When I demo'd my bus I took out all the wet, nasty crap behind the pedals ... I guess you could call it the interior firewall material. I had to scrap it as it was soaked with excess radiator fluid from taking the heater lines out.
On my particular bus, there is a very obvious spot in the sheet metal flooring between the chassis and the front end. Up until now, I've insulated the entire chassis area with foam, laid down OSB plywood, and topped with a nice laminate flooring. This continues right up to the area below the pedals. That's where the chassis connects to the front end.
I have a home recording studio and a lot of leftover Owens 702 sound insulating fiberglass sheets cut 2' x 4'. In my head I am imagining lifting the pedals to an acceptable height and then stuffing the whole area behind the pedals with this sound insulating fiberglass. I know, I know -- mold. But it's free and is specifically designed for soundproofing. I think it would work wonders in this area. The last step to completing this in my head is to find some type of rubber flooring material -- similar to the stuff that originally came with my bus -- and neatly laying it over the fiberglass from the laminate flooring all the way to under the dash.
Something like this [Click for Amazon product]. I like the idea of it because it is similar to what the area looked like before, allows the fiberglass some room to breathe, and should be pretty easy to make a nice and straight seam between my laminate flooring and this stuff.
Can anyone share how they tackled this tricky area? What does everyone think? I'm open to suggestions.
Additionally, my bus is a 5 speed. The shifter is in a 1' x 1' hole next to the captains chair. I took off a metal plate that hugged the shifter and stored it in the garage before I started with the insulation/plywood/laminate flooring. Right now there is a 1'x1' hole in the floor (you can visibly see all 3 layers of floor and sub-floor), with the shifter in the middle. I have not reinstalled the metal plate that hugs the shifter. My question: How do I finish this area off? It's going to be a serious thermal leak and I'm concerned about engine gas coming through the floor. Lastly, it's going to be a nightmare to weatherproof as it'll be exposed to the elements if I just put the plate back on top. I've been trying to wrap my head around a solution but I'm drawing blanks.
Thanks for any help. I know I keep saying I'm going to post photos but I've been busting my chops working every day in the cold to get this thing finished. The photos will come soon.