Padding under carpet

sconnors

Well-known member
I’m
About to install carpet in my 1930
deluxe coupe, and the last person who owned had the traditional black rubber mat I’m wondering if it’s worth leaving that down under the carpet or just put the carpet down on the wood floor.
Thoughts?
 
If the mat is in good shape put it over the carpet. It will protect the rug and look original. Otherwise I would carpet over it.
 
Put down some heat and sound deadening material. You'll be much happier in the warm weather. I did that last winter. Nice improvement
 
Under my carpet, I placed a single layer of DynaPad. It is only 3/8” thick. It has 4 layers and is quite dense. It really blocks heat and sound.

One sheet is enough go under the front carpet and the rear carpet of my Town Sedan and my Std. Phaeton (35-A). It is not adhesive. You cut it and it lays flat. The carpet or rubber mat goes over it.
 
Last edited:
Under my carpet, I placed a single layer of DynaPad. It is only 3/8” thick. It has 4 layers and is quite dense. It really blocks heat and sound.

One sheet is enough go under the front carpet and the rear carpet of my Town Sedan and my STD. Phaeton (35-A). It is not adhesive. You cut it and it lays flat. Thaw carpet or rubber mat goes over it.

Where is the best place to buy it?
 
Where is the best place to buy it?

I got mine on Amazon. Shop around. I have installed it in 3 cars now.

Sometimes you can find it on eBay for a good price. I once found a guy that finished doing his hot rod and he had a sheet left over, so he sold it at quite a discount.

It's not cheap, but it performs REALLY well for being so thin.
 
There are a number of different sound-and-heat insulating products out there, and the River Store (search under "sound deadening") is as good a place as any but by no means the only place to buy it (Speedway Motors also has several flavors including a 3/8" carpet insulating material that sounds similar to what Jim/GA used, use the same search term). Dynamat brand is sort of held as the "standard" and tends to be at the way upper end of the price scale. It comes in different thicknesses starting at 3 mm (1/8") and going upwards, and has several configurations depending upon intended use. I put a layer of 1/8" on the inside of my cowl panels, followed by two layers of 1/8" double foil thermal insulating foam (the stuff you can wrap HVAC ducts with). If I had to do it over again I'd probably use thicker sound deadening material and thicker insulation, but I got the sound deadening material for free from a friend who had some left over from doing his car. (aside - you can order the foil insulating material in 4' x 50' rolls, that's a lot of insulation!)
 
The carpeting and insulating material make it harder to get to the battery and other things that require removing the floor boards. But it makes for a quieter and better insulated car. I am protecting my carpeting by putting a rubber mat over the carpeting. A lot depends on how much you drive the car and how much you work on it. And whether you have mud on your boots.
 
I got mine on Amazon. Shop around. I have installed it in 3 cars now.

Sometimes you can find it on eBay for a good price. I once found a guy that finished doing his hot rod and he had a sheet left over, so he sold it at quite a discount.

It's not cheap, but it performs REALLY well for being so thin.

Just ordered it from Amazon! Thanks! Appreciate all the input
 
Put the carpet over the floor mat or whatever you like to reduce the sound and heat, and enjoy the carpet which only the deluxe models had!
 
The carpeting and insulating material make it harder to get to the battery and other things that require removing the floor boards..

I use the 2 piece lower floor board. It makes it a little easier to get to the battery when you have carpet and insulation as you only have to remove half of the floor.
 
Just ordered it from Amazon! Thanks! Appreciate all the input

You will find that the DynaPad is amazing, and you'll be surprised how dense it is. That helps it to lay down flat with no adhesive.

When you go to install it, cut it really tight up against the steering column, only make a slit where the clutch and brake pedals go through, and make a tight fit against the gear shift tower. This will block a lot of hot air and noise from entering the passenger compartment.

Cut a piece out from under the gas pedal area, to be able to get the pedal fully to the floor. Experiment here. Cut some and test. If you don't like that, cut a bit more. Don't go too big too soon.

You will also have a piece left to put under the mat in the rumble seat.
 
You will find that the DynaPad is amazing, and you'll be surprised how dense it is. That helps it to lay down flat with no adhesive.

When you go to install it, cut it really tight up against the steering column, only make a slit where the clutch and brake pedals go through, and make a tight fit against the gear shift tower. This will block a lot of hot air and noise from entering the passenger compartment.

Cut a piece out from under the gas pedal area, to be able to get the pedal fully to the floor. Experiment here. Cut some and test. If you don't like that, cut a bit more. Don't go too big too soon.

You will also have a piece left to put under the mat in the rumble seat.
Very good input! Thanks for the tips! One of the reason I love the Ford Barn, a treasure trove of experience and great advice!
 
I have a mat that I cut from 1/8 rubber and it works very well thermally. I have Dynamat in another vehicle and they are very, very good.
 
I had carpet over the floor mat and it slid around when the passenger braced their feet on the floor. It was a hazard!
I insulated the underside of the floorboard and toe board with this: https://www.designengineering.com/floor-tunnel-shield-ii-adhesive-21-x-24/
I figured I’d rather reduce the heat before it even reached the floorboards. It definitely works. My only regret is that I didn’t measure the heat before I installed it, so I can’t report the specific difference it made.
 
Back
Top