FJ60 sound proofing and carpet install (2 Viewers)

[vtcruiser60]

We are cleaning up the 87FJ60 after a new engine install and I thought post up the process we’ve used to freshen up the interior.

Though the original carpet was actually in decent physical shape, it had a few oil stains in ugly places and smelled bad. We were eager to make the interior look as good as the outside.

By way of gathering parts, I did quite a bit of searching for for carpet kits and ended up going with our colleague on the forum named DNP, Who put a lot of time and effort into building a 60 series carpet set that was different from all the other vendors. Here is his link: New 60 carpet for sale! JUNE 1, 2018 UPDATE

For soundproofing material I sourced a product by Noico. I picked up two boxes of the foil backed butyl product(80 mil x 36sqft), and two boxes of Noico’s closed cell adhesive backed foam/sound deadener(150 mil x 36 sqft). Noico also sells a 170mil product. I found all the Noico stuff through Amazon. Here are the links:

Amazon.com: Noico 80 mil 36 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening: Automotive

Buy Noico 80 mil 36 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening: Insulation & Noise Control - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: NOICO WP 150 mil 36 sqft car Waterproof Insulation Heat and Cool Liner, Closed Cell PE Foam CCF Self-Adhesive Sound Deadening Material (1/6'' Thick Sound Deadener): Automotive

Buy NOICO WP 150 mil 36 sqft car Waterproof Insulation Heat and Cool Liner, Closed Cell PE Foam CCF Self-Adhesive Sound Deadening Material (1/6'' Thick Sound Deadener): Insulation - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[vtcruiser60]

PREP

We removed all the seats and took quite a bit of time to prep the floor surface.

I inspected for rust, and found mild surface rust near the driver side floor board. I removed the surface rust with an air grinder, then applied Navel jelly in two waves, before painting over with SEM rust shield.

The original carpet pulled up nice and easy, but a lot of the original jute backing was stuck to the original sound deadener. We removed the jute by hand, sometimes with a paint scraper. I read somewhere that others have used a knitted wire brush mounted to an angle grinder. This seemed too aggressive.

My lady friend spent quite a bit of time vacuuming, and wiping down the surfaces with a prep all degreaser.

 

[vtcruiser60]

SEAT Repair

The driver side seat suffered from the typical cracking underneath the left ass cheek. Having dismantled about a half a dozen FJ60s in my lifetime, I’m embarrassed to say I never saved the passenger side seat. I placed calls to half a dozen vendors around the country before finally finding one with a Sigfried and Sons.

Swapping out a nice (though a tad dirty) passenger seat bottom went very smoothly.

Disassembly is pretty straightforward And starts with the removal of a few screws on the seat back adjustment mechanism. Once the seat bottom is separated from the back, you have to remove the two seat slide mechanisms, which are attached with 12 mm bolts. The next step is to remove the original hog rings, which attach the seat cover to the metal frame. I used a small set of the needle-nose pliers which worked fine.

Reassembly is the reverse process. I used a couple hog rings from my own hog ring pliers set, but also ended up using some of the original hog rings again, pinching them with needle nose pliers. The feet on the driver side seat were a little bit rusty, so I hit them with a wire wheel, and painted them with the same SEM rust shield paint. I recommend using gloves, and perhaps putting down cardboard or a blanket on the work surface during this part of the project. You will be flipping the seat up and down quite a bit, and this will help keep it clean. We plan on having the dingy seats professionally washed once our new carpet goes in.

 

[vtcruiser60]

SOUND PROOFING

Before I begin, I will say that I’ve found the original FJ60 to be pretty darn quiet. At highway speed I could carry a conversation with anyone in the passenger seat and not be distracted by the engine noise. I run 33 inch tires, have a 2 inch lift, and yes the engine is rebuilt. But I don’t find the original soundproofing to be all that bad.

By way of a cruiser project I don’t think soundproofing is all that difficult. The project is kind of fun to do, offers an opportunity to invite family with limited wrenching skills to help, and the parts are not all that expensive. I’ve gotten a lot of satisfaction out of mechanical upgrades, a rebuilt 2F, and a lift. This project is a soft upgrade, it’s about improving ride quality, cleanliness, and aesthetic satisfaction..... Basically a cleaner cruiser that’s a lot quieter makes my wife happy..... so this particular upgrade has spill over benefits in my household.

Installing the sound deadener takes time. Start to finish I think I probably have eight total hours in applying the butyl, and then the foam on top of it.

Removal of the upholstery, and cleanup of the sheet metal probably took three hours total.

The manufacturers instructions are OK, but it’s pretty straightforward overall. Noico also has install videos online. When starting, I recommend starting in the back of the vehicle where the surface is wide open and you may cut longer strips. Kneeling on bare metal is annoying, So I just used up packing blanket for kneeling comfort. I recommend starting with 2 to 3 inch long strips, cut w a sharp carpet knife, so you get the hang of applying the butyl. I’ve read online that it is not necessary to cover the entire floor surface using butyl. That said, my labor is free and the product is not wicked expensive, so I used it liberally. I found the metal roller that Noico sells to be pretty effective. I also used a tennis ball, and sometimes the back of a large screwdriver, to push the product into all the new nooks and crannies. The temperature outside was about 60°. I think doing this on the cooler days it’s probably easier than a really hot day. I could see the product being a complete pain in the ass if it’s really hot outside. I took my time, I avoided covering up things like body mount bolts, and kept the product out of the wheel well channels, that is the space closest to the door seams. I felt as though those areas could get wet and I didn’t want them wicking water up underneath the product. I did not remove the heater, but did a pretty good job getting the butyryl underneath it. I paid particularly close attention to the wheel wells, having read that those are a little more difficult to cover with the carpeting, so I avoided thickening up that area too much. I did not overlap the butyl, but butt seemed everything.

