While driving around with the Corvette last summer, I noticed that it got really hot after about 100 km. Especially around the legs. Well, there was hardly any insulation in the car and the engine and transmission did produce a lot of heat so perhaps I should have guessed it. The car was also pretty noisy but that was secondary compared to the temperatures in the cabin. This time I decided to do the insulation right by getting some good stuff.
My friend had used the
Stinger Roadkill in his -65 Mustang and said that it was easy to install and worked well. I also went for a small test drive with him and was pretty amazed how quiet his Mustang was. Almost like a modern car. So, I bought three trunk kits that each had 1.85 square meters (20 sq. ft.) of material. Over 5.5 square meters in total. I read from some discussions that 5 to 6 square meters should be enough to cover the whole interior.
My plan was to remove the carpets and some interior pieces so I could insulate as much of the car as possible. Again the small garage worked against me so I had to work one side at a time. This time the weather was also an obstacle. When I started the work, it was about 5 to 10 degrees outside and going down. I would have to work fast before it got below freezing. As the Stinger was mostly meant for sound dampening, I planned to install two layers to the hottest areas: firewall and transmission tunnel.
I started from the driver side. I removed the seat, kick panel, carpet and the old "insulation". It was so crappy that most likely it didn't do anything... The floor that my friend
built three years ago still seemed to be in good shape thanks to the rust proofing we sprayed.
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| Old "insulation" |
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| Floors still good. Maybe a bit dirty. |
The Stinger boxes said that no surface preparation would be needed but I still made sure to remove all dirt with some acetone. After wiping the floors, it was time to start installing. The Stinger comes in 30 cm by 61 cm sheets and should be cut to correct shape with a carpet knife but it is so soft that I even used scissors in some places. Starting from the largest level
areas, I worked towards the walls and corners. After removing the backing paper and carefully placing the sheet, I used a roller to firmly attach it.
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| Attaching one of the first sheets |
It took me a few hours but finally the floor was done. I also added some Stinger to the lower halves of the doors. The higher parts of the doors have some crash barriers so I couldn't get any insulation there.
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| Driver floor done. |
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| Insulation in the door. |
Next I turned the car around and removed the passenger side interior. The floors seemed good there too so I just cleaned them and started rolling.
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| Passenger floor. |
When both floors were done, it was time to check the trunk. I still had a full box of Stinger left so I removed the carpets and old insulation and got to work. Unfortunately after a while if got too cold to work any more. I got everything else done except the wheel arches until the temperatures dropped below freezing. Then the Stinger just would not stick any more and fell off the walls. Luckily the glue hardens after install so the pieces that were done earlier are fine.
Hopefully the many layers of Stinger in the firewall make the Corvette a cooler place next summer. Unfortunately I won't feel or hear the difference until spring...
