Hi folks,
In this batch of e-mails there was the one from Joe DeLuca who is
apparently roasting in his 4/4 and one from John Bigler reporting a
glorious day of cruising all over the Catskills in the flat rad +4 in
the company of Peer and Frantje in their 4/4 that made the exodus across
the desert from Iraq to Jordan just prior to Desert Storm.
Two very different stories.
Yes, Morgans get warm inside during summer driving conditions. People
survive Texas and Florida heat in them. A 75 degree day is a rather
cool one in Dallas. Something must be different about the Morgans.
Heat travels by conduction, convection and radiation and of course
combinations of all three. How is the heat getting to the passenger
compartment? Is the exhaust header in contact or near contact with the
firewall? Is the heat really coming from the transmission through the
transmission tunnel? Did you forget to turn off the hot water flow to
the cockpit heater?
A little insulation on the covering on the firewall, with a thin
aluminum panel on the engine side should make a dramatic difference. A
heat shield baffle of aluminum between the header and firewall will add
greatly to reducing heat flow away from the firewall. Insulation over
or inside the transmission cover will help cool that part of the car
which is in direct contact with the passengers.
I have seen some very nice passenger compartment ventilation tricks
using a Chevy thermostat housing cover bolted to the firewall, either
above the occupants toes or on the side of the firewall, and connected
to the high pressure in the front underside of the car with rubber
hose. You don't need a ram air scoop to get lots of flow into a rubber
hose whose opening is in the vicinity of the bottom front edge of the
front fender. J. Jennings has a trap door that scoops in air under the
driver's toes.
There are have got to be many cures cheaper and a hell of a lot more
effective than a $600 header treatment.
A good place to start is to be absolutely sure that the engine tuning is
correct. I've seen many test cell engine exhaust manifolds glow red
when the mixture was too rich or the timing too far advanced.
Where does it originate and how is the heat getting to the passengers?
This has to be where you start the investigation. Make some
observations , feel the parts. Drape a blanket, hang a shield
temporarily, does it help. Don't be afraid to use a thermometer to
measure the efffect of the
changes made. Read the web pages on insulating Volkswagen buses. THIMK!
Tony Souza
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