Bex has always wanted one, and this one belonged to a good friend who needed to offload it - it was too solid to pass up.
Anyhow, I set a goal of getting it functional (not finished) before the local JennaBears Show this past month.
Problem: The dash was shagged, the seats weren't attached, and the rest of the interior was uninhabitable.
While I was rehabbing the dash, I had my son strip out all the old frayed carpet and "insulation" (aka "rodent nests"). GT Mat had been wanting to test their newest product, and this was a perfect opportunity to try it out. Besides, if it can't make an old Datsun pickup truck quiet, then it's not worth using!
Here's some pics of the progress:
Stripped out, vacuumed and scrubbed:
Now, I've used GT Mat products for several projects - but I think I might have found my new favorite! The onyx product is a thicker butyl product with awesome sound deadening and insulating properties. The metal layer is thicker than what you'll find on most, which means excellent heat rejection and durability.
It's already pre-cut into handy 12" x 24" sheets, which means you're not wrestling a big roll of material, and it means less time cutting and measuring.
Enough babbling - Here's the outcome:
Before even installing the carpet and the rest of the interior, I could tell the difference - but this truck interior had to get done with a quickness, so the carpet, seats, and dash got installed within the next 24 hours, and we barely finished up the interior in time for the show.
Impressions? Wow. Keep in mind, we haven't put in weatherstripping yet, but the whole truck feels more "solid" - like you're sitting in our cherry '05 Frontier, rather than a rattly old Datsun. We'll go into more detail once the restoration progresses further, but here's the long and short of it:
If you're wanting your ride to be quieter, more refined, and more comfortable, this is the best place to start - It's inexpensive, it's easy, and it's actually pretty fun!
Thanks a TON to Tracie and her team at GT Mat for helping out with Project 620. Stay tuned, we'll be working on a full article on it in the near future. In the meantime, hit up Tracie and the team at http://www.gtmat.com/ and let them help you enjoy your interior again!
