Vents for My feet or Air Conditioning

[Aedds]

So I'm either looking for opinions on vents or air conditioning for my feet. Seen a couple of older threads on vents for the foot box area and some are complaining that it doesnt help but just pulls in more hot air. I dont want to make the problem worse by adding vents if they dont work. What I do know is my feet are seriously HOT and I need to figure something out soon. It's only June and a long hot summer in the Cobra awaits me! Any assistance would be great.

[LMH]

Here's my worthless opinion... add some heat shielding to the footbox and install a vent similar to an original car. That way you don't suffer the embarrassment of having the hood open and that ugly compressor exposed for everyone to see.
Larry

[mickmate]

I like the footbox vents. Keep them in the fenders not the engine bay. There are some affordable ones available if they don't need to be like originals.

[Aedds]

Originally Posted by mickmate

I like the footbox vents. Keep them in the fenders not the engine bay. There are some affordable ones available if they don't need to be like originals.

Do you have some pics?

[Lex]

CobraEarl.com - Creature Comfort FFR Parts makes a nice setup.

[elmariachi]

Here are some pics of Paul's setup. He is CC member PaulProe here, PM him:

3x2Cobra

I am running this same setup and its essentially worthless. Why you ask? Because these cars build tremendous heat and have a lot of turbulence in the cockpit and you aren't going to be able to cool just the foot box area from an external air supply. You either knock down the heat via Larry's suggestions above or you can sell the car.

[Aedds]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

Here are some pics of Paul's setup. He is CC member PaulProe here, PM him:

3x2Cobra

I am running this same setup and its essentially worthless. Why you ask? Because these cars build tremendous heat and have a lot of turbulence in the cockpit and you aren't going to be able to cool just the foot box area from an external air supply. You either knock down the heat via Larry's suggestions above or you can sell the car.

Im not looking to sell my car just want to find a way to cool down my feet. First I will try the heat shielding and then I will add the vent if that doesnt help.

[davecobra]

I have the foot box vents with blowers, no it will not blow cold air when the temps are 95 out side, but it does help when you are in traffic and that stale hot air in the floorboards tries to suffocate you. The best idea is to insulate the outside of the footbox with a heat reflecting insulation and then insulate the inside the same way. I live in West Texas and we drive all the time in 95 to 100 degree weather, the addition of the blower will move air in the foot box and any breeze is better than none.
David

[Aedds]

Originally Posted by davecobra

I have the foot box vents with blowers, no it will not blow cold air when the temps are 95 out side, but it does help when you are in traffic and that stale hot air in the floorboards tries to suffocate you. The best idea is to insulate the outside of the footbox with a heat reflecting insulation and then insulate the inside the same way. I live in West Texas and we drive all the time in 95 to 100 degree weather, the addition of the blower will move air in the foot box and any breeze is better than none.
David

Where did you find your supplies to do this?

[davecobra]

Well I bought the vent blowers off of ebay, they were boat vent blowers, I bought the hose from aircraft spruce supply, the wiring and switch from radio shack, the vent adapter to the front air intake from Breeze automotive, then I used a blade valve to open and close them in the foot box.
Send me a pm with your email and I will look up the links and email them to you.
David

[Aedds]

Originally Posted by davecobra

Well I bought the vent blowers off of ebay, they were boat vent blowers, I bought the hose from aircraft spruce supply, the wiring and switch from radio shack, the vent adapter to the front air intake from Breeze automotive, then I used a blade valve to open and close them in the foot box.
Send me a pm with your email and I will look up the links and email them to you.
David

Pm sent. Thanks for your help!

[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.

[bobcowan]

Here in CO, it can get really hot. The sun is intense, and surface temps are commonly 150*+. Here are some things I did, that keep my feet pretty cool; even on the race track.

When I buiult the car, I used Lizard Skin ceramic insulation. That makes a huge differance. Well worth the time and money.

I do have a passive foot box vent. I used some 2.5" corrugated tubing from Pegasus, Cobra earl brake duct boots, and a sawdust blast gate from somewhere. It is a passive vent, so only works while I'm moving - so, most of the time. I do get a nice cool'ish breeze from that.

BUT, here's a big "secret" that is very cheap, very easy, and really works well. Vent holes on the splash panel. I cut a hole in each splash panel, about 2.5" x 6", and then rivited some SS mesh over it to prevent FOD damage. That brings a nice wave of cooler air into the engine bay, and across the front of the foot box. It creates a barrier between the foot box and the headers.

One of these days, I'm going to wrap the headers in heat tape. One of these days.

[Donunder]

Andrea I'm posting some pics to show you how the cool-air pipe is mounted. It's very simple yet amazingly effective. I was running some gauze over the pipe opening to start with but it interfered with the air flow so, it's gone and nothing nasty has been dumped on my feet yet!

Here's the intake at the top of the slot.



Running up behind the headlight.



Along through the wheelarch.



Coming back into the engine bay. (Tidying this up is on my to-do list!)



Down through the top of the footbox. Note I've also wrapped part of the throttle linkage to prevent heat soak down to the pedal.



And because the BB Chevy in my Arntz is set way back, I've lined both footboxes inside and out with insulation material and the headers are wrapped too.

Don't forget to do the passenger's side too!

[Bill Bess]

I had that problem, the heat almost cooked my feet and leg. My solution was to insulate and most importantly stop any hot air getting into the foot compartment, I used spray foam from Home Depot to stop the air leaks.
iot's cool now, even in 100+ summer weather.
Bill

[Donunder]

If you want to neaten up the pipe's intake you could pick up a set of these inexpensive ducts from Finish Line.
Finish Line Accessories