Written by:  Jeff Drew

One of my main concerns during the rod-storation of my truck was I wanted the ride in it to be comfortable and quiet.  This would require me to do more than simply install factory type insulation/sound deadening.  I have heard and read some good things about a product called Brown Bread (BB) and decided to give it a try.  I ended up purchasing the Brown Bread from B-QUIET, but you can also find it on E-bay for a little cheaper.  The following steps will show you how I installed this stuff in my truck, and will give you a good idea on what it takes to install it in yours if you choose to do so.

Here is a list of the following items you will need to do this… 

Product
- 70 Sq. Ft. of Brown Bread sound deadening, more if you are working on a Blazer or Suburban.

Tools
- Utility knife (with extra blades)
- Exacto/hobby knife (with extra blades)
- 1” wooden (or similar) roller
- Heat gun or hair drier
- Tape measure
- Medium tip Sharpie/permanent marker
- Straight edge or similar tool (T-square works great)

Optional (for creating templates)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Copy paper or scratch paper 
- Tape

The first thing you want to do is to make sure your cab is completely gutted.  This means removing the seat(s), carpet, insulation, lower trim panels, seat belts, rear speakers if you have them, etc…basically everything from the dashboard down has to be removed to do a complete and quality job.  Once everything is removed you should be staring at a bare metal floor with nothing in the way.  With everything out of the way, you will now need to clean the surfaces you will be applying the sound deadening to so they are free of contaminants…contaminants such as oil and dirt for example. 

Now you are ready to start the installation.  There are many curves, valleys, and bumps on the inside of 73-87 cabs…making the installation tricky and frustrating at times.  Because of this, I would (and did) tackle the hardest areas first.  The areas that were the hardest for me were the hump the seat sits on and the inside firewall.  With the hard areas out of the way, the rest is pretty simple.  Installing the BB is pretty straightforward and self explanatory.  All you really do is cut it to shape, roll it flat with a roller, and apply heat while doing so. 

Here are a few pointers for actually installing the BB…

1. When rolling out the BB, try to start in the center of the piece you are applying and work your way outward towards the edges.  This is especially true if the area you are covering has many curves, ridges, or valleys.
2. Roll out the high spots first so you won’t be “shorting” yourself when you do the sides of those high spots.  If you do the high spots last, you may not have enough material to seat the BB properly and it will end up tearing when you roll it out.
3. Be careful when laying down the piece you are about to apply.  Because the BB has a sticky tar like backing, if it touches anything it will leave a black mark on it that will have to be cleaned up…especially if it is a visible area. 
4. Like I mentioned in step #3, BB is sticky.  Once you have rolled out the piece you are applying, it will be very difficult to remove it if you make a mistake, and attempting to will destroy that piece.  Take your time and measure carefully.
5. Applying heat while rolling out the material makes the job very easy.  I did find out that if the temperature is around 50F or above, the BB can be rolled out without the use of heat.  If it is below 50F, I found heat was necessary in order to achieve proper adhesion.
6. I chose to cut and install the pieces of BB like a puzzle.  My main goal was to overlap as little as possible for a very clean installation and to not waste as much material since I was unsure if I would have enough BB for the entire cab.  To do this, I made templates out of paper for the hard/curvy areas and then cut the BB based on the template.  This gave me the clean look I was after and wasted very little material.
7. Save a few larger pieces of the backing paper.  This will give you a surface to cut out smaller pieces of “scrap” BB if the need arises.
8. If you use your girlfriends, fiancés, or wife’s hair drier for this project…make sure she doesn’t find out or you could find yourself in the dog house.

Once you have all the sound deadening installed, it is now time to cut out your seat belt, seat, and any other miscellaneous mounting holes you may have so you can re-install those pieces when the time comes.  For this a small exacto or hobby knife works excellent, but beware, the blade will “gum up” fairly quickly and will need to be cleaned or replaced to achieve clean and sharp cuts.

Below you will see some photos of the Brown Bread installed in my truck.  I have yet to finish the transmission tunnel and below the rear window, but once I get my shifter location determined and the run in the paint wet-sanded (below the window), I will install the BB on those areas and update this page with current photos of those areas.