Alfa 911

[GTVeloce]

A quick update - nearly all the mechanical work has been done now and I have started work on the interior. First job is to remove all the old, degraded floor insulation and replace with dynapad. I think the pic says a lot about how much work is left...

[Paul Gulliver]

First job is to remove all the old, degraded floor insulation and replace with dynapad

Great stuff Julian,

Thats a job thats been on my "to do " list for about 3 years. Would you like to comment of how hard is was to get the old material out , what it weighed. Where abouts are you sourcing the dynapad.

Cheers

Gully

[GTVeloce]

Thanks Gully. So far getting the old material out has been fairly easy. However, I still have to get the last bits out - the bits that are stuck to the floor. I'm hoping 15-20 minutes with a scraper should have it all out. I haven't weighed it but it isn't ridiculously heavy. Not like the doors... The dynapad is possibly a smidgeon heavier but then that maybe just because the old stuff came out in bits while the dynapad is still one big sheet. I am really happy I'm doing this because it wasn't till I started to pull it out that I realised how far gone it was. It smells, is dusty and can't have been providing much heat or noise insulation. Given my design brief I think this is one of the most important stages. I have also begun putting dynaliner on the doors, sills (which are bare normally!), behind the dash and between the rear weather seals and skins.

As to sourcing the stuff, quite a few websites sell it as does a number of car audio places. I was lucky in that a friend of mine works in a car audio store in WA and ordered some for me at cost price which I collected from the supplier here in Melbourne. The difference in sound once the dynaliner is on is huge so I'm really interested to see how well the dynapad works.

I will give you another update once it's in.

Cheers
Julian

[festy]

When I did mine, I used a combination of a heat gun and hammer+chisel to get most of it out in big chunks.
I then used a flap disc to clean up the little bits left behind, that was the easiest part of the job.

[Sheldon McIntosh]

I'm guessing Julian is talking about the carpet 'underlay' fluffy stuff, rather than the 'tar' stuck to the shell, based on this quote...

It smells, is dusty and can't have been providing much heat or noise insulation. Given my design brief I think this is one of the most important stages. I have also begun putting dynaliner on the doors, sills (which are bare normally!), behind the dash and between the rear weather seals and skins.

The sound-deadener on the shell is another thing entirely, and as festy says, a heat-gun and scraper are needed for that.

Gully. FWIW, it's 20kg in a 90, so maybe 15kg in a coupe?  And it takes a full day (well, it did for me anyway).

[aggie57]

I'm guessing Julian is talking about the carpet 'underlay' fluffy stuff, rather than the 'tar' stuck to the shell, based on this quote...

It smells, is dusty and can't have been providing much heat or noise insulation. Given my design brief I think this is one of the most important stages. I have also begun putting dynaliner on the doors, sills (which are bare normally!), behind the dash and between the rear weather seals and skins.

The sound-deadener on the shell is another thing entirely, and as festy says, a heat-gun and scraper are needed for that.

Gully. FWIW, it's 20kg in a 90, so maybe 15kg in a coupe?  And it takes a full day (well, it did for me anyway).

That's what I read as well Sheldon.  But comment on the sound deadener - I always remove it cold with a large screwdriver or cold chisel and 2lb hammer.  Comes off in big chunks in no time.  Maybe all the cars I've done it on are just really, really old......

[GTVeloce]

Yes, I am referring to just the fluffy stuff. I have no need to remove the hard sound deadener. The car is primarily a road car not a track car. That said, some of the hard stuff came with a screw driver quite easily so if I was going to do it I would try it cold with a hammer and chisel first. If I really wanted to do the job well (and had an endless budget), I would remove the sound deadener and replace with dynamat before covering with dynapad. But where do you stop?

When I pulled the insulation up, I discovered the floor well plugs were all rusty on top (but not underneath) which is not surprising. The surrounding area was fine with no sign of rust. Obviously any moisture that gets in will settle in this area so my question is, should I clean these plugs up, paint them and put them back in or just clean them up and put them in. The reason I ask is maybe these were used as a type of sacrificial anode - i.e. a sacrificial piece of metal for the rust to gravitate to rather than the rest of the floor area and painting them may reduce their effectiveness?

[festy]

I've never seen those plugs rusty before, because my 3 alfettas have all had rubber plugs

[ItalCarGuy]

If you do ever want to remove the hard stuff. Try the dry ice method. Quick and satisfying

http://www.alfa-male.com/?s=dynamat

[Beatle]

My '79 had hard plastic plugs (translucent/clear), my '76 GT had black plastic, and my '76 sedan wreck had metal.

Make certain you glue in the forward plugs.  Water can come off the front tyres at high pressure and dislodge the plugs under the carpet without you knowing.  Then the well gets wet and if the plastic backing on the carpet is good, the well can stay wet for a long time without you knowing.

I have to say I'm not a fan of sticking any impervious sound/heatproofing/underfelt down.  When moisture gets under it, and it will get in, it will stay wet against the floor metal.   While not as robust, breathable felts allow some chance of drying out when moisture does get in.

[aggie57]

Anyone have a picture of metal plugs?  I've only ever seen rubber or plastic.

Cheers

[Tristan Atkins]

My 116 GTV had metal plugs.  I cleaned them up and reinstalled them.

Tristan

[GTVeloce]

I took some photo's of the rusty plugs - front and back.

[Paul Gulliver]

My 116 GTV had metal plugs.

I couldn't think of anything more dangerous . Un checked metal on metal in an alfetta for 30 + years

[alfa duk]

 Just when you think you have seen every aspect of alfettas, that floor plug with the rubber plug in it, I pulled an alfetta apart this year and seen this same plug and thought a strange idea by someone, and now it seems done factory.