[QUOTE]Originally posted by chipperman

 

I don't have a hardtop, nor have I actually seen one. But if we go back to 1967, I can relate my experience with my Datsun 1600. When I put on a Snug Top aftermarket hardtop on that car, the mechanical noise was unbearable. All the sounds that escaped upwards were trapped and bounced around inside. That top had no lining, just a molded fiberglass surface. Strangely enough, the car was fairly quiet with the top down, enough so that you could hear the three watt radio fairly well. But, I digress, as do all geezers.

What I can say is that a lot of noise comes through the front glass area, the side windows, and the rear window. Because it's so loud in these areas, I can't tell how much is coming through the a/c vents. This can be fixed, too, but I am not going to tear off my dash to do it.

If the hardtop seals well, and you can block the mechanical noise from coming into the cab, all should be much quieter. I have found in every case with hardtop cars or trucks that additional application of high frequency attenuation foam in the roof panel makes a very noticable difference. It "sucks" the high frequencies out so they don't bounce back. The singular most insidious noise is wind whistle, and that is what we can address in the doors. If someone does their thing with my kit, and adds a hardtop, I'll be glad to assist in trying to see where that can be helped on an individual basis. There simply isn't a big enough market for me to address hardtops in general. We could test the results with a hardtop, but speculate...? Naah.

 

thanks

 

A few teaser updates on the project: One, this glue smell can get really get to you! Two, the car is starting to go back together, and I've got some rough readings. Very rough, as a lot of things like carpet, seats, panels, etc. are not yet back in. Nonetheless, in the non moving vehicle, so far the idle noise in the trunk is down by over 22 db., and at the driver's face it is down over11 db. This is compared to the car stripped and stock before soundproofing. I expect lower numbers as things go back in. Right now, with the engine running without load at 3000 rpm, and the carpet and seats out, I measured 71 db at the driver's face. Don't take these numbers too seriously until I've finished tweaking the install, but it is looking good.

For those that want numbers, the total gain in weight as I have done it is 25 pounds. That is the net gain, after removing the huge and massive 8 pounds of factory padding and matting. Of course Honda used more than that, but the other is not removable (mostly undercoating)

When I get this all done, I will be able to figure pricing, and then post my report and make the good stuff available in a group buy. Be forwarned, it is a lot of work, but the results are worth it.

 

Very excited about this project (as I've posted before).

Great work chipperman. Btw, good to see you chargin' hard and fully recovered!!!

 

are you done yet? are you done yet? are we there yet?

 

Hmmm, that's sounds like something my girlfriend would say.

Oh, the car. I've decided to do the doors just to see what the final effect would be for the stereo guys. This will only take a couple of days. The last thing I am waiting for is a response from one of my suppliers on the possiblilty of drop shipping part of this package so I don't have to ship it here and reship it to you. I'll hopefully know this by Monday. Their response is slow at best. I guess that is the state of customer service in America.

 

yup, mine too

 

update?

 

Mods done, just trying to reglue the hoop I separated taking out the passenger roll bar. Anybody got an idea?