<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 26 -- Wall to Wall Carpet

[Norman C. Witte]

This post may be viewed on-line at
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/26.htm

This week I have been working on finishing the interior of the car.  I
wanted the car to be as quiet as possible from the inside, so I purchased a
sound-deadening product called B-Quiet Ultimate.

http://www.b-quiet.com/ultimate.html

The material comes in one foot wide rolls; it is adhesive backed and is
perhaps and eighth of an inch thick.  The outside facing surface is covered
with metal foil.  It's priced pretty reasonably compared to similar products
from other suppliers.

It's important to start with a clean surface to make sure that the material
adheres properly.  The pictures below show how it looks as installed:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8483.JPG

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8530.JPG


Once this was in, it was time to work on installing the carpet.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8563.JPG

While I was installing the carpet, Jake was wandering around taking artsy
pictures in the pole barn:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8535.JPG

While I was working first one of the kids and then another would come out
and hang around with me.  Both Jake and Seth on separate visits said they
wanted to sleep in the car.  I didn't think it would be that comfortable,
but it was funny that they had the same idea.  Then both thought it would be
cool to have a cue ball that looked like the shift knob.  I guess the nuts
don't fall too far from the tree.

Here's a shot of the interior with the carpet and seats installed:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_8593.JPG

Unfortunately, it's hard to see the dark colored carpet in the lighting in
the barn, but I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

I finished working on the carpet last night around midnight.  This morning I
took the car on a milk run to the Speedway station.  (Jake wanted milk for
his cereal.)  The car seemed very quiet, even with the trim pads not
installed on the doors (still some window alignment issues left).  I heard
very little road noise.

I decided to bring the car downtown to the office.  I left the house and
about half a block away, the motor died.  I am pretty sure that one of two
things has happened.  Either crap from the fuel tank has plugged the fuel
filter or I am trying to burn some bad gas.  We pushed the car back to the
house and I went in to the office.  When I get a chance, I will jack the car
up and look at my trusty plastic filter to find out whether it is clogged.
One way or another, I will get this problem fixed.  I suspect bad gas in any
event because the motor runs on after I shut it down.

That's the news from the front.  I'm excited that it's starting to look like
a real car.

Norm Witte