Is installing sound deadening worth the effort?

[tedy]

I am thinking about putting sound deadening material in my 81 Spider. Checking under the carpet I found the original thick gooey stuff. It looks like it will be a pain in the you know what to get it off. I know it's still going to be noisy, so I am wondering if anyone else has gone through the trouble. I might just put some under the rear seat back. and under the door panels. A few of the manufacturers have a thinner version of their product that can go under the door panels without having to modify the panels. Anyone got any facts or opinions about it?

Tedy

[RRoller123]

You may want to do a search on the forum, there have been many threads here about this, including the improvement in thermal insulation, and yes it is most definitely worth it!

[4uall]

these might help

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php ... &hilit=por

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php ... ilit=+cool

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php ... ilit=POR15

[So Cal Mark]

we've been using Dynamat and I think it's worth it

[njoconnor]

While I had the door panels off, I put a square of Hushmat into each door. I can definitely hear a difference when closing the doors, which suggests that external noise transmission will be noticeably reduced (negates the drum head effect of metal panels). Tossed half-squares onto the panels right behind the doors as well.

Removing the old gooey stuff is a pain, but I found two tools which made it less so. For the wider, flatter sections of the floor, I used a "spider blade" scraper (narrowest one they make...4 inches, I think) in my cordless recip saw. Downside is that it kicks back when it hits the stamped indentations and other protuberances on the floor. I finished off the rest of the floor with a Dremel multi-tool and a stiff scraper blade. Took about 4 evenings total, but I was very happy with the results. POR, primer, and enamel paint after that, followed by EZ Cool.

I did try the "bang on the floor with a large mallet" with no success. I took a pass on the dry ice idea....

Neil

[fredguaz]

I found it would be worth the effort to take up the old sound deadening because you may be surprised how much rust is hidden underneath. The stuff seems to absorb moisture quite well. I used hammer and cold chisel and most came off with no problem. Wear eye protection. Currently welding in patches and will por15 followed by dynamat or equivalent.

[Exit98]

The biggest benefit to the job is keeping heat out of the cabin. My car is so much cooler now.

My new, back in the day, Spider was an oven in the summer. Stop and go driving back from the shore on a Sunday night was like sitting in a sauna for 4 hours. Miserable.

[burgandy81]

I did the dry ice method to remove the factory goo and thought it worked well! Get more than you need and make sure you have a very warm day.

A pile of pellets in one corner, let is chill, move pile to other corner while chipping the goo out. move, repeat.

[tedy]

njoconnor

When you put the sound deadening in the door did you put it on the in-board side metal of the door under the interior panel, or actually inside the door on the inside of the outer skin?

tedy

[SoFlaFiat]

And if you put it inside the door, which is what it sounds like, did you fasten it somehow to keep it away from the window mechanicals? Sounds like a great idea!

[njoconnor]

The Hush mat has a remarkably sticky self adhesive backing. I wiggled it through the mechanicals, positioned it, slid off the backing, and then pressed/rolled it onto the inside of the steel door panel. When I was greasing the pulleys last week, I noticed a couple of small sections loose; just re-rolled it with a laminate roller.

I chose to adhere it to the outer panel to reduce the "drumhead" effect of the steel panel from outside noises (truck tires, road noise, etc). The dense vinyl inner core acts as a vibration absorber, from what I've read. We'll see how it works out in the real world outside the garage this summer! RIght now, the doors sound a little less tinny when closed. Once I install all of the new weatherstripping, I suspect they will sound even better.

Hope that helps. And wish me luck. Carpeting goes in today.....

Neil

[SoFlaFiat]

Sounds like a good idea!!
And good luck!!!