Last month, after a little...
Last month, after a little work, the interior of our "Son of Zombie" C4took on this appearance.
As soon as we got knee-deep into our project car, "The Son of Zombie,"we realized we were dealing with a worst-case scenario. Even so, wedecided to stay the course, address everything that should have beenfixed the last time the '87 coupe was disassembled, and update a few keycomponents as well.
One area in dire need of attention was the firewall. After taking thecar down to its core shell, we discovered the firewall pad was shot, sowe called The Corvette Shop in Tampa for a replacement. While waitingfor the piece (we may have been one of the first to request this usuallyuntouched piece of factory-applied mat), we contacted the insulationspecialists at Cascade Audio. After selecting Cascade's ThermaGuardthermal-control compound, we prepped our Vette for application usingAuto-Air's line of paint.
Applying ThermaGuard is an easy, no-mess affair if proper care is taken.Using Cascade's SG-1 spray gun (a paint roller and brush can also beused), we sprayed a few coats, waiting for the paint to fully cure inthe sun between applications. With everything dry, we used CorvetteCentral's MiniTemp pyrometer to accurately test the differences in heattransfer. How did ThermaGuard do? Keep reading for results. We'll soonfinish up this portion of our rebuild by installing Cascade Audio'sVB-1X sound deadener.
 Jumping right into things,...  Jumping right into things, we opened our box of items from CascadeAudio. There are a couple of ways to apply the ThermaGuard. One is witha paintbrush or a roller, but it's easier with Cascade's SG-1 spray gun,which you can purchase at the time of your order. |  You'll also need a "mud-style"...  You'll also need a "mud-style" mixer and a drill. After several momentsof mixing, the ThermaGuard took on a thick, creamy texture. |  How well does this stuff work?...  How well does this stuff work? We were curious. We painted half of apiece of scrap metal and used a stove burner to heat things up. Our"touch" test resulted in the obvious on the untreated side, while theThermaGuard was cool to the touch. |
 After some primer, sealer,...  After some primer, sealer, squirt, and clear, we looked a little more"factory," thanks to Auto-Air's innovative water-based paint. This mighthave been a little excessive, but you want a clean surface to work from,and it doesn't get any cleaner than this. |  We started with the passenger's...  We started with the passenger's footwell as a test area. This gave us achance to test the gun and make any adjustments to the nozzle. |  Our first serious coat was...  Our first serious coat was to the right side... |
 ...Pleased with the results,...  ...Pleased with the results, we did the transmission tunnel... |  ...then moved to the left-side...  ...then moved to the left-side footwell and firewall. |  We left the rear completely...  We left the rear completely alone, figuring 98 percent of the heat inthe rear does not emanate from the Vette's underside. Rather, it is dueto the huge, magnifying-glass-style rear hatch. |
 Each coat must be completely...  Each coat must be completely dry before the next one is applied.Depending on temperature and humidity, this could be anywhere from oneto several hours. Pushing the '87 outside and into the sun after eachcoat gave us a waiting time of one to two hours. Here, the final coathas been sprayed, along with the upper dash. We let the car sitovernight to fully cure before moving to the final step: Cascade Audio'sVB-1X sound deadener. Stay tuned. |  Corvette Central had provided...  Corvette Central had provided a pyrometer to use in our July '05 story,"Keep Your Cool: Revisited." With easy access to the gun, we were ableto accurately record a temperature difference of over 50 degrees (F) insome instances. With that and a firewall pad installed, we should bekeeping our cool pretty well. | |