What can be done to reduce heat in the foot box?

[twobjshelbys]

I had a big problem with this and researched it. You can cut holes into the footboxes and run the same venting as brake vent tubing.

[601HP]

When my car arrived as a roller many years ago, the mild steel primary pipes had been Jet-Hot coated.

I installed sheets of Thermo Tec aluminized heat barrier on: the engine-side of the foot boxes, the entire under side of the transmission tunnel, and the street side of the floor.

During subsequent drives there were many times Peggy and I thought the soles of our shoes may have begun to melt.

I ducted the air from the front of car oval ports, to the foot boxes. That helped some but the level of foot box heat was still uncomfortable.

The last remedial action provided the most substantial heat relief. I wrapped the primary pipes with 2" wide Thermo Tec woven tape. What a tremendous reduction in foot box heat and a big gain in comfort.

Its probably very important that my pipes had been ceramic-coated prior to being wrapped. I've read that un-coated mild steel pipes that are wrapped are likely to prematurely deteriorate.

My pipes have been wrapped and re-wrapped several times over a period of 18 years. I last saw them bare 3 years ago. They still appear to be unaffected by the wrap. There wasn't any indication of rust. I couldn't detect evidence of metal fatigue. That's a good thing because I intend to always use header wrap.

David

[Trouble1]

My son told me about the gold thermal tape and I wasn't sure it would do anything but it sure seems to help. I like the fresh air duct idea also, need to see about that.

[dallas_]

Not sure you could do this on a completed car, but I added some aluminum heat shields to the outside of the footboxes before the engine was installed. They have about a 3/16" air gap and it really helps keep the heat off the footboxes.

[pats401]

I Did Two Coats Of Lizard Skin,And A Layer Of Dynamat.Worked Great,Had A Healey Years Ago,Was Determined Not Suffer Like That In The Cobra.

[DanEC]

I used B-Cool mats on my aluminum panels, mostly for dampening but some heat reduction. On my fiberglass foot boxes, in addition to the facotry ERA foil surfaced insulation on the firewall side - I added more to the underside of the foot box (I have undercar exhaust) and the fender side (I assembled the car so I had access). On the inside I used EZ-Cool on the inside of the foot