Ply lining

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Ewoke

Member
Posts
31
Location
kent
Hi
New to the forum and relatively new to the land rover way of life, was hoping to get some advice on ply lining the back of a 90. as i can imagine many of you will have already done this and would love some tips and hints on the most effective way
also would there be anyway of insulating the rear with lets say kingspan or something similar before covering with ply or would this create a damp/condensation issue.
thanks in advance
 
Hi
New to the forum and relatively new to the land rover way of life, was hoping to get some advice on ply lining the back of a 90. as i can imagine many of you will have already done this and would love some tips and hints on the most effective way
also would there be anyway of insulating the rear with lets say kingspan or something similar before covering with ply or would this create a damp/condensation issue.
thanks in advance

Personally, I would cut out a sheet of plywood for the floor, and use rubber matting on top of that, and a sheet of soundproofing material underneath it.
Gives a strong surface, and deadens noise nicely. If you use pin matting on the floor and wheel arches, it keeps a nice original Landrover appearance.
 
Personally, I would cut out a sheet of plywood for the floor, and use rubber matting on top of that, and a sheet of soundproofing material underneath it.
I wouldn't even go to that much effort for the floor.

Get hold of some stable matting (new or used)and cut that to size for the floor. Similar to this (link: first match on google you would need to shop around) and fitted upside down so the bubbles are down and the ribs run the length of the back. If a very heavy rubber may so will act as sound proofing. It can take the weight of a horse so will manage anything you can fit in the back of a land rover quite happily. The piece in the back of mine still looks like new 5 years down the line.

What are your reasons for wanting to ply line it?
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't even go to that much effort for the floor.

Get hold of some stable matting (new or used)and cut that to size for the floor. Similar to this (link: first match on google you would need to shop around) and fitted upside down so the bubbles are down and the ribs run the length of the back. If a very heavy rubber may so will act as sound proofing. It can take the weight of a horse so will manage anything you can fit in the back of a land rover quite happily. The piece in the back of mine still looks like new 5 years down the line.

What are your reasons for wanting to ply line it?

I use stable matting quite a bit for decking on boats, it is hard wearing, deadens noise, and can be easily cut into complex shapes. And it is quite non slip.

But for an old landrover, I prefer to retain an original appearance as much as possible, so I use the pin matting.

It wasn't me that wanted to ply line it, it was the OP.
The reason I use a sheet of ply in the back under the mat is to prevent things punching through the soft alloy floor. For example if someone loads an engine block with a stud left in it.
 
I use stable matting quite a bit for decking on boats, it is hard wearing, deadens noise, and can be easily cut into complex shapes. And it is quite non slip.

But for an old landrover, I prefer to retain an original appearance as much as possible, so I use the pin matting.

It wasn't me that wanted to ply line it, it was the OP.
The reason I use a sheet of ply in the back under the mat is to prevent things punching through the soft alloy floor. For example if someone loads an engine block with a stud left in it.
Apologies I should have been clearer in my previous post, the question about the reason for ply lining was aimed at OP.

I have not used pin matting is it quite thin if you need the ply as well to protect the ally floor?
 
Apologies I should have been clearer in my previous post, the question about the reason for ply lining was aimed at OP.

I have not used pin matting is it quite thin if you need the ply as well to protect the ally floor?

Pin matting is about 4mm thick, plus the thickness of the pins, so not as thick as stable mat, but it is the standard mat, used by Land Rover in the back of their vehicles from Series 1s right up until Ninety One Ten, and probably into Defenders as well, so it looks the part.

Unless you particularly need a ply surface to screw stuff into, it's much easier to use self adhesive sound deadening foam - this sort of stuff: https://www.carinsulation.co.uk/category/closed-cell-foam-insulation-heat-reflective
And +1 for the stable matting - cheapish, very hard wearing, easy to fit, you can even hose it down.

Foam would be good for the side panels, although you can buy custom made inserts,made using foam with fabric covering on them. The foam would be much cheaper, though.

Hoseability was also a feature of all classic Landrovers, pin matting, and the alloy itself, also being hose washable.

Myself, I agree that the ply would not be ideal unless needed. Might increase noise, and just look like a builders Transit.
 
Pin matting is about 4mm thick, plus the thickness of the pins, so not as thick as stable mat, but it is the standard mat, used by Land Rover in the back of their vehicles from Series 1s right up until Ninety One Ten, and probably into Defenders as well, so it looks the part.

Learn something new every day. The mat in the back of my series 3 must not be original then. I had assumed it was but would describe that as a thin stable matting. probably only about 4mm thick but is ribbed rather than pin mat.
 
Learn something new every day. The mat in the back of my series 3 must not be original then. I had assumed it was but would describe that as a thin stable matting. probably only about 4mm thick but is ribbed rather than pin mat.

Mats wear out fairly quickly with hard wear. I have bought old landrovers with all kinds of stuff in the back, including a layer of fertiliser sacks! :D
 
As land rovers arent the dryest of places I would be wary of using anything that can retain mosture like wood.
Losse rubber matting is the way to go, Ive got old conveyor belt on the floor of mine, right swine to cut.
 
The previous owner of my 90 hard top had the back lined with ply glued to the aluminium with silicone. It trapped water (condensation) was heavy and splintered. It took me ages to rip it out and clean off the silicone. Don't do it. Buy a removable rubber mat. I hose out the back of mine and clean the mat with a broom.
 
The previous owner of my 90 hard top had the back lined with ply glued to the aluminium with silicone. It trapped water (condensation) was heavy and splintered. It took me ages to rip it out and clean off the silicone. Don't do it. Buy a removable rubber mat. I hose out the back of mine and clean the mat with a broom.

Just another of my personal opinions, but silicone is something that I never like to see used on a vehicle, or a boat.
 

Because it isn't the right material for the job, it degrades rapidly, except for the aircraft grade ones, which are very expensive.
And it releases acetic acid on curing.

Landrovers were assembled with Dum Dum compound, and something similar should be used where needed, or the appropriate grades of Loctite or similar for threads and gaskets.

On a boat, use Sikaflex, or on wooden boats, red lead putty was the original material in most areas.
 
For my van bodied 110,
I lined the entire body with flashing tape,
The sides and roof then had 10mm Eva rubber camping matting cut to fit,
I used interior cladding planks as it's easier to cut each plank to fit rather than a huge sheet of plywood.
Each plank was varnished each side before fitting.
Each Plank was interlocked then screwed the the ribs of the hard top, the Eva rubber mat tucked behind.
A partition was built behind the cab, fixed behind the driver removable behind the passenger and centre.
The floor has removable interlocking rubber matting.

The 110 is warmer and quieter, particularly when the partition is closed up.
 
I wouldn't even go to that much effort for the floor.

Get hold of some stable matting (new or used)and cut that to size for the floor. Similar to this (link: first match on google you would need to shop around) and fitted upside down so the bubbles are down and the ribs run the length of the back. If a very heavy rubber may so will act as sound proofing. It can take the weight of a horse so will manage anything you can fit in the back of a land rover quite happily. The piece in the back of mine still looks like new 5 years down the line.

What are your reasons for wanting to ply line it?

Cheers for the reply
Wanted to retain as much heat and create as much soundproofing as possible
 
Because it isn't the right material for the job, it degrades rapidly, except for the aircraft grade ones, which are very expensive.
And it releases acetic acid on curing.

Landrovers were assembled with Dum Dum compound, and something similar should be used where needed, or the appropriate grades of Loctite or similar for threads and gaskets.

On a boat, use Sikaflex, or on wooden boats, red lead putty was the original material in most areas.


Sadly most of the modern silicones dont have acetic in them anymore hence why they are rubbish.
If you smell the engine gasket silicone it still has the acetone in it which is maybe why it works well?

The PU40 from toolstation works well on the boat, it lasted 6 ofdd years before it started to come adrift again.
 
6 years? Sikaflex or putty can last for 60.


It was on the underside of the gunwale where the top half of the boat is glued to the bottom so is applied upside down in quite a wide groove.
The original stuff fell out in chunks and was under 20 yrs old at the time and Im assuming a boatbuilder would have used sikaflex?
 
Back
Top