Old Blue - 1984 XL Flareside

[ckuske]

So my son and I tried our hands at brazing - it ain't pretty, but it seems to have worked and seems solid.   I thought I was done, but then shined a flashlight from underneath the floor pan upwards, and more holes revealed themselves.

Since the picture, I have sprayed the entire passenger area floor pan with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator.  I have also found a site to order an aerosol paint kit of my factory color (interior is still painted this way), with a separate clear coat etc from expresspaint.com (anyone use them before?).  Since all this is going to be under the carpet etc, this should be good enough and it'll help prevent future issues/rust.

[kramttocs]

Well done
Looks a lot better than when I tried to braze last.

I really like the Eastwood product. I've always brushed the quarts on but I assume the aerosol covered well?

Never heard of them - most use SEM.
Are you saying this will just be for the floor?
If so, have you considered some sound deadener/heat barrier instead?

[Gary Lewis]

Looks good, Chris.  

As for painting the floor, do you need to add something to the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator?  I use POR15 and that's what I painted Big Blue's floor with after brazing it.  That seals the rust and any pin holes that might still be in the floor.

Over the POR went sound deadener that goes down with adhesive on it, so it won't be sliding and there's no friction on the POR so it should last forever.

[ckuske]

Thanks for the feedback Scott and Gary!

Gary, you're right that POR15 would be a good solution to seal the floor against any other pinholes etc that may be present.  There were a few tiny ones that I left (like a pinprick size), because I was getting nervous about the amount of times I got the floor red hot.  I'll consider that.  The perfectionist side of me wants to have the original color paint on the floor, but the practical side of me goes "why does it matter?! no one will ever know the difference!" (except me).  Regarding adding anything to POR15 - the rust encapsulator is what I used on my frame underneath the Chassis Black as recommended by Eastwood.  I figured if it was good enough for the frame, it'd be good enough for the cab? (Wondering aloud).  I will probably try to re-paint over the existing Midnight Blue in hard to reach areas (behind the seat, etc).  I figure it will save me money down the road when I get the rest of the truck painted assuming it turns out well.

Scott, I'm definitely going to put something down over the bare metal.  I know there are different opinions as to what is the "best" one, but something like Dynamat is definitely part of the plan.  Over that will go carpet or possibly a rubber mat - the truck originally had the rubber mat but I'm not sure which way I want to go yet.

I was on target to get the SEM paint to paint all the plastic in the cab to put the interior back together, but the floor has steered me in a different direction for now.

I guess I do need to decide on insulation material - I was going to do the floor, rear of the cab, and doors.  What have you guys used?  Dynamat?  Opinions???

[kramttocs]

Sorry, I reread your post and realized you were talking about only the floor the whole time so the SEM doesn't apply there.

Half a dozen (or a dozen) brands out there to choose from  but I used the Eastwood mats and would again without hesitation. Their door and hood/headliner options worked fantastic as well.

[Gary Lewis]

I think the Eastwood product would be fine to seal the holes and kill the rust.  And since it will be covered with sound deadener and then carpet I don't think I'd paint over that.

And speaking of sound deadener, I uased Noico 80 mil (2 mm) 36 sqft (3.4 sqm) car Sound deadening mat from Amazon.  I can't say it is as good as any of the others since I didn't do a test, but it works fine so I'm happy.

[FuzzFace2]

I can tell you with just carpet with its backing made the cab a lot quitter inside over not having anything but 2 coats top & bottom of the floor with roll on bed liner.

The only "sound deadner" I used on my truck was the roofing sealer, Peel & Stick.
I put 2 strips inside the doors on the outside door skin to stop the drum noise.
The fire wall has the factory insulation, back wall nothing.

It's a truck and I am happy with the sound level, I can hear the radio & talk to someone and that is all thats needed LOL
Dave ----

[ckuske]

Dynamat seems the way to go looking at reviews, but sheesh is it expensive!

Thanks for the feedback - I definitely have food for thought.

[Gsmblue]

Another vote for the Noico 80mil product. I have used this on various vehicles with great results.

[ckuske]

Thanks for the feedback, gsm!

[ckuske]

Did you notice any odor during or after install? I've seen some comments about that in reviews. How does it do with heat?  

Noico doesn't seem to indicate it does much to prevent heat from getting through, while Dynamat does.  

[rcarlisle]

I used the Noico.  I read about the smell.  I sniffed it before I installed and didn't smell anything before or after. Install note:  WHATEVER you use to roll/burnish the matts:  DON'T forget it in the doors - just saying. lol

I used 3 pieces inside the outer skin of my doors.   And some scraps on the inner panel.   That seems like where Most of the reverberation is in the doors.  I can't say with any empirical evidence that it made a difference.   However, it seems a little less boomy in the cab going down the road.
I doubt I will put anything on the floor.  I have the carpet GSM sent me with the upgrade backing.  It looks kinda like what is under my OEM carpet.  At the end of the day, it is an 81 Ford pickup - not a Cadillac.  Gonna be noisier than a car.   But it's pretty nice now, I must say.  

[FuzzFace2]

rcarlisle wrote

I used the Noico.  I read about the smell.  I sniffed it before I installed and didn't smell anything before or after. Install note:  WHATEVER you use to roll/burnish the matts:  DON'T forget it in the doors - just saying. lol

I used 3 pieces inside the outer skin of my doors.   And some scraps on the inner panel.   That seems like where Most of the reverberation is in the doors.  I can't say with any empirical evidence that it made a difference.   However, it seems a little less boomy in the cab going down the road.
I doubt I will put anything on the floor.  I have the carpet GSM sent me with the upgrade backing.  It looks kinda like what is under my OEM carpet.  At the end of the day, it is an 81 Ford pickup - not a Cadillac.  Gonna be noisier than a car.   But it's pretty nice now, I must say.

I did the same in the doors only, nothing on the floor other than the used carpet with backing it came with.
I did not have the truck on the road with nothing in the doors but did before the carpet and it was night and day difference on the noise!
Dave ----

[ckuske]

You guys are right, I need to remember this is an old truck, not a luxury car.  

[ckuske]

So I got my correct pair of radiator mounts, it's been a long day so maybe I'm going to get the dunce cap...

The nubs on the bottom of the insulators seem to orient themselves in such a way that the "trough" of the insulators that the radiator would sit in is facing outwards, instead of inwards.  The nubs insert into the radiator support itself and are keyed in such a way that you can't swap one side for the other or orient them in another way.  I don't have a "before" picture, but this seems odd.  Thoughts?

[rcarlisle]

ckuske wrote

You guys are right, I need to remember this is an old truck, not a luxury car.

You can do a lot to make them better, but still going to have noises not present in a new car.  I have a speedo cable clicking that sounds like a valve.   From when I bought truck in March til now it has apparently moved down the cable, from the instrument panel end to now it's down at the trans.   I'm kinda afraid to look much for fear of messing something up that is working, just noisy.   No reason not to try to make it as nice as possible.  

When you take care of one source of noise, seems like there is some other noise that appears, just to keep you on your toes.    

[ckuske]

As Gary says, there are many layers to the onion!

[Gary Lewis]

You are right, there are many layers.  When you get rid of one noise you start finding others.  And there are usually plenty of them.  But I'm getting many of them worked out on Big Blue.  Keep at it and you will, too.  

[grumpin]

You should come ride in my Bronco, noisiest vehicle I have ever owned!

[Gsmblue]

grumpin wrote

You should come ride in my Bronco, noisiest vehicle I have ever owned!

YES PLEASE