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1976 Corvette
Sound and Heat Proofing
During the engine bay restoration, I installed Hooker Super Competition headers/side pipes. I did this for two reasons. Besides the sleek hot rod look, I had a tendency of bottoming out on an unavoidable speed bump in my daily commute. The lowest point of the car was the dual exhaust, so they had to go. With the installation of the Hookers, cabin heat and sound rose dramatically. I enjoy the sound of a V8 Chevy, but when it gets to the point of not being able to talk to the person a foot away from you, something had to change. Also, the heat from the engine compartment would turn the cab of the car into an oven during the summer months so I had to find a product to help reduce both problems. After looking for a while and reading reviews, I decided to go with a product called C3 Pre-Cut Full Insulation Kit by Mad Vette Motor Sports. Many C3 owners have had success with this product so I decided to give it a try. The nice thing about this insulator is that it is pre-cut to fit exactly around every mounting bolt and door handle. Installation was easy without any cutting or gluing anything to the floor boards. (dyno mat has to have the sticky side rolled to the floor with a rolling pin) It just slid into the labeled areas.
This was an excellent product for the price of $100 at the time. I did notice a substantial difference in sound and heat reduction. Even though this has made my ‘76 vette a more comfortable driver and I can now talk to the passenger next to me, I would think twice about installing it in my ‘68. The Eastwood Company made a persuading technical video about their new product called Thermo-Coustic Sound Deadener Material (see below) that makes me question which is the better product for the price. Unfortunately, Eastwood's product would take more time to install since each piece is not pre-cut to fit an individual car, however it may prove to be more effective. I still haven't decided on which product I will be using for the '68, but as of now, I have narrowed it down to these two companies.
Update: Prior to purchasing the product from Mad Vette Motor Sports, I read positive reviews on the sound proofing. However, since then, I have read some negative feedback concerning their shipping being either late or not at all. When I bought mine, I had no problems with shipping at all but I wanted to mention this. This is the current comments I have read as of July 2011 but hopefully it won't be an issue in the future.