Well, live and learn...
Well, I went back out in the shop last night, and spent several hours screwing with the sound deadener. Heated it with the heat gun until it started melting on the exposed edges and I had to wear thick cotton gloves to handle it, and it STILL wouldn't relax enough to form itself to the floorpan shape. So I gave up. Even if I could get it to take the proper shape, I would still have to glue it down, like Randy did. It would take forever to get it all installed. I decided to chalk the whole thing up to another "learning experience". I'm not blaming Legendary, or saying their product is defective. It just isn't what I expected when I ordered it, and I think they should be a little more clear and informative about what is required to install it. So now my carpet install is stalled (ha ha), and it's back to the drawing board. I am going to completely remove the original sound deadener from the floor, check it over for rust etc., and clean it up. Then I will apply one of the "modern" Peel-and-Stick sound suppression products to the whole floor pan. I'm now doing online research into what particular product I want to buy - many available, at wide range of cost, and all claim to be the "Best". I've already determined that I want to avoid asphalt based products, due to some complaints about bad odors after installation. I'm leaning towards the butyl rubber based products, in the 70 mil thickness range, but still have to do more "window shopping". Any recommendations?
My New Sound Deadener! After exhaustive online research, I decided to go with this product: Audio Barrier Ultra Bulk Kit, 70mil Butyl. It is sold by the Hi-Fi Sound Connection (http://www.hifisoundconnection.com) both at their website and via their eBay ads. I am extremely pleased with my choice of product, and the seller. The stuff is easy to work with, has ZERO odor, sticks very well, and gives every indication that it will work well. So far, I have used 11 sheets (18" x 32"), or 44 square feet. The box I purchased contained 18 sheets of material (72 sq. ft), so I still have plenty left over to (eventually) do my doors, trunk and wherever else I can find to stick it. I pulled all the original tar stuff out of the car, then spent hours scrubbing, brushing and de-greasing the floor. Good News: virtually no rust was found! I then re-chalked the exposed panel seams, and put down a thick coat of Rust-Oleum premium white primer. Let it dry, then started on the sound deadener. Took me 3 solid days of "cutting and pasting" to do the floor. Not difficult - just tedious...and hard on the hands. I wore gloves whenever possible, but still managed to slice my fingers numerous times on the sharp foil edges (otherwise known as "Death By A Thousand Cuts). I probably went overboard trying to cover every square inch of metal, but once I got "into it", it became sort of a challenge. My wife says this is positive proof that I have WAY too much unsupervised free time! Almost done cleaning the floor: Work In Progress: The End Result:
Lookin' good Chuck! I finally got some time and motivation and was able to install my rear carpet section including the seat belts. Now it's on to the front section.
Ames Performance Pontiac sells the original sound deadner type material if anyone wants it. It is far better than the type you got from legendary. I know the fancy stuff you got is way expensive.
Re: My New Sound Deadener! OK, I just have to ask! Are those original door panels and seat covers or repo's? That is what my interior looked like originally, but nothing was available 15 or so years ago when I purchased my interior stuff to recreate it.
Chuck, That is a great looking job and really clean floors. NPD sells factory style sound deadener that works well, not stiff like what you ended up with. When I got my GS I also pulled out the carpet to check everything out and got a few good surprises. The floor condition was like yours clean, as far as the surprises it was the original carpet with factory tag still attached. I also found the build sheet for my car. I cleaned the floors and put chassis saver black on them and reinstalled the original carpet. I was concerned with switching material because of it causing rust. I know that the rubber in a trunk mat causes so much condensation it will rot a trunk in no time. All you have to do is put one and look at it in a few days and you will see the moisture. I have seen a lot of people use the type of mat that you installed but I have not seen any long term effects. It is a far superior material for sound and heat deflection. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<o></o> <o></o> Nelson<o></o>
WOW, Chuck, that looks great!:kodak: As clean as you installed the sound deadener on the floor and back seat, I'm a little OCD with my GS's, as well, just in that I like all the seams to be perfectly even, and uniform, and it looks like you did a beautiful job! I could only hope that mine turns out as well, although I'd like to use more than a single layer, just to really make the interior more oblivious to outside noise, as well as getting the best concert quality stereo performance possible, inside. I'll be watching your build, closely, as I'm now inspired.:bglasses:
Making Progress Dwayne: The door panels in the photo (and the dash pad) are original. They are in very good shape except for a small rip on the very bottom on the driver side. I really like the Sandalwood interior, but never really cared for the muddy brownish/greenish/grayish (taupe?) color on the dash and the top corners of the front doors. I know it won't set well with many "purists" on this forum, but as part of my interior re-do, I am going to a "two-tone" color scheme. I will retain all the original Sandalwood items that are in good shape (F and R door panels, headliner, window trim, etc). I got new Sandalwood seat covers for my rebuilt front buckets and the rear seat. (The photo at the top of this thread shows part of the new rear covers) I decided to use the 1970 GTO style seat covers, because I like the shape and look better than the Skylark pattern. For a little contrast, I picked Dark Saddle for the new carpet, and I painted the plastic bucket seat panels dark brown to go with the carpet. Eventually, I will repaint the metal part of the dashboard and dye the tops of the door panels...I just haven't decided whether I want to do them in Sandalwood, or dark brown. Here's a pic of my original bench seat and carpet, and my new buckets:
Condensation Redman: I thought about the possible consequences of using this type of material, including the possibility of condensation problems. However, I decided the benefits outweighed the risks. I hope the heavy Rust-Oleum coat will help protect the metal. Plus, I live in a very dry desert climate, with mild winters. I seldom, if ever, drive in rain or bad weather. Also, my air conditioner is currently not working and I hardly ever need to use my heater, so the interior and exterior temps are usually close. All in all, I hope my decision turns out well, but only time will tell.
