Russ,

I can't answer your question, but am very curious if it did much to quiet the engine noise?

Rob

I don't recall there was any, originally.

Beginning with the 1952 Hornets and Commodore 8's, the factory installed a fiberglass pad about 70% of the size of the hood surface. We were told it was to help reduce engine noise.

Never saw that on any stepdown Hudson. There was insulation of the 55-57 Hudson hoods though.

Even my '53 Super Jet had a fiberglass insulation pad on the underside of the hood. It was standard on Super Jets and Jetliner in 1954

Ditto what Jerry said. We will start stocking this at WRP soon. It can also be used for other cars, even though it was not original until '52. It does really work. If you look closely, you can see where it was originally on most, just gone after the ages or probably part of what was the mice's Hotel in the glove box!

[quote="Jerry Bean" post=18935]Beginning with the 1952 Hornets and Commodore 8's, the factory installed a fiberglass pad about 70% of the size of the hood surface. We were told it was to help reduce engine noise.

Our Hudsons, 52 Hornet,53 Hornet 53 and 54 Jets all had the blonde fiberglass insulation from new. This was in the later 50's.
Running the Hornet with no air filter led to disaster as fiberglass inside the engine acted like valve grinding compound . Expensive
lesson learned!

'Ric"

Not to mention an unnecessary/unwanted cylinder honing job.
F

Jerry probably remembers, bur we had this discussion about 10 years ago and the consensus was the same, started sometime in '52. I've seen plenty of cars that have originals.
Walt always cautioned against it as it tends to hold heat in. With today's gas, that's an important point to consider.
However, after the fire, the inside of the hood is not attractive as it once was (even though it was repainted) and I was considering putting the insulation in to hide a few sins.
I've decided to sell Scarlett and there's a few small things like that that need attention.
Doug, let me know when they become available.

Rob, when I put the insulation on my 49, it did quiet it down a bit (but that car wasn't anywhere as noisy under the hood as a Hornet) I believe the pad keeps the hood form reverberating and transmitting the noise that way, It also, keeps the hood cool, which is nice, As the hood isn't vibrating and transmitting noise, the sounds coming through the firewall become a bit more prevalent. Overall, I am glad I put it on

Lew

Russ, When I did my 52 C-8 convert, I wanted to put the correct pad under the hood. Fortunately, I had a good example in both my 54 and a piece that was in the pile of parts that came with the 52. So, I set out to find a replacement. I contacted a few, local, commercial insulation suppliers and found the correct material. It is about an inch thick, a light yellow color and only available from them in huge, expensive rolls. So, armed with the knowledge that the material was still available I searched the internet and found there were several other cars that used the same stuff. I contacted a few and found one that would sell me uncut to do 2 Hudson hoods. Unfortunately, I can't find the identity of the guy bought it from

Take a look at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1958-CHEVROLET-IMPALA-YELLOW-UNDER-HOOD-INSULATION-PAD-GRAY-1PC-/222001581658
It is a underwood mat made using the same material.

After I put it in the 52, I found a few disadvantages in the material. It separates fairly easy with the wind from the fan as well as picks up dirt real easy. It is OK in the 52 but I wouldn't put it in a driver. In my 49, I used a similar gray/black material and it is a lot more durable. It is something like http://www.ebay.com/itm/DMT-Universal-Under-Hood-Insulation-Pad-48-x-48-x-1-2-T-Cut-to-fit-FREE-SHIP-/290953500651
One more thing, A friend of mine has an original 49 Commodore. It too has the pad. So at first I figured it wasn't available on the lower priced cars. But I parted out a Super Wasp that also had the pad. I've also seen original Hornet cars without the pad. So, for the life of me I can't figure out the rule for availability, I wonder if anyone has any documentation.... just curious

Hmm, it didn't post the links.... Let's try again

ebay.co.uk/itm/1958-CHEVROLET-IMPALA-YELLOW-UNDER-HOOD-INSULATION-PAD-GRAY-1PC-/222001581658

ebay.com/itm/DMT-Universal-Under-Hood-Insulation-Pad-48-x-48-x-1-2-T-Cut-to-fit-FREE-SHIP-/290953500651

After 3 tries, the ;inks worked when I removed the HTTP and the www Oh well!!

Thanks for the links and the info, Lew.

Thank you Lewis for the information!

Rob