I know the hot rod guys talk very well of these pieces- link below. If I remember right, they are patterned after a Chevy Truck part from the '60's or '70's. I believe the part is upside down in the picture, and the pedals actually hang. The only thing I can caution you on, when I inquired about buying one and installing it in a T-bucket, is they said fiberglass isn't strong enough for it. It has to be mounted to something metal-they suggested framework of some sort. They said it'd fit in a Tbucket, which is very space confined also.
https://www.verntardel.com/collectio...al-pedal-mount
There's also a single pedal version.
https://www.verntardel.com/collectio...n-swing-pedals
As far as heat, I haven't heard that. But I'm new to Cobras, so take that with a grain of salt.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.