At 10:06 AM 2/24/2004 -0500, Ken Strayhorn wrote:
>I used 3/4" closed cell foam, of the type normally used to insulate
>HVAC ducting. Bought a big roll for $4 at an industrial surplus/recycling
>place here in town. Blocks excessive temps, dampens noise. Flexible,
>and can be bonded to the trans cover with standard 3M Spray Adhesive
>which you can find at WalMart or similar. Cuts with scissors.
This sounds like a really good idea. But make sure you use closed-cell foam!
Open cell foam would soak up water like a sponge.
Also examine which parts of the tranny are close to the tunnel cover. There
are a few places there the foam would have to be quite thin, and other places
where it could be quite thick. If the tranny is jammed against the foam,
it could transmit a lot of vibration to the cover.
>One last thing if finances are tight and that cardboard cover is more cracks
>and holes than cover - a friend of mine and I covered his busted-up trans
>cover with cheap fiberglas. We covered the cover with the matting, and then
>just poured on the resin, one half at a time. Total cost was about $15. Not
>elegant,
>but it worked.
Be careful here- Once I tried to put a little fiberglass reinforcing on the
rear surface of
the panel between the gas tank and the trunk. But the stuff refused to set up
(and
I know I added the right amount of catalyst). I suspect that something in the
fiberboard
"poisoned" the chemical reaction that makes the polyester resin set up. It
would be wise to first apply a small amount of resin to the tunnel and make sure
it sets properly. Later, when I patched up a cracked door trim panel, I used
epoxy resin, which is more expensive, but did not have this problem.
Doug Braun
'72 Spit
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