A long time has passed since the days of big blocks and four speeds. And while we miss the good ol’ days of timeless design and tire-burning horsepower of the 1960s, we have to admit that classic cars are poorly insulated, hot, noisy, and rattly inside. They squeak, creak and vibrate. And the excessive road noise is only slightly concealed by the droning exhaust of big v8 power. Back then with all the emphasis on performance, less attention was paid to making cars quieter on the inside.
New vehicles may lack the timeless styling and thundering lope of a carbureted big-block v8, but they are comfortable, quiet and cool inside. Modern vehicles have very dense high-performance insulation. A lot of people don’t realize that it is entirely possible to make your classic cool, quiet and comfortable as well. While most restorers pay close attention to factory insulation, window seals and weather-stripping, they tend to overlook the most crucial part of insulating their classic – high quality sound-deadening material.
While replacing factory insulation and tightening up door and window seals is a given, adding sound-deadening material is crucial for cutting out unwanted heat, road noise and vibration from your classic ride. That’s where RetroMat® comes in. Retro Manufacturing’s RetroMat® is a three-layer sound-deadening material that eliminates vibrations, quiets road noise and reduces interior heat.
RetroMat® features a strong, odor-free self-adhesive butyl rubber layer that makes installation a jiffy and reduces vibrations. A layer of aluminum sheeting provides thermal insulation, keeping your interior cool, while a closed cell foam reduces exterior noise and insulates against squeaks and rattles. A layer of RetroMat® sound-deadening material can reduce interior noises by as much as 10dB.
We installed RetroMat® into a 1952 Chevy truck we built for SEMA, and the results were astonishing. We placed the sound-deadening material throughout the cab – inside the door-panels and above the headliner. With the RetroMat® installed, our truck felt like a brand new vehicle – with no rattles or squeaks, very little road noise, and the cab stayed nice and cool. Now you can have the same cool, quiet ride of your new vehicle in your classic.
