HEAT INSIDE THE 55 TBIRD CAB

[Guest Tbird55]

Hello

 

I am emailing to ask (as I am sure I am not the only one to experience this) does anyone have a proven remedy to cut down or eliminate the heat that comes from the engine bay / tunnel area. I have driven the car on a really hot day (even in milder weather it heats up but not as severe as a hot day), and it like a heat haze coming up from the central tunnel. It is really bad, but the engine does not overheat at all.

 

I have some Dynamat fitted already but this does not stop it, so I ask if anyone has had the same problem and they used a brand of insulation which killed the problem (if did you lay it on the floor under the carpet - or did you cut it to shape and fit from the inside of the engine bay on the tunnel surface

 

Any replies or suggestions welcome.

 

Thanks regards

TBird55

[1957Birdman]

Hello TBird55,

Your experience is typical for the 1955 and explains why the 56 and 57 have extra vents on the kick panels. There are several things you can do to alleviate the problem. There are shields you can get for the mufflers. There is heat reflective padding that you can put under the rug. You can also put air conditioning in the car. There are other things you can do with the exhaust pipes, but that changes the way the car was when it came from the factory. The things you can do are dependent on whether or how much you want to modify your car. Take a look at the CASCO's catalog. It some of the things you can buy are in there.

Regards,

Lew

[trimacar]

My first early Bird was a 55.... Great car, 3 speed with no options and Thunderbid Blue (a kind of agua that looked really strange under parking lot lights)..

Bought it when I lived in New Orleans.

Sheesh, the heat factor was interesting. Between climate and heat from tunnel, sure got to like the '56 Birds (with their cowl vents, which reduced an intolerable heat to somewhat tolerable). I end up owning about a dozen early T'birds, sold the last about 3 years ago.

My advice? Wear shorts to keep cooler, but don't rest your right leg on transmission tunnel....it'll leave a mark.....seriously...and live with it, it's part of the experience....

[miker98038]

I agree with both the above. I have a friend in the insulation business, and used a foil/rubber product used to insulate chemical tanks for either heat or cool. Flat rubber sheet, 12"x18", self adhesive. I used my laminate rollers to put it down. It's not cheap, and heavier than you would think. But it really stopped the heat. A supply house for industrial work should have something similar. Plug all the holes, and fit as close as possible around the shifter.