308 Asbestos replacement in trunkfloor

Now all we need is for some idiot at EPA to condemn our cars for having hazardous materials in them. Does anyone know if the 77 models have this stuff in them?

If you gut the cats and make the car run right it will also run a LOT cooler, hehehe.

 

If you gut the cats and make the car run right it will also run a LOT cooler, hehehe.[/QUOTE]

Sorry for the hijack but if you gut the cats can you still pass an emission test or will the obd inform about none working cats ?

 

Well, the 308 does not have OBD, no black boxes of any kind. Some have gotten these cars to pass with extensive tuning, and making sure EVERYTHING, ignition particularly, are spot on. With carbs its especially important to make sure the ignition is at 110% along with valve clearance and cam timing before you begin fiddling with them. Make doubly sure you have no exhaust leaks anywhere in the system.

 

So do we have that stuff in the firewall too?

 

Are you sure what you pulled out was asbestos?

 

sucked a lot of it out of my 85 308. it's not asbestos it's rock wool insulation. i left it out but thought of replacing it with fiberglass battens. seemed like a possible source of rust if it got wet.

 

That white crap is everywhere, its even packed iside the rear frame rails under the trunk floor, behind the engine under the aluminum panels and ahead of the engine behind the aluminum. I removed all of mine, even left the aluminum panels off just as the euro cars came.

 

I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think it is asbestos you are talking about, I think it is rock wool as Rick (tatcat) has also stated, it was used a lot back then, in the 80’s and I’m pretty sure it isn’t dangerous but will make you itch.

 

Try doing a search on ceramic insulation. Comes is rolls in different thicknesses.

 

The best insulation replacement for asbestos is a product called Refrasil. The US Navy had used asbestos in years past on ships for insulation, but the EPA stopped it with so many workers getting asbestois. The US Navy replaced it by using a product (Refrasil). It is safe and passes EPA. Super insulation qualities.

 

Why so hot? Well, back in the day, car makers tried to get all the power they could from motors, and the truth is, dull old street motors were pretty hot, for what they were. But even with high compression, most cars ran pretty cool. Mostly because without EPA telling engineers how to make engines run, they simply made them run really good. Good meant hot cams that were mild enough to drive every day and idle smooth. It also meant good fuel mixtures.

With emission control, we got further and further retarded valve timing, retarded ignition timing, lower compression, and richer fuel mixtures. Richer so those cats have something to burn. Now add in an air pump so all that extra fuel in the exhaust catches fire and you have an insane amount of heat. We end up with cleaner air, but we burn more fuel to do it.

 

Go to a place that sells race car stuff like Summit racing and they will have various insulation products like fiberglass battens and fiberglass cloth with reflecting aluminum foil on one side. It's very effective.

Wil

 

The heat source is the smog stuff. If you compare pre-cat cars, the vents on the deck lid are fewer than the smog equipped cars. The euro cars didnt have the vents behind the rear wheels either, they were solid and the trunk floors were lower. The raised trunk floor in the US models made space for the converters below the trunk as well as the boxed sections for the stronger rear frame and bumper shocks. The problem with the insulation is they packed it inside the frame rails and left the forward ends open which allows water to run in and get soaked up by that insulation - rust.

 

FWIW - my '79 308GT4 *almost* passed CA emmissions with hollowed out cats. It passed the Hydrocarbons and %CO, but failed the NO test. 2 out of 3 isn't bad. After some tweaking with the carbs, they actually got it to pass a "pre-test", but when it came time to put the car on rollers, it failed again. Part of the CA test involves the car on rollers @ 2500RPM in 2nd gear - my little Dino doesn't like 2500RPM in 2nd - it likes 7,000 - so it failed.

With new cats installed, it passed easily.

Aaron