Firewall insulator

[Sharkdance]

Greetings all,

In the middle of a cab swap and am now needing to install a firewall insulator. (The leather? shield on the firewall of the inside of the truck)
Problem is, I destroyed the one out of my donor truck and the one in my old cab was no good either.
I have checked LMC, NPD, Etc. and they all have ABS? replacements but prices range $150. and up. I don't have that kind of green to lay out right now and don't want this to halt my project.
I have however coated the inside of my firewall with Hurculiner all the way up to the dashboard seam. Do you think that will be enough to prevent excessive heat/noise inside the cab? Or should I save my pennies for a real insulator?
Has anyone else tried to fabricate one? And if so, out of what material?

Thanks for any help or comments.

[fordman]

no thats not enough. i think someone here had used some sort of foil . and i don't mean aluminum foil or that metal bubble wrap either. maybe something like a fire blanket type of material. i don't remember. but i think the original is insulation and a heavy paper material.

[FORDification]

Yeah, I'm actually kinda at the point myself....or will be very soon. I really don't want to spend that kind of money on a firewall cover either. However, if I had the bucks I would get that ABS piece. Since it's hard, it's not going to rip like the OEM piece will. However, I've got a pretty good OEM piece that I'm going to recover with thin carpet, to match that on the floor.

I suppose in a pinch you could use some Dynamat, but by the time you get enough to do that whole firewall, you're going to end up spending at least as much as that ABS cover....Dynamat Xtreme is $33 per 10" square.

I can't think of anything else that even comes close to being adequate in that area. If you've at least got all your original pieces, you could repair them with duct tape and then cover the whole thing with carpet runner to match the main carpet, like I'm going to be doing.

[Sharkdance]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I didn't think that just the Hurculiner was enough. Hence my post and question. And Id really like one of those ABS replacements for reasons Keith has mentioned. But as I stated, I just ain't got the bucks right now.
I had also thought about the Dynomat idea but after tallying up the price of that stuff I decided against it too.

Im not going to carpet my truck and I don't have either of the old covers to repair so Im gonna have to come up with something.

So far my only idea is to cut a piece of thin sheet steel and sandwich a layer of jute between it and the existing firewall. Holding it together with sheetmetal screws.
My only concern with this idea is thickness and the inability to cut nice round holes without a set of hole saws.

Still open for ideas......

[hardtailjohn]

I was wondering about this stuff, mostly for the heat reflection...but the insulation could help for noise too...
http://www.teksupply.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... yIds=34956
JH

[fordman]

do you have a dremel? those cut nice round holes in stuff. i just got one last month and it is the best new tool i have had since i got a sawzall

[390Nut]

Thanks for the replies guys,


So far my only idea is to cut a piece of thin sheet steel and sandwich a layer of jute between it and the existing firewall. Holding it together with sheetmetal screws.
My only concern with this idea is thickness and the inability to cut nice round holes without a set of hole saws.

Still open for ideas......

The jute is what I was going to suggest. It's available from most carpet supply places, and a lot of times they'll give you chunks out of the dumpster, sometimes you'll be able to find something big enough to go all one piece.

Another idea is what we used to call sound board, when I was hanging sheetrock for a living. Most times it's a half inch thick (although it USED to be available in 1/4 inch), it's a mix of shredded cardboard, wood fiber, and glue, and is used specifically for sound blocking between adjacent apartment units. It's partially flexible, yet is easy to cut cleanly with a good sharp utility knife. A hole saw MIGHT tear it, but if you take your time and go slowly, it might work well, especially if the hole saw has fine teeth.

Some spray adhesive and some vinyl or other fabric to cover it up would finish it off well.

[fordman]

if your talking about what i think your talking about that is blackboard with out the tar impregnation.

[390Nut]

if your talking about what i think your talking about that is blackboard with out the tar impregnation.

That I don't know, but it could be. This stuff is dark brown, looks a lot like 10 tons of hair pressed into a 4'x8'x1/2" sheet. I know it used to be available in 1/4 inch, too, as we used it occasionally on rounds/curved walls.

It's called Soundboard at home centers and drywall suppliers, and costs less than $10.00 for a 48 sq. ft sheet. There are other names also, better products but more expensive. Homasote is one of them.

[fordman]

yes thats the stuff except around here it's painted white on one side and its just like the 2x4 drop ceiling tile material

[wt4speed#2]

I've got the foil bubble stuff its real plyable and i think that I'm gonna use spray adheasive and just form it to the fire wall or maybe something maybe a little more tackie have gone any farther and the inner firewall treatment is what is keeping me from poking all wires and stuff back thur . been really busy or just lazy i guess . might experiment with it sunday

Tony B

[Sharkdance]

Just got 6' of jute from where I work. This is the stuff that we use under carpet floorboards of newer cars to insulate heat and noise from the muffler/catalitic converter. This is the closest thing I can find to the origional material that ford used on the firewall behind that paper cover. Might even be exactly the same.
Now Im gonna try to fabricate a cover and trim it to fit/hold up the jute against the inner firewall.
Will let you know how it turns out.
Wife keeps telling me to just buy the ABS aftermarket replacement but Id have to save up for a while to afford it.

[fordman]

let us know about that. i'm not sure what kind of cover to tell you to use but something that protects itself from a shoe or boot scraping across it.

[Sharkdance]

Update:
I have decided that the jute would be fine for an insulator/sound deadener but making a proper cover is more than I want to tackle right now.
I have also decided that I will use the jute that I have in other places of the cab. Like on the inside of the roof between it and the headliner, and behind the gas tank.
I cut the jute to fit nicely along the contours of the firewall and then proceeded to make a paper template of all of the cuts and angles Id need to properly form fit a sheet metal cover to the firewall.
You don't think about it till you try to do something like this but, the firewall AIN'T flat.
I have some really thin sheet metal that I was planing on cutting up and welding or pop riveting together, but after spending more than 2 hours making a paper template I could only see it getting harder to copy that pattern with sheet metal.
Not saying that it cant be done, just that it would require more time and expertise than I have to do it to my satisfaction.

When the wife saw how frustrated I became she said she was sure we could find a few extra bucks in the bill payin money to buy an ABS replacement so I could get on with finishing my truck project. After all, it is my daily driver. And as long as its down we have only one vehicle.

[390Nut]

One idea is to make a template, out of cardboard or some such (including curves/indentations and such) and then buy the ABS one. When you have the time to work on it, take your time and make it right the first time, according to materials you can find and use etc.. Then when you've got time to put it in, swap them out and sell off the ABS piece here or on eBay to recoup some of your money down the road.

just a thought