Under dash insulation

Has anyone ever replaced the insulation under the dash on a Star Chief or similar car? Mine was so bad and falling out I sucked it out with a vacuum cleaner and now I need to know what to replace it with. Does anyone make the correct type replacement for this? or do I just use house insulation and stuff it back in there and call it good?

I say don't insulate it at all. I've been trying to pull as much of mine out as I can. Seems like a fire hazard to me

wydtrac.....Ames sells a good reproduction that is a perfect fit. It is however rather expensive at $179 for part # PA240F. I did mine about 5 or 6 years ago. Wow, I think I only paid $60 back then. As I recall, it was a relatively easy job, but you do have to drop your heater box to get it behind there. Not a big deal, as you don't have to remove the heater core......John

John, that number appears to be the firewall pad. Mine is ok there. I am looking for the insulation that goes up against the back side of the top of the dash like where the radio speaker cover is. What came out is like blown in house insulation only at one time I think it was a solid piece. It had deteriorated and came out in little pieces. More of a sound deadener than anything else I would say. I haven't found it anywhere on the web so I doubt it is available. I used house insulation in the door hinge holes to replace what was there and it worked good. Almost the same color as what came out. I'm not sure it is OSHA approved but it works and looks ok.

wydtrac.....Yea, that was the firewall pad. That's what I thought you were refering to. I've never seen anything on the underside of the dash except red primer. Definately can say that there was never any insulation in the door hinge pockets. Sounds to me like some previous owner did that. I can understand that though, considering the winters you have up there. Whenever I have the opportunity to remove the top of the dash, I paint the underside white. This helps make things a little easier to see when working under there. Now that you have mentioned this, a nice piece of that reflective silver sound insulation glued up there would serve the same purpose, and also quiet things down......John

CATBIRD wrote:

wydtrac.....Ames sells a good reproduction that is a perfect fit. It is however rather expensive at $179 for part # PA240F. I did mine about 5 or 6 years ago. Wow, I think I only paid $60 back then. As I recall, it was a relatively easy job, but you do have to drop your heater box to get it behind there. Not a big deal, as you don't have to remove the heater core......John

Thanks a million for the info, John!! I pulled mine out in pieces. My main concern was the fact that the fuse box is bolted to this pad, probably to isolate it from vibrations. I'll be happy to fork over the ridiculous price of $180 just for piece of mind, not to mention the extra amount of time and effort required to fab something else up to take its place.

BTW, did the original pad contain asbestos? I wore a mask when I took mine out, just in case.