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Insulated and carpeted the Bugeye Midget

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RickB

RickB

Yoda
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I bought two rolls of Frost King duct insulation at Lowes.
It's got 1/8" dense foam on one side and fairly thick metal (foil) on the other.

The foam side is adhesive.
This stuff comes in 12" x 15' rolls and costs about $18 per roll at Lowe's.

I pulled out the seats, the shifter, the console hung from a bungee from the rear view.

All the old carpet came out.
Cleaned up the area a bit.

Then I started putting the stuff in. It was pretty easy, went smoothly.
Got the engine side of the footwells done, behind the pedals and the floor area all covered.
Same for the other side.

Covered the tunnel and both floors under the seats. The vertical area behind the seats. Then I had just enough to put a run across the rear deck.

Then I put the "new" carpet kit in and bolted the seats down.

I am hoping this stuff cuts down on heat and road noise like Dynamat. Time will tell.

So - those areas I described equal 30 square feet.
 
Oh, nice to know that.

Looking forward to a report on the effectiveness after a bit of use.
 
Please post an update, I'm getting ready to reassemble my BE and need to insulate. Sounds like a good economical option
 
Thanks Rick,
I've been hunting for something reasonably priced for my Midget.
I'll check out Lowes tonight, and report back after my trip to Road America next month.
6 driving days thru the heart/hotland oif America in July should be a good test

Phil
 
That's exactly why I did it as well.
This morning I was on the freeway about 45 minutes and wearing sandals.
My right foot typically starts cooking by that time and this morning it was very comfortable.
 
Got it today, looks like the right stuff
I was wondering if I should glue the foil side down to the metal, and the carpet to the foam side?
It seems logical to face the shiny side towards the heat your trying to reflect. Every car I've seen has the foil up, am I missing something?

??Phil??
 
I believe the idea is that the foam side insulates against thermal changes outside and the foil side being metal reflects heat back towards the outside as well.

I don't think in this case it matters that the topside is shiny, it matters that there is metal backing to the foam side reflecting IR away from the cockpit.

Plus the sticky side adheres really well to the metal surfaces in the car.
 
I've used Koolmat on a couple of rebuilds I've done and just did the floors and firewall of my bugeye. It's really good stuff and used by many Nascar teams, but is costly. I think I spent maybe $300 on it, which is not really that bad. It is silicone bonded to fiberglass cloth and really substantial. Jim
 
The purpose of the foil is two-fold. It is a radiant heat barrier, and it has the additional benefit of protecting the insulation. The foil doesn't care whether it is up or down. It should be up and will work well.

But, in terms of preventing heat transfer through conduction, or sound insulation properties, the 1/8" foam will help but it won't do as much as say, 1/2" foil-faced bubble insulation or any of the many thicker foil-faced building insulation products out there. You get what you pay for. but, it'll be better than nothing!

I'd be inclined to try it.
Charlie
 
The bubble stuff wasn't very durable when I tried it.
This product seems to be a better choice, and the few drives I've had this week I can really tell the difference.
Best $36 I've spent in a while.
 
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