Hot Rods Tricks to control squeaks and rattles

So, I have been driving the Produce truck all week, in between the down pours. Things that bother me, like fingernails on a chalkboard, are rattles and squeaks.

What are some tricks of the trade to prevent metal to metal rattles and squeaks? I get that hot rods are loud etc. and the Produce truck is just a beater, but I have a high end build in the wings and would like it to be nice and tight......(Insert tacky jokes here).

So what are some of your ideas?

 

I’ve put pieces of foam, new kitchen sponge, and sticky tape between surfaces. Welting and hard rubber can work in the right places. Teflon washers to take up space. If it’s wood there’s a bunch of carpentry tricks to tighten up wood joints.

What’s the rattle source ?

 

Don't the kitchen sponges hold water and the create rust ?

 

Losing most of my hearing helped a lot.

 

Who knows? I would say the rattle = the truck. That is pretty accurate. I use fibre nuts on everything to make sure it stays tight. Mostly, in the dash area.

In the aircraft arena we use chafe tape. It's not cheap, but I may try it next time.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/cata...It8EGP2_lbpDUIp9e-lGx7e7hcN5jWDoaAqbqEALw_wcB

 

Old time coach builders used beeswax between wood and metal to prevent squeaks.

 

Loud exhaust

 

Turn the VOLUME of the radio up more !

 

.My daily driver squeaked a bit. So I squirted the rubber bushings with wd-40(it dries them out). Now, it squeaks even louder. I can`t hear to good, but I can hear the squeaks with the windows down. Some people ask about it while smiling. I just tell them, don`t laugh. It is paid for, and so is my house.

 

Open headers...
r


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

On my '64 Olds, it had a corner windshield squeak. Finally folded up a piece of cereal box cardboard up and shoved it between the glass and garnish... someone gets in the car weeks later, says "what's this?" and pulls it out....

 

Man this model A I’m working on has what basically amounts to cardboard shoved between every conceivable piece of metal that bolts to something. I’m sure it’s basically metal chaffing making the noise.

I’d considered replacing it with a leather or vinyl strip when I re do it. More or less welting with out the piping on the edge

 

OEMs use lots of goo and other insulating things. Even on a 32 Ford there is strips of mohair upholstery fabric sandwiched between the dashboard and the cowl. And lots of tar goo in the doorskins. I suspect they helped with the squeaks. Nowadays there is sealant on every single body joint and lots of places between bolted together assemblies.

You just need to have someone ride with you wearing a stethoscope, and have them find the rattles so you can fix them one by one.

 

Throw the kids in the trunk and buy them an ice cream for every squeak or rattle they find. Just don't let them use a good flashlight, they will just leave it on and kill the battery. I find the best light for them to use is the free Harbor Freight ones.

 

On An old truck, the moving body panels rattle quite a bit. Hoods, doors, tailgate and especially tailgate chains. Tight latches, rubber bumpers, in the joints, weather stripping and welting where you can get it. Vibrating fenders can cause noises too there you’re gonna need braces and possibly some heavy heavy undercoating to stop it on fenders.

Inner door workings can rattle,
Pool noodles or pipe insulation help on some things in there. Plastic bushes instead of metal to metal on linkages. A stiff mount for a soft stop on the window will help when it’s down, proper fuzzies and Chanel guides work when it’s up. In between you’re gonna hear it.

 

Yes, old Ford door latch handles rattle a lot. The arm from the latch to the handle point should be wrapped with heavy cloth to it doesn't hit the inside of the inner door. And tap the hinge points tight with a hammer before you put the latch mechanism into the door. Using the spring behind the eschuteon on the inside handle will help keep the handle release tight and not flopping around.

 

I like the idea of turning up the radio but I don't have one in my old beater.

I have chased a couple of squeaks & rattles and have quieted down a couple but there are still a few that I can't nail down, I will say that since I have installed the kilmat and a interior the car is much quieter, about the only real annoying thing is my speedometer clicks ever tenth of a mile and I can hear it. HRP

 

Ear plugs are quite effective.

