After checking the transmission tunnel for heat on my 60 mile round trip it
was running around 135 at the shifter and close to that at the transmission
tunnel. I decided to wrap the exhaust pipe (not the header since that would
violate the edelbrock warranty). Left early in the morning on the 16th for
the 3 1/2 hour drive to Lexington. The weather strip on the door help with
the air that was coming in when truck passed changing the flow of air. The
transmission tunnel stayed around 85 during the trip and the shifter
remained cooler (90). The floor heat remained high as 115 on the drivers
side and around 90 on the passengers side. The exhaust wrap did nothing to
reduce the heat in the floorboard. So this must be all engine compartment
heat.
At the meet someone at the meet mentioned the hole in the bottom of the
steering column in the engine compartment. I decided to try to cover that
hole with aluminum tape since I had brought some with me. I was not able to
verify if it there was any improvement until the next day when we left the
meet. There was some improvment in the steering column temp initially, but
it really just delayed the temp rising for about an hour. The temp still
got up to 115 on the column. I may need to use something with more of an
insulating factor to increase the effectiveness. I pointed the center AC
vent to the column and it helped reduce the heat. My AC through the vents
was as low as 49 based on the IR temp sensor. So I was real happy with the
AC temp. It was higher on the drivers side center vent 55 and dash 70. So
am loosing some through the fabric vent tube as it passes the firewall. It
may be worth replacing with plastic. I still have the original blower motor
and I can see where a new one would improve the cooling in the car.
I am going to try to repaint the headers with a 2000 degree max paint. The
500 degree engin paint I had used just flaked off. Both of these contain
ceramic and were designed for high temps. I may also look into someway to
get some air to the firewall. Maybe some kind of deflector or directed air
from under the car. I will have to look at what options there are.
The trip to Lexington went well even though I am not use to pressing on the
gas pedal for that long of a trip. The engine temps stayed at 180 and crept
above that a few times, but then right back. The 700R4 transmission kept the
RPM's to 1800 at 70 MPH. The ride was a little bumpy at that speed, but I
accidentally went 80 a couple of times. I am assuming the rear tires just
are not balanced as well as the front, but it could also be the original
rims. The one issue I had was that a rod on the carb came loose due to it
breaking where the clip would normally hold it in. I am not sure of the
cause. I fixed it the next day with a twist tie and some aluminum tape as a
back up to hold it in place. I had no issues with that fix, but I am
waiting on the part to arrive before I drive again. I lost a bolt on the
front air damn and I will fix that tomorrow. My new air pressure switch
arrived on Saturday and I will address that also. I need to recheck the
rocker studs and rolling rockers to make sure there are no issues there.
My wife was comfortable during the trip and even fell asleep a few times.
The heat issues seem to be mainly on the drivers side. The steering column
is one culprit, but there may be others. Just need to look to make sure air
can flow.
It was good to put some faces and voices with names at the meet and it was
good to bounce ideas off each other about changes to the car. I knew that I
had some issues that I still need to fix, but nothing that would be an issue
with the car being safe to drive. Like door ajar light and dome light not
working. I will get to those sometime.
Still having alternator issues today, but with my Toyota. Alternator failed
testing today and I had to replace it. Seems like I have gone through three
alternators in the past week. I guess that is better than having the head
of two cars in the same week.
Sorry for the rambling, but wanted to update everyone.
Greg 0036
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Bricklin@autox.team.net
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