Vents for My feet or Air Conditioning

[mickmate]

One of the biggest contibutors of the heat is how your car is constructed. The Shelby for example has a lot of pieces and parts riveted and fit together between you and the "heat pump" up front. If there are small gaps the under hood air pressure builds up. That's why the cars have side louvres and riveted front hood skins. If there are any holes, especially ones like a poorly fit outside footbox edge, the heat pumps in. A Contemporary on the other hand has a fibreglass cockpit moulded right in to the body. If you have good grommets and seals for any small holes for gauges and wiring there is almost no hot air transferring in. Indeed the best solution is to keep it out in the first place. On the outside of the footbox use a heat barrier/insulator and put a polished stainless or aluminum reflective barrier over the top of that and it both reflects and insulates. There are three heat transfer methods right, conduction, convection and radiation. I still stand by the footbox vents as making a very noticeable difference in whether your shoes are getting melted to the pedals or you can still keep driving in reasonable comfort for a loud, hot, uncomfortable, obnoxious car we love so much. Hey Paul post pictures!

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by mickmate

I still stand by the footbox vents as making a very noticeable difference in whether your shoes are getting melted to the pedals

Nick,

Like my friend who owned 3327 and had the "AC" imprint in his sneakers?

Fresh air is never a bad thing! If you can import enough ambient temperature air, you can overcome some of the heat. As Nick said, sealing/insulating/reflecting is a key factor.

[Donunder]

The first thing to do is cover both footboxes, inside and out, with some form of proprietary insulation material. There are lots of choices available and if you can mount the outside (engine bay) insulation material in such a way that there is a small air gap between it and the footbox then so much the better.

I didn't see the need to go all out with vents for foot cooling so I had a simple piece of inch and three quarter pvc pipe made up which runs from directly behind the brake duct hole next to the grille opening. It runs up through the inner guard and mounts onto the top of the footbox directing cool air straight onto the top of my feet. Rain can't come up the steep angle at the front. Painted black so it's hardly noticeable. No adjustment. No grilles, vents, flaps or fans. Just a piece of pipe. One for the passenger too. I have to drive barefooted because of the size of my feet so I had the throttle linkage covered with insulating material as well to stop heat transfer to the throttle pedal.

We've just been through the hottest summer on record and these mods have made driving not just possible, but enjoyable. If the pipe should prove too efficient during the winter months I'll stick a black rag in the intake. I'm a big fan of the simple approach!

[Aedds]

Originally Posted by Donunder

The first thing to do is cover both footboxes, inside and out, with some form of proprietary insulation material. There are lots of choices available and if you can mount the outside (engine bay) insulation material in such a way that there is a small air gap between it and the footbox then so much the better.

I didn't see the need to go all out with vents for foot cooling so I had a simple piece of inch and three quarter pvc pipe made up which runs from directly behind the brake duct hole next to the grille opening. It runs up through the inner guard and mounts onto the top of the footbox directing cool air straight onto the top of my feet. Rain can't come up the steep angle at the front. Painted black so it's hardly noticeable. No adjustment. No grilles, vents, flaps or fans. Just a piece of pipe. One for the passenger too. I have to drive barefooted because of the size of my feet so I had the throttle linkage covered with insulating material as well to stop heat transfer to the throttle pedal.

We've just been through the hottest summer on record and these mods have made driving not just possible, but enjoyable. If the pipe should prove too efficient during the winter months I'll stick a black rag in the intake. I'm a big fan of the simple approach!

Great idea also!

[randlej]

Call these guy's. They have a variety of options for you and very quality products.

Sound Deadening Materials for Noise Reduction from Second Skin

As some of the other posters have indicated, focus on blocking the heat 1st. If done correctly, you won't need vents.