• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Hot Healey

Share this page

stretchit2

stretchit2

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
I am interested in reducing the heat in the cock pit of my Big Healey. Does anyone have any experience with insulating the floor panels and fire wall area? If so, what products did you use and what success did you have?
Stretch
 
stretchit2

Check the archives there should be tons of information and pictures there.-Fwiw--Keoke
 
Strech,

I completed a rolling resto this past spring. Part of it was heat proofing the cockpit. Based on a recent article in the national healey club magazine and my memory of hot NJ trips in the bj7 in the 60"s & 70's I opted for the pricey solution, kool mat which is a 1/8 " thick fiberglass/silicon hi tec mat.

This summer I took some trips with outside temp of 98 and 80% humidity with the top up & windows open. The cockpit was very comfortable, huge difference. The tunnel (in addition to the kool mat on top) had a reflective bubble insulation installed. The original asbestos firewall & exhaust heat shields were intact and in good condition.
 
I opted for a layer of Dynamat extreme and a layer of E guard. Not having been able to drive my car before the restoration I cannot compare before and after but the cockpit heat is not objectionable. Total price was about $150. Have a good day!

John
 
The way I addressed the infamus heat issue with my Healey;

1- During restoration build up in the engine bay ensure that all panels around the foot wells and bulkhead are completely sealed with seamsealer.

2- Before spending any $ on Layers of dynamat products I first took a flood light placed it in the engine bay turn it on and got into the cockpit and looked for any sighn of light comming through, if so it must be sealed off.

Most of the problems of heat comming into the cockpit is from old or missing rubber gromets from the bulkhead. Also lots of heat will come through from the corners of the bulkhead where the winshield pillars sit that area is likely to have a space anywhere from 1/4" to 3/8", for some reason the shroud does not sit very flat on top of the bulkhead, heat will rise and finds it's way into the cockpit of the car.

Make sure that the transmission cover is also sealed well.

I don't have Dynamat in my car, all I have is the jute padding and carpet and it is very comfortable when driving in hot days stuck in trafic.

Roger
 
", for some reason the shroud does not sit very flat on top of the bulkhead, heat will rise and finds it's way into the cockpit of the car."

Yes and for this reason it is imperative that this gap be totally sealed.

Similarly,, the aperture's in the bulkhead underneath the shroud require sealing around their periphery.

These seals are installed just prior to fitting the shroud.---Fwiw--Keoke- :hammer:
 
I used Lin's wax paper trick and it worked great for sealing the shroud to the inner structure! I can't begin to imagine a better way to approach this critical piece of the heat sealing process.

Cheers,
Steve
https://stevesaustinhealey.com
 
I used Dynamat Extreme and it works well. I still have a problem with the transmission boot. That is where all the heat comes in. I need to find a better boot than I've gotten from the suppliers.
 
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great resource, the blog and web page are incredible. Loved to see your grandson involved. I have three- hope to get a car guy out of the bunch.

Rich, thanks for sharing.

Stretch
 
Steve,
I must of missed something, what is Lin's wax paper trick.
Stretch
 
TimK said:
I used Dynamat Extreme and it works well. I still have a problem with the transmission boot. That is where all the heat comes in. I need to find a better boot than I've gotten from the suppliers.
Click to expand...
Is the boot fitted the right side up? At least half of the Healeys I see (both side and center shift) have the boots fitted upside down.

For the side shifter, it seals around the cup securing the lever, then the sheetmetal tunnel; and for the center shift, the pointy end goes down. Otherwise it either pulls off or splits the rubber.
 
Back
Top