The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Rubber floor mat and insulation

I'm ready to put something on the floor now... I want to get a rubber floor mat. Anyone have some experience with them that could recommend a good one..

Also was thinking to insulate the floor before I put the mat down.. I like the idea of the insulating press on sheets but wonder what others experiences are and if you have any recommendations.

Doug

Doug, on cabin insulation I used Lowe’s roofing peel and stick. Laid it on the cab floors, back of the cab, doors as far as I could reach as well as the roof. I followed that with three-quarter inch closed cell foam insulation on the complete cab including inside the doors and roof. Been pretty happy with it for eight years now. Truck’s quiet, easy to heat and very little money spent. Already had the foam though.

Many have reported good results with just the peel and stick, I’m a “more is better guy”

Good Luck.

Did you have any issues with the fit of the flooring once you added the 3/4 foam? When I did something similar on a 78 corvette, all of the molded carpet fit weird.

The rubber floor looks like it came out well in the end, but did you have to fight with it?

Edit: is your second picture the foam or a rubber mat over it?

Yes, second image shows the foam. You can judge the thickness by zooming in on the edges.

No fighting, as I recall it was a pretty easy process. The stainless trim as the edges where the foot well is compressed the foam fairly well. The dimmer switch still works. It helps that for most of my driving life I’ve been stomping dimmer switches so the muscle memory is there.

There may have been a few other details, but they were minor. One thing I did at the same time is go to a one piece pvc headliner. There may have been a problem if I’d stayed with the cardboard and bows.

RonR

What did you use to glue to foam down? 3M spray glue?

Forgive my late response, I wanted to see if I had any of the 3M spray adhesive to be sure of my reply accuracy. Alas, I do not. I’m thinking I used 3M 77 adhesive. Red/black container and if you follow the instructions on the label and let both surfaces dry before assembly, you better be accurate. I usually assemble early so I can shift things as necessary.

RonR

RonR, you are correct. That's the stuff. I use it to keep hood insulation in place and just about anything else.

Mask off anything you don't want it to get on because, just like paint, it will drift and it is STICKY!

Doug, before you do it, what is your plan for battery and master cylinder access? Gluing down the mat will not be a good idea if your battery and brake cylinder are still under the floor.

As for the floor mat, all vendors seem to be selling the same thing, Doug. Some folks have had good experience with them and some haven't. I think it depends on where you live as much as anything. Mainly how hot it gets and all. They surely are not the quality they once were. As for the floor and firewall, etc, I used some 1/8" thick self-adhesive neoprene sponge foam I had and then covered it with some leftover radiant foil barrier material to which double-sided insulation had been added. I could have used spray adhesive, but I had a remnant roll of the 2 sided adhesive. I've read the best way to dampen noise is to turn it into heat waves and you do that with a foil or thin metal layer on top of foam (you basically reflect the noise back into the foam where it dies quietly). You can sort of see this in the image below. Just about anything you do will reduce noise. Good luck!

Thanks for the answer on the glue. I am quite familiar with 77 and it is great stuff.

More/thicker mats offset the shifter hole markings when installing my new top mat. Maybe because the floor to footboard crease was filled in with about 3/4 inch padding and the crease wasn't as defined anymore and it effectively made the new mat about an inch too long front to back. No problem though, as the front edge perfectly overlaps the firewall cover and the back edge is well hidden by the seat bench.

I use the top factory style mat as long as possible till it starts getting torn and ripped. Then it becomes the old "bottom" layer and is replaced with a new top factory style mat.

Starting from the top going down I have:
1. Nice new floormat
2. old 3/8 felt with aluminum foil on one side
3. Old ripped floormat
4. adhesive sound deadening rolled on the whole floor and well into all the nooks and crannies.

No adhesive on top 3 layers; have always let gravity hold them down except this time I secured the new top mat under the door bottom edge weatherstrip retainers. Gotta have the master cylinder hole plug, otherwise incoming air tends to raise the mats.