01-Sep-03 Insulating the Firewall Part 1 Insulation Fixation << Previous Interior Article All Interior Articles Next Interior Article >> It's Labor Day morning and I'm multitasking. I'm updating the site from a laptop while sitting out on the deck with my family. I'm sure there will be times today while writing these articles when I lose track of their conversation or seem distant, but they're used to that ;) This is a catch-up article on insulating the firewall. I found a photo that I forgot to include earlier that shows how the vacuum switches that operate the heat/air doors in the A/C evaporator will be mounted. They will be directly behind and above the evaporator. While they may be difficult to get to if one ever fails, they rarely do so I feel comfortable placing them there. Before we start mounting stuff under the dash it needs to be insulated. Insulation is a topic that people tend to be very opinionated about for some reason. This is just one man's way of doing things. I'll try to explain why I used what I did as I go along but tell you straight out that getting the most "bang for the buck" was my main concern. Weight was also a concern. Some products can add considerable weight to the car, while lightening your wallet in the process. Some insulation products are geared toward noise reduction while others do a better job at reducing heat. It's tough to find a product that does both extremely well. In a car, noise and heat are both concerns, especially at the firewall. I have very limited room behind the A/C evaporator. If you remember, I even had to remove an area of the plywood mounting board to squeeze the evaporator between the roll cage and the firewall. For this part of the firewall, we'll need insulation that's very thin. I picked up a 31x18-inch piece of Dynamat Extreme insulation for these areas. This insulation is only about 1/8-inch thick. It has a foil front and an adhesive backing of a tar-like substance that reminds me of windshield adhesive. This is primarily a sound deadening material but it does have some insulating quality. I don't think I could afford to insulate the entire car with this product (this piece was $35!) and it's quite heavy. I do plan to use it on each door (for noise dampening) so I'll need to start saving. The firewall was prepared for insulation by removing everything. The plywood also has some insulating qualities so we can count that in the mix. The coil wire was also removed. << Previous Interior Article All Interior Articles Next Interior Article >>