Early '69 underbody insulation

[Jeffrey S.]

With the transmission/engine out of the car I am replacing the torn and tattered tunnel insulation. In the tunnel itself there are 3 pieces of insulation- the formed piece over the trans. as illustrated on page B6 of the bolt-weld section of he AIM. I purchased this from Paragon. Just in front of this piece are 2 pieces extending the formed piece forward and are not in the AIM. I am not referring to the toe kick/floor board insulation pieces that are available in reproduction. Can anyone tell me if these are available anywhere or where I could buy sheets of a similar material. I purchase some hot water heater blanket material that is fiberglass with a foil skin but the foil is thinner and I think it will deteriorate quite easily. Thanks for your help.
Jeff

[Terry M.]

Re: Early '69 underbody insulation

Jeff, there is a TSB in the new 1968-69 TIM&JG that covers adding additional under floor insulation to 1968 and/or 1969 Corvettes. There you may find an illustration of what you found on your car. Witht he illustration, and a contact with the vendor who supplies the tunnel insulaton to the after market (good luck there) you might be in business. Mayb e you can buy some raw stock from that supplier and make your own. I suspect th e market for these items are so szmall that gearing up to produce them is just not worth it for a business.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Early '69 underbody insulation

Terry,
Thanks for the reply. I do have the TSB and it shows the insulation that covers the floor pan to the frame. I think what I have found there are the remains of this as it bends around the corner into the tunnel. On both sides the remains are torn off at the front which leads me to believe that it was all one piece, not a separate piece. I probably installed the new Paragon pieces too close to the frame and didn't bend the "wings" around the corner.
Jeff

[Joe L.]

Re: Early '69 underbody insulation

Here are some photos of the transmission tunnel insulation provided by Ralph Spears.

One note, though: most of the original tunnel insulation did not have exposed fiberglass along the lower edge. Rather, the aluminum foil was wrapped around the lower edge and completely covered the edge of the fiberglass backing. Later SERVICE had the exposed lower edge as seen in the photos here.


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[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Early '69 underbody insulation

Joe,
Thanks for the pictures. I still have my original tunnel insulation and it looks to be in good enough shape to clean up and re-use. What I'n not sure about is the insulation that tucks under this at the front. This piece covered about 1 inch of the pieces in front of it.
Jeff