Removed carpet,console etc.-floor seems to be mint

Do I remove the any of the factory plastic or undercoat, or do I put new carpet and underlay back over it and call it a day....

 

I know this is belated and you're probably done with the project by now but being that you live in Canada I would pull it out and check for rust in the floor pans. You can also get that "newer car smell" back by pulling out all of the old stuff and putting new sound deadening and new carpet on the bare floor pan. Just my $.02

Steve

 

Hey Steve- thanx for your $.02- any advice on these cars is priceless!
The car spent all it"s life in Calgary Alberta, so the rust issue doesnt seem to be an issue.
Had car on hoist and frame and body ...rust is minimal,and there are no perforations in the floor pans,and when I pulled out carpet, there was 0
water damage-rockers are good as well as the door jams-
Will the tar and plastic hold old smells?

Ted

 

So is the entire floor line with plastic? Is that what the bluish ripples are in the pics? If so, I have never seen that from the factory. I would have mixed feelings about it.

 

I've seen many, many cutlass' over the years & have never seen that type of covering on the floor? I would take everything out, check all the seams, wiring, etc.. & start fresh. That way you know it's done & done right, & you probably won't ever have to mess with it again.

 

Peeled back the plastic - here's a few pics. Seams and wiring are good. nd here's a picture of the trunk for the hec of it.

 

I agree with Rob and packrat, I have never seen underlay that looks like that. I wasn't sure though because all of my experience has been with Southern cars. You'll be happy you got all of that old crud out of there though.

 

Ted,
I have seen that too. It was in my car too. I think the idea of the plastic top on the sound deadener was to prevent moisture tracked into the car from going directly to the floor wells. That might have been a feature of cars intended for export to Canada? Who would believe that 'preservation' of floor pans would even be considered by GM back then?

Does it get stale and musty smelling? Yes it can. Not sure if that's a good reason to ditch it though. You can chemically treat the backside with freshers and mosture protectant and just put it back in. I DONT recall seeing anything like that in the trunk though. But if it kept your pans from corrosion - more power to whoever did that.

Ain't Calgary grand? You're right about the rust though. Unlike Edmonton Cowtown is blessed with chinooks and much warmer winters. They rarely have to do much more than just sand when it gets slippery. But (as per your odometer Q) it's right in the hub of activity close to the US border and the rocky mountains. I'd bet $$ that car has seen a ton of highway miles.

 

The only plastic I have seen were on the two front insulators put in A/C cars.

 

Rob, that's the same as the ones that are in my non AC car. I'm not sure AC or non AC has anything to do with it.

 

According to the AM (1-1-124), only A/C cars were supposed to have them. Maybe you just got lucky?

 

I know. But like I said it's in my car too. Has the AM ever been wrong???