My hood insulation pad has been off the car for about 20 years now and I finally wanted to clean it up and install it. It was a bit stained, but in decent shape overall.



Since it is so delicate, you can't really do any scrubbing of any kind. So I needed a "magic" cleaner to spray on it and carefully blot it to hopefully make it look more clean. So I did a test with 3 different products I had on hand, then let it sit for a couple days before judging the results.



The Kimball Midwest glass cleaner and the Simple Green both soaked in and left a stain ring, not really changing the appearance at all. But the Schaeffer's cleaner didn't soak in and spread out, and it left a nice deep appearance, similar to how the liner would have looked when new. I don't know if that's because it disolved that much grime, or if it just has an oily residue that deepens the color. Either way, I chose the Schaeffer's.

 

I left the pad sit another day and the appearance did not change at all. So on the car it went.




All in all, it looks presentable I think. There's a minor crease in the center area after installing it and there's a noticeable rub mark from the brake master reservoir. Plenty good enough for a car that I intend to start driving very often.

 

Very nice!

It looks like you were able to reuse some of the original clips. I can't find anything aftermarket that looks correct. They all have a domed shape like some of yours.

 

I have a good sized collection of original GM clips, from all the years parting cars and working at a body shop. With the exception of the clips along the left and right sides of the hood, they are actually all the same part # and I believe the originals from this car. The ones along the sides are a different part# and I used them because the smaller diameter doesn't hang past the edge of the liner.

I'll get some pictures of some of my clips and their part #'s.

 

That turned out really good! Gonna have to look that stuff up.

I think the hood liner retainers varied over the years, or perhaps, what ever GM had laying around. They look the same, but different part numbers, markers or something, I forget exactly what it was and don't have them in front of me right now. I think it was just a set of numbers, not GM part numbers. maybe they represent batch numbers or something. I had noticed that a while back and took time out to see if all of the ones on my hood liner have the same number, and they did.

I use this stuff in some scenarios, its cheap compared to the Schaffers, wonder how it compares. https://www.lastotallyawesome.com/sh...rpose-cleaner/

 

It does look good, nice job. Even though its citrus based, be sure it isn't flammable.

 

I didn't notice anywhere on the can that said it was flammable, but I honestly don't remember looking too hard either. I figured if it was safe for use in a passenger compartment, it was safe enough for under the hood.

So upon further research, those clips I installed were most likely not the ones I removed 20+ years ago (I know the outboard ones are not, I installed those just for cosmetic reasons).

Here's the three styles I had in the bag that I was pulling from. On the left are the style I did not use. The center ones I used and thought they were original. The ones on the right are a little smaller and I used them on the outboard locations. If you notice, the left and center clips actually share a part number:



So then I checked to see what clips were on my untouched '85 and they were very similar to what I just installed, but not the same. The different part # can be seen:


So then I looked at my mostly untouched '92. Nearly identical and the same part number:



At this point I was very confused. Where the heck did I get the clips from in the first picture? So I checked everything around here that still had an original underhood liner. '79 C20, '86 Celebrity, '88 Celebrity, '88 Suburban, '89 K1500... they all used the same clips as my '85 and '92 Camaros.

I absolutely KNOW that I've dealt with a bunch of those clips with the 4 little raised tabs on them, but I don't remember where. I forgot to check my '00 Suburban though.

At any rate, the clips in pictures 2 and 3 are what I'd assume to be correct for all 3rd gens.

 

Thanks for posting. that’s good stuff!

 

Looks like there are 3977775 parts out there. Here are a few, but I'm sure there are others. Amazon is littered with "equivalents". These appear nearly identical to the 3977775 pictured above.

$10+ each is a little crazy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403981251979

No part picture, but $4.16 ea. is a little more reasonable.

https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts/g...l-3977775.html

 

The one on the left is my original. The right is the replacement. That's all I could find.

It's interesting that our original 3977775 ones seem to be shaped just a little differently.

On top of that, they have different numbers underneath the 3977775: M7, M11, M13, M14, M21, M22, M24, M31. A few have "ALERT PROD. LTD." with the numbers 1, 3, or 8 below it.

 

I'm assuming the 3977775 clip was made at many different suppliers and is the reason for the minor differences and markings.

I also think that the clips tend to lose their dome over time. It may also depend on how hard they were pushed in and which of the "ribs" happened to engage in the hood.

 

Oh, now I've got to check mine out when I get home!

 

This Is What I Have On My 1984

 

Those are the ones I got. It's $10 for a pack of 30.

I guess that's why mine seem flatter than the ones pictured so far. This is one of those things I'm not gonna sweat. As long as the new ones stay in place, I'm OK with that.