Ocd GSX4me: I know all about OCD - you notice how I took great pains to get the "logo" on the sound deadener lined up? (My wife calls me "anal", but I'm never sure what exactly she is referring to...) I actually did double up on the deadener in some areas, like under the bucket seats, and under the back seat. Then, in the footwells and under the rear seat, I added a layer of heat barrier stuff on top of the sound deadener. I was trying to be careful not to add too much total thickness, for fear of screwing up the carpet fit. Here is what the floor looked like just before I started working on the carpet:
Re: Ocd :eek2: Man, that things going to be so quiet you'll hear a mouse fart under the rear seat at 60mph. Outstanding work. :TU:
Starting the carpet install Randy: Sounds like we are at about the same stage in our projects. I got my rear carpet installed over the past weekend...everything except cutting the slits for the seat mounting "feet". (I'm waiting for the carpet to "settle in" a little before I make the cuts) It seemed to fit very well, except I had to add a little extra padding on the driveshaft tunnel. This is probably because of the extra thickness of stuff I put in the footwells - it's causing the carpet to sit a little "high" - but no big deal. I wanted more heat barrier over the tunnel area anyway, because of the exhaust pipes running right under the floor. So I just used extra layers of heat barrier until the carpet fit "right". It looks, and feels, pretty good to me. Now on to the front section!
Finished Carpet Install Yesterday I got the carpet completely installed, and made my cuts for the seat mounting brackets. For a cutting guide, I used a diagram that I found over at the Team Chevelle web page (http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236734&page=2): They have some excellent "stickies" at the top of the "Interiors" section. Very helpful info for anyone trying a "bench to bucket" conversion on their own (especially "First Timers" like me). I highly recommend their website. After I got the carpet in, I started on installing the buckets. Here is a hint to save you some work: remove the sill plates (and the seatbelt retractors, if you have already bolted them down) before you try to install the seats! If you have cut the carpet as shown above, once the sill plates and seatbelt retractors are removed, it is a simple matter to roll the carpet back out of the way. The seats are then lowered onto the mounting studs, and bolted down. Then you can roll the carpet back under the seats, and re-install the sill plates and retractors. The cuts worked PERFECTLY for me - the carpet flows smoothly under the seats, and the mounting nuts and bolts are completely hidden under the carpet - just like they did it at the factory. Here's a pic of my old carpet, and then the new stuff (before the seats went in). Quite a change, and totally for the better! Funny - I've lived with that old original carpet for the past 16 years, and it never really looked that bad to me. But once it was out of the car I could see how really gross it was. I'm sure glad I finally got off my A$$ and did the upgrade!
I'm not a fan of gold/brown/tan, even though I've had a few of each color GS, but that is a beautiful new carpet you have in there, now! I notice you leather wrapped the standard steering wheel, too! That's cool! One of my interiors is similar, only using Black, instead of Dark Brown, like yours (armrests, dash pad, seats, A-pillars, etc.)! Looking good, so far, Chuck! Keep up the good work!
Final Post: The End Result I couldn't let this thread die without showing the final result of my labors, just in case there is actually somebody out there reading this stuff. My bucket seat conversion was, IMHO, a complete success. I am totally satisfied that the end result justified all the time (and pain and money) it cost me. The car looks much better (again, just my opinion), rides more comfortably (no more bouncing up and down on the worn out bench seat springs), and is MUCH quieter going down the road. I heartily endorse this upgrade! From the driver's side:
