Sound and heat Insulation

There's a lot more to the soundproofing game than I knew when I started this job. Since this is the first vehicle I've insulated completely, I decided to conduct some research instead of simply ordering materials based on the best advertising. I have no reason to become an expert, nor do I need a car that's as quiet as a Rolls Royce, but I don't want a rattletrap either. When I restored my '73 Dodge truck, I discovered that it contained almost no insulation from the factory, so I just covered everything with FatMat. It made a world of difference in quietness, and I hope this car will be even quieter.

What I did learn this time is that despite all the manufacturer's advertising hype, modern cars basically use two types of products to control heat and noise. The one for heat and airborne noise absorption is HDF, or high density foam. It absorbs, deflects and shields against external noises, like engine, exhaust, and road noises that sneak through cracks and gaps. For this part of the project I ordered a 1/8" self-adhesive roll to apply to the firewall and the inner door panels.

The next is CLD, or constrained layer dampers. This product dampens acoustic vibrations in places like floors, roof, and trunk areas. For this, I bought a product called Road Kill that is self-adhesive and foil covered on one side. The thickness of both the foil and the damping material affect the efficiency, but for the areas I'm doing now I chose a thinner material that will fit between trim panels and structural metal. Yesterday I applied it to the inside of the roof and a few places on the inside structure. The supplier recommends that approximately 25% of the surface be covered, but I found that to dampen all the vibration in a large panel like the roof, I had to cover approximately 50-60% of the surface. Now when I tap the roof, instead of reverberating like a Caribbean steel drum, all I hear is a dull, metallic thump. Since the headliner will also help absorb noise from above, I might have overdone the Road Kill, but a few dollars extra at this point beats having noise that would require removing the headliner to fix.

They also make composites that both absorb vibrations and acts as a barrier to airborne noise. I plan to use this on the floors, but so far the prices I've found were too high for my budget. I might just use a heavier version of the Road Kill product I got from Amazon.

Firewall Build...and Another Change?

Finding a way to fit and access the under-dash AC is indescribable fun! It appears %I might have succeeded, but until the dashboard is installed I won’t know for sure if there will be room to attach the hoses to the vents. One thing for certain, when the time comes to replace the heater hoses, or to test the AC hoses for leaks, the dash will have to be removed.

One blessing is that the defroster vent on the car and the one on the AC unit are the same size so the hose doesn’t need and adapter, so some space is saved.

If anyone is considering installing aftermarket air conditioning, I strongly recommend using a smaller unit than mine, or at least one that has better access to all the connections when everything is assembled. If I were ever crazy enough to do it again, I’d probably modify the firewall with a removable panel to allow access from under the hood.

The recent need to avoid heavy work is dangerous in ways other than physical, as I have too much time to sit around contemplating and questioning decisions I earlier thought were etched in stone. The latest involves yet another shifter option. After failing to perfect the pushbutton control to my satisfaction, I had decided to use the early A-body shifter I had on the shelf. I modified it to operate with one cable, but had to fabricate a custom lever design on the transmission end. I was more or less done with that job when I ran across this stock '67 A-body shifter at a good price. Since they are always in demand and can easily be re-sold, I decided to buy it to see if I could make it fit. Good idea or not, it looks easily doable, so I've been redesigning the console to accommodate it.  I think it would look better than the early-A body floor shifter, and the stock mechanical linkage is simpler and preferable to the cable version I had planned. Less important, but a nice touch, the knob design is similar in looks to the stock '56 dash controls.

Guest Post

Construction is still proceeding slowly, so I'll share some photos sent to me by a Norwegian reader who is rebuilding a '55 Plymouth station wagon. It appears to have a very solid base to build on, and like so many cars being restored by Mopar enthusiasts from the Scandinavian countries, the quality of workmanship is outstanding.

He also sent photos of artifacts from the Viking boat museum. The details of their construction and artistry is amazing!

My paternal grandparents are both Norwegian, and I'm very proud of my heritage. Granddad's parents emigrated from Norway in the late 1800s and settled in Illinois to farm, so he was born an American citizen. My grandmother was 17 and her sister 19 when the two of them came to America in the early 1900s and traveled to North Dakota to homestead on the prairie. Neither spoke English, but settled in an area where there were several homesteaders from Norway, Sweden and Finland, so they fit right in.

Thanks for the photos, Geir, and keep us up to date on your '55 project.

Back is Back...Sort of

Recovery is slow, but after giving priority to delayed household jobs...like two acres of rapidly growing grass and weeds...I have been able to do a few things on the car that didn't require heavy lifting or contorting.

I've been concentrating on the firewall since the last order of parts arrived. The battery feed-through is installed as is a re-do of the AC hose mounting. Instead of trying to twist the hoses to fit in the tight space, I cut a bigger hole in the firewall and made a stainless steel mounting plate for the connectors. It works and looks much better.

Still to do on the firewall are clamping points for wires, conduit and cables, and applying soundproofing and insulation material in areas hard to access after the dash is installed.

Lots of time spent figuring the best way to route wires into and through the console. I finally decided so I was able to cut the hole through that cross bracing and install the battery cable conduit. When more parts arrive, I can make a shelf for the fuse panel and seat module inside the console.

I'm not sure which way to go after the firewall. It may depend on the weather, as I'm anxious to get the roof painted and want to move the car outside for the final priming and sanding. The rainy season should be slacking off soon, so that might be one of the next jobs.

I'm also getting close to the point where I can install the engine and transmission. All the little things take time and don't give much feeling of accomplishment, so maybe seeing the drivetrain taking form might give me more inspiration.

Seats

Parts and pieces are arriving, but my back still won't cooperate. More soundproofing materials have been shipped, as have more wiring supplies. They should be here by Monday. While I wait to heal, I've been able to get a few things ordered, and some things picked up locally.

My seats are done and I got them yesterday. I was very pleased with the price and with the color combination I chose. They loaded them in the van for me, but I had to unload them and get them stored by myself. There was no way to avoid lifting and that probably delayed my recovery for another week. I could barely move last night. I'll have to force myself to rest today.

I was hoping to pick up the wiper bezels yesterday, but the machine shop said they could not do the job as there was no way to grip the irregular shaped parts without damaging the plating. I took them home and used a Dremel stone to clean out and enlarge the holes for the bushings. I got the bushings pressed in, but still need to assemble the parts.

On the DL for a Few Days

I often wonder how I got anything done around the house when I was working a full time job with lots of overtime and then working two weekends a month in the Air Force Reserve, but I think I did more then than I can now that I'm retired. I could work eight hours a day now doing nothing more than household chores, yard maintenance, and trying to catch up with my wife's special projects. I guess I'll blame it on body wear and the years catching up.

The insurance adjuster was out yesterday to document the hail damage from the hail storm a week ago. The roof survived with only minor cosmetic damage, but the 70mph wind must have lifted a shingle or two in a valley over the kitchen. I now have a leak to repair, but with all the serious roof damage in the area, I haven't found a roofer who wants to take on a small repair when there are entire roofs nearby that need replacement. I'd do it myself, but my wife won't let me climb on a roof anymore.

With all the things going on lately, not much has been accomplished on the car. I screwed up my back when I had to carry the old dog to the vet. She's only forty pounds, but it was enough to irritate something so I can hardly bend over. If I do, it's hard to stand up again, so I'm limited to light weights and not much bending for now. No word from the upholstery shop yet, but with a bad back I really don't want to mess with the heavy seats.

I did receive a couple of things I ordered last week. I got a roll of 1/8" thick adhesive backed closed cell foam to use for insulation and sound control on the inside firewall. If my back is better tomorrow I'll try to get that applied so I can permanently install the AC mounts and determine the exact dimensions for the hoses. That same material is recommended for doors, and I should have enough left for them.

The cable for the trunk mounted battery also showed up. Now I can try routing it to see which way works best and determine where the battery will fit. The plan is to run the cable through a conduit inside the console with a feedthrough terminal on the firewall.  Then I can feed battery power to the inside relay panel from that point without having to go through the firewall connector.

I dropped off the wiper bezels at the machine shop last week to have them ream the holes and install the new bushings. The bushings measured the same OD as the old ones, but apparently the plating built up inside the hole and I really didn't want to mess with re-sizing either the holes or the bushings.

Vintage Air

What a surprise to see the AC parts I ordered around noon yesterday, show up on the UPS truck right after lunch today!

Unfortunately, I will have to fabricate another sheet metal part, as the hoses will be too short to bend around internal obstructions.

Since I was in the area, I visited the upholstery shop to check their progress. One of the bucket seats was almost done and the more I see the fabric and vinyl combination, the better I like it. He's predicting everything will be done by late next week.

Chrome Plating Results

It’s been a busy day for car stuff. This morning I researched which parts were needed for the AC before I can install the dash. Got that done and ordered a control panel and everything needed to fabricate the under-dash evaporator to firewall hoses. Every part was in stock and will be shipped tomorrow, so they should be here next Monday.

I also ordered the 15’, AWG 2 battery cable that I will need to relocate the battery in the trunk. There sure is a huge price difference for the same product on different websites. The same brand and part number varied from $22 with free shipping to over $100 plus shipping.

Around noon I got a call from the chrome plating shop to tell me my parts were ready to pick up. The charge was $300 for two bumper wings and two pot metal wiper bezels. They did a good job on all the parts and I was especially glad to see that the plating process did cover the minor blemishes left after my repair with Muggy Weld. He didn’t break down the price of individual pieces, but since the usual charge for a bumper is around $300 and the bumper wings together are nearly the same size as a typical bumper, he didn’t charge much for the bezels. About eight hours of my time and twenty bucks in material probably saved me $200, and I learned how to use the product if I ever need to do it again. In these pictures you can see the bezel repair stages.

This afternoon the upholstery shop called with a couple of questions, so he’s back to working on the seats and rear side panels. I’m still not in a panic for them, but I am getting anxious to see how they look.

Despite lots of house duties I’ve been getting a few things done with the dash wiring and am nearly ready to install the firewall connector. But, before I install the dash, I think I’ll paint the roof so there will be less masking and chance of damaging anything.

Shifter Decision

The pushbutton shifter option won’t happen for now. If and when I get the car running and licensed I’ll see if I can make the buttons easier to shift, but my first priority is to make faster progress on the things that can be accomplished.

The decision to go with a floor shift meant I had to clean and paint the manual shift version of the upper dash board, and I completed that this morning. Now I need to make progress on as many of the firewall and under-dash tasks as possible.

Holes in the firewall for the AC lines and heater hoses are cut, and I finished mounting the evaporator. The wire bundle pass-through hole size and location still needs to be established, but I’m first going to order the switches and console relay/fuse panel, to help determine what wiring can stay inside and how much will go through the firewall.

The stoplight switch on the stock ’56 is hydraulically operated and mounted on the master cylinder, but that has been changed to a disc/drum dual reservoir system. For the new setup I used the switch from a ’79 Aspen and designed a bracket to mount it under the dash to be mechanically operated by the brake pedal.

I did get more wiring installed on the dash bundle, but progress is slow. It’s very time consuming and confusing trying to meld and configure wire bundles from ’56, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’81 and 2001 Mopars, a full set of aftermarket gauges, a modern sound system with GPS, relay controlled headlights, power seats, power windows, and all the non-stock interior lighting and wire routing. It will have roughly three times as many circuits as the stock ’56 Belvedere, so it will require both battery and switched 12 VDC busses for fuses under the hood and inside the console. The battery will be relocated in the trunk to make room under the hood for the relay panel, and for better weight distribution, so that adds a new dimension to the wiring. I’m nearing completion of the dash wiring, and even got the GPS antenna mounted atop the new dash. It's ugly, but necessary.

I visited the upholstery shop and told him I’d like to have the seats about the first week in May, but it remains to be seen if I will be ready for them, or if he completes them by then.

Monday morning I took the rear bumper wings and windshield wiper bezels in to be re-plated. The highly rated shop I originally planned to use in close-by Gainesville apparently shut down, so I had to locate another place in Fort Worth. They quoted a fair price, and the shop was neat and organized, so I have my fingers crossed. He wasn't excited about having to do the pot metal bezels, but if he can plate them with no more defects than were visible up on my repair and polish job, I'll be happy. More and more plating shops around here are closing rather than spend the money to comply with federal law, and those that have survived have really jacked up the prices.

I picked up two pairs of 5-1/2" Kenwood speakers so I could install the wiring, then discovered they only included 12" of wire for each speaker! I managed to scrounge up 50' of speaker wire, so at least got that part covered

Stolen Moments

Getting closer to having some time to work on the car. I did manage to dodge yard work for a couple of hours and used that opportunity to finish the AC ductwork needed to install a third vent above the console where air can be directed as needed. It's not fancy, but the visible part will receive some bling so it matches the dash

I also spent a short time wiring the dashboard after deciding where to locate the inside fuse panel. Because of the tight quarters behind the dash, I picked the next best location for easy access…below the arm rest storage bin in the console.

I’m now about 99% sure that I will use a floor shifter instead of agonizing over the pushbutton problems. When I finish my honey-do list and have some free time again, I’m going to try a couple of things to see if I can make the buttons easier to operate, but if they don't work, it’s full speed ahead on the floor shifter.