Installing the foam deadener went much, much faster. The product is much easier to cut and apply. I did not use a roller, and found myself using my fingers to push it into the floor. You have to be careful with this that you do not trap air underneath the product.

 

[vtcruiser60]

CARPET INSTALL

The carpet install was the most difficult and time consuming part of the project. There’s no way to go fast, and the risk is very high of over cutting something and screwing up the aesthetic.

Before installing the carpet, I placed a layer of mass loaded vinyl across the entire floor. I sourced the product from Amazon. I bought a roll of 4 x 10’, which covered 90% of the floor area.

I bought a hot knife from Harbor Freight for about $15 and it made the project a hell of a lot easier. It’s basically a heated blade that cuts carpet, and cauterizes the edges at the same time. It was way easier to use than scissors or a good carpet knife.

I started in the trunk area and moved towards the front firewall. I aligned everything I could in the center of the vehicle, and would always cut holes for the seatbelts from the center towards the doors first. I did this in the second seat area, and then in the front seat. Carpeting under the drivers and passenger seat is the most difficult sections to install, mainly because of the stick shift. Before I began I placed the new carpet on top of the old carpet, turned it over in my driveway and found the centerpoint of the stick shift areas. I cut an X pattern, about 2“ x 2“, in the center of the stick shift area. Then I picked up the new carpet, and placed it in the front of the vehicle. From there I worked it into place, using the seat riser impressions as a guide. Also, before installing the new carpet I removed the shifter boots, and the knobs.

When the carpet was all in place, I set about making holes for the seat bolts, and associated seatbelts and so forth. I used a quarter inch metal bar, which I heated with a blowtorch, in order to place a cauterized hole. Sometimes I would use a thin awl that was heated up, in order to find the center of the hole. After doing that I would widen out with the thicker heated bar. I read one post where somebody used shell casings from a rifle, but with those being so short I was afraid of burning my fingers.

The stick shift area was pretty difficult to complete. I ended up cutting too much carpet, and this was an error. In hindsight the carpet should only be cut as far as the interior edges of the holes for the shift boot mounting plate. You can always make a little gap so the bolt can go through the carpet into the hole, but cutting the carpet wider than the bolt holes themselves will not leave enough carpet to go underneath the shift boot.

I will post the remedy I used a little further below in this thread.

 

[87CRUSR]

Looking good

 

[MACFJ60]

Great start and very informative.

 

[Cruzerman]

I was wondering about these types of products if they can capture moisture under them and cause rust / rotting? I love the idea but am afraid they may promote rust.

 

[cwwfj60]

Haven’t seen anyone apply that second foam layer before, looks like it will be very effective!

Doing the same job soon, thanks for posting.

 

[Fitzwho]

I put dynamat down on the floor years ago. I just installed the Butyl/foil backed style just like this, partial coverage, in the doors. And I just ordered 1/2" thick closed cell foam (no moisture trapping) for the floor and some more of the foil backed first layer to apply in the rear quarter panels and a few other places to really quiet everything down.

Also thinking about adding a small 2 channel amp and installing the extra/matching set of 6x9's that I have to make a 6 speaker sound system. What's another $100 for an amp and wiring, right?

 

[vtcruiser60]

Shift boot carpet fix

So I goofed up, and cut the carpet a little wider than I should have. This left section of cut carpet exposed. I had an old shift boot from some vehicle I dismantled. I’m pretty sure it was a 60 series, but I can’t be certain. Regardless I ended up cutting the lower section of the shift boot out, which was wider than the one I had in the 87 series. Basically got lucky. I created a little donut, and placed that underneath the shift boot. I personally think the fix blends right in, and looks great.

 

[vtcruiser60]

Pics of final install. Seats to be cleaned next.

 

[k91]

I’ve used a soldering iron on foam in the past to make holes, I bet it would work the same on the carpet.

 

[vtcruiser60]

I’ve used a soldering iron on foam in the past to make holes, I bet it would work the same on the carpet.

I agree.

 

[hygge]

Well done @vtcruiser60 ! On my to do list, but still working through some mechanical baselining.

Bet it feels great.

 

[Seth S]

Were you able to scoop up those wheels?

 

[vtcruiser60]

Unfortunately no. The guy had owned an 84 60 series since he first bought it, and was moving out to the West Coast. I had a good little email exchange with him, but the tires sold pretty quickly. Thanks for the link though.

 

[dannyvp]

This is on my todo list also. I have to get my last few mechanical issues solved though.

 

[rabid]

looks really good.

 

[davegonz]

Looks great. It's also on my to-do list. Damn list is getting long though