Matt Kulka wrote:
>
> However I get a *lot* of heat through the firewall and/or trans tunnel
> in this car, and if the weather doesn't break, that may make the 13-hour
> trip a little less joyful. I'm sure with this current heat wave, there
> are a lot of east coast Americans wondering this same thing:
>
> Can anyone tell me what causes so much heat to be absorbed by the
> passenger compartment? Further, (and more importantly) what have people
> successfully done to decrease the effect?
Matt -
My '79B has an original heat shield installed under the car. Kind of
hard to describe, but it's formed to fit under the tunnel. It starts at
the top of the tunnel, and extends downward, following the side of the
tunnel, then goes under the floor for about 6 or 8 inches. It's
probably about 3 feet in length. It's made of some type of heat
resistant plastic or fiberglass, and was originally painted silver to
reflect heat. My guess is that BLC installed these after they started
putting catalytic converters on. The shield is held on with pop rivets
and large fender washers, and the mounting points are formed to give an
air space of about a quarter of an inch between the shield and the
body. It really keeps the driver's side a lot cooler. During the
rebuild, I removed it, removed all of the old paint, and repainted it
with high temp primer and high temp silver engine paint. I haven't seen
these in any catalogs, but you might find one at a scrap yard.
--
Keep on keepin' on!
(non illegitimus carborundus)
Wayne Kube 1979 MGB
Plano, TX http://web2.airmail.net/wkube
Texas MG Register http://www.tmgr.org
NAMGBR UK Site http://www.mgcars.org.uk/namgbr
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