 

Produce Truck?
I don't see no Produce Truck!
No pictures, not real,,,
not all of us know everyone's vehicle, you have mentioned it before and you have my curiosity up

 

After many years of marriage I've learned to ignore annoying noise.

 

Good question, and a very common one as nearly all hot rods have or develop squeaks and rattles somewhere along the way. There's just no way to lump them all together because they are all different. So...isolate the noise, find where it's coming from, then fix it.

To prevent them before they develop just be aware of what might cause a rattle and/or squeak down the road and build it in such a way that the noise will not readily develop as the car ages. This means bracing parts that might vibrate and spacing those that might rattle during initial construction and assembly. As has already been mentioned bees wax will help prevent wood squeaks (oil or grease will soften the wood), webbing will help body/frame squeaks, rubber isolators were extensively used in Model A roadsters and other models to keep the doors from rattling and squeaking in the openings. Webbing and rubber isolators were used throughout Ford cars to keep them from making noise, but most of these were lost or deteriorated during the car's lifetime. The good news is that most are still available from restoration parts suppliers.

But on my own beater (see avatar) which is a pieced-together custom build it's a constant battle of finding and fixing new noises. I have added triangulation braces to the body and cowl to stop "cowl shake" and still have a couple of places to add more braces of this type. I find I have to go over the car and tighten stuff up that's worked loose about once a month (I drive it a lot). I have found that loose bolts/screws are the primary cause of rattles and squeaks alike. Washers, lock washers and nylock nuts are now my best friends. Going over the car every so often is kind of a pain but it helps keep even a somewhat flexible car like mine from driving me crazy with noise. Good luck!

 

This should get you up to speed with Root's build. HRP

Produce truck

 

Oh, I see it now

 

Root, there are all kinds of anti-squeak webbing available for use between the body and fenders where they attach to the cab. HRP

ANTI-SQUEAK WEBBING

 

You ever bought a car that a long haul tuck driver owned? Quietest rides ever! Weirdest maintenance ...but no rattles. Give your car to a driver for a weekend, you will get it back with about $1.43 in pennies shoved in-between panels and about a dozen match books torn up isolating other issues. Just make sure the car doesn't have any wiring issues before you lend it to him!

 

Just a thought, used bicycle inner tube cut open and then into strips is a super thin welting that doesn't absorb moisture would make a good fender welting. You could use it between the running boards and the fenders, between the fenders and body panels and it probably wouldn't change your body panel gaps enough to notice. You could also use it between the cab wood to frame (both top and bottom) if its squeaking there. The filler panel between the bed and the running boards might also be a squeak location that would benefit from some welting.

I know my tailgate is a big source of squeaks and rattles, but I don't know how one would go about fixing that other than to make a more secure latch. My '49 PU (in the avatar) is pretty squeaky.

 

For places that you can hear a noise but not get to, use expanding foam.

 

I was told loud mufflers or turn up the radio.

 

Never use that junk on a car! I had a truck that had a rubber boot between the cab and sleeper that leaked. I sprayed that junk down in the crack, sealed it for a day or two, then that crap went to squeaking against the cab! Tore that mess out as quick as I could.

Have also heard that it will trap and hold moisture, just what you don’t want around steel!

 

I HATE squeaks and rattles! I spend a lot of money on weatherstripping, window tracks, channels, and bumpers, welting, undercoating, and vibration dampers. Every body seam is covered with seam sealer. Every bolt has flat washers and nylock nuts, there are not many places where metal is bolted to metal without something between them.
Our local farm store has rolls of flexible self stick weatherstripping in varying width and thicknesses that I seem to use a lot of.
I will spend hours chasing down a rattle or squeak, you can't always fix them all, but you can sure eliminate a bunch of them. I can tell you where most of the few remaining rattles come from on my 48 Plymouth coupe. I've had riders comment on how few rattles there are.
Now, if only I could get the fuel injectors to quit rattling. Gene