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Duane_Rhynard

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I am in the process of restoring my 58 BN6. My plan is to insulate it as efficiently as possible, so I am using infrared technology to determining exactly where the all heat is coming from. I wanted to share a few images and ask the group if there was any interest in the final results.

Thanks – Duane
58 BN6L
 

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Thanks Duane -

That confirms my theory from the blisters on my throttle foot. I've done considerable heat proofing in, under and around the engine bay, foot well and cockpit of my racing Healey but I'm always looking to be more efficient with my methods.

Dougie
 
Very cool! Ahh, I mean HOT!

I wonder how that would compare with (my) BN6L-942 with Webers, tubular headers and Monza exhaust.

What equipment did you use to get the readings/do the imaging?
 
Duane_Rhynard said:
I am in the process of restoring my 58 BN6. My plan is to insulate it as efficiently as possible, so I am using infrared technology
58 BN6L

HI Duane
a very int.study I adopt it to improve the insulation on my BN4 project car
Tanks
Andrea
Click to expand...
 
Randy,

I use an infrared imaging camera manufactured by Flir systems. I'll do more investigating on the temperatures between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipes, as I noticed a temperature differential as I was scanning these areas!

Thanks,
Duane
 
Hi Randy,
You could call Ghost Hunters and say your Healey is haunted. They use the same Flir camera.
 
GregW said:
Hi Randy,
You could call Ghost Hunters and say your Healey is haunted. They use the same Flir camera.
Click to expand...

:lol:

They would run from too much "activity"
 
zblu said:
be interesting to see how different products measure up to manufacturers claims!
Click to expand...

I'm planning on testing several products to see how they perform in the real world. I'll post the results if anyone is interested.

Thanks - Duane
 
Since I'm swapping a small block Ford into my BJ-7. this is a topic of particular interest and I''ve done a lot of research. There are different ways of doing this, some more expensive than others and some less noticeable. First, and cheapest, is to plug up all the holes in the firewall. Shine a drop light in the engine compartment and from the inside of the car, plug up with dum-dum, foam, etc, anywhere you can see light.
If you are doing a ground up restoration, a ceramic insulating paint like LizardSkin in the firewall and floor areas seems effective, although it wont give you a concours correct finish. If you want to save a few bucks, adding micro baloons to your primer is a good alternative. Check this thread: lizard skin alternatives
Ceramic insulation of the exhaust header, downpipes and muffler will also pay off. Although most folks seem to go with JetHot coating, it seems SwainTech's (swaintech.com) White Lightning coating will give a greater reduction in underhood temp.
Next comes some type of insulation in the interior and you can spend a bunch of money on this depending how much you want to spend on noise reduction and heat reduction. Tsikuris
classics sells a nice pre cut Kool Mat kit kool mat but it's kind of spendy. Kit Car Cobra guys seem to like the variety of products from second skin
Or, if you want to go the cheap route, try products like FrostKing frost king or Rflectix from the big box home improvement store.

Hope this helps,
Rick
 
Yes, please. Post your results. The photos are very interesting. I really like it when technology lets us see what we know from our senses. Localizing the exact spots is very useful. I have just the stock heat shields and I took some adhesive backed, cheap, big box store, reflective insulation(is that too many adjectives?)and put the adhesive sides together, cut it to fit, and taped it on the floor and foot wells, so I have both sides with the shiny metallic covering. I cannot wrap myself around all of the nice Dynamat installations I see where the reflective shiny side is facing out. I realize it is the gummy/foamy sticky side that insulates, but shouldn't the reflective side be the first thing the heat sees when it gets through the steel? I know this has been discussed before. I think that metallic cover on the dynamat probably does nothing except keep the gummy/foamy stuff intact. If it is in-fact metallic, wouldn't it be a conductor of heat, as opposed to a thin plastic covering? I wish physics was just a little more intuitive sometimes. Im thinking that the biggest effects would have to be either wrapping or coating the exhaust parts in the engine bay, loeuvering the hood, and putting in rally vents. After driving on a couple of 100 degree days this summer my driving shoes are changing to sport sandals ($24.95 at most shoe stores).
 
I have completed the infrared scans of my car, and would like to try and get at least four volunteers in the Los Angeles / Orange County area of California to let me take an infrared scan (take pictures) of their cars!

I want to measure the temperatures through the carpet and standard insulation. If anyone has a car with modified insulation I would like to scan them as well. I would like to scan at least one car of each major model. (100, 100-6, 3000, and BJ8 3000)

The scan will take between 15 and 20 minutes and the car will need to be at normal operating temperature.

All volunteers must be willing to let me scan their cars, and let me use the images to create a document that can be shared among Healey enthusiasts.

Volunteers will also receive a personalized individual thermal profile for their car!

Please contact me at duane@aitsolutions.com

Thanks!
Duane Rhynard
58 BN6
 
Hello Duane Rhynard, this sounds like a very interesting exercise that will be followed by many people. Thank you for taking it on. We all look forward to some interesting results I'm sure.

Best regards,

bundyrum.
 
One of the issues you will have, is that nothing you can do will fix the "leak" in the shielding created by through-panel bits.
Like, throttle linkage.

Unless you can figure out a way to "cocoon" the entire linkage to the carbs, the heat will travel through the floor panels via the actual linkage (and, things like emergency brakes).

I used to do heat-testing stuff in a plant just after I got out of the Navy, for Avionics, and even wiring bundles transferred more heat through insulated bulkheads than you could imagine.

I think you will find any bends will also be hot spots.
Flat bulheads, partitions, floors tend to not congregate heat like corners, or sharp bends, do.

Mitigate and minimize, and you'll be miles ahead of most of the pack!
 
Great Images, I also have a 58 BN6. I am in the process of adding heat insulation, now that I have seem your images and read TOC's reply about
heat-testing, I am not sure insulation will do the trick.
Not sure where to turn now to keep heat out.
 
The infrared images show, at least with my car, that the majority of the heat is not coming through the linkages, but through the poorly insulated areas adjacent to the engine compartment, transmission tunnel, and exhaust system.

I agree with TOC that there may be very little we can do about the linkages, other that to fabricate ceramic sections in the critical areas. TOC is also correct that the corners and such are areas where heat is an issue, and on our cars, these areas are not insulated well.

I am sure that identifying the exact locations of the warmer areas will help us do a better job where to locate heat insulation.

The proper type of insulation in the correct areas will make a HUGE difference in the cockpit temperatures.

I am still hoping to get some volunteers (No one has volunteered yet) to scan some cars that have all the carpet and other normal heat barriers in place. I am sure I can identify the areas where we can then concentrate our efforts.

Thanks – Duane

TOC – I also have a small office in Bonney Lake, WA, and if you ever get down that way we can scan your car!
 
Duane - just doing a search on ceramic and your thread appeared; can you advise as to current learnings?
Also - Can anyone advise as to what they've seen for results with a ceramic coating? And how it works - I'm conditioned that insulation requires thickness, so can't understand how ceramics coatings would make a real difference.
Thanks - Doug
 
I'm planing on testing several products to see how they perform in the real world. I'll post the results if anyone is interested.

Yes be sure and post the data as well as sources of untreatd hot spots in the cars. There will be variations in the magnitudes seen in each car but the locations will be consistant.---Keoke
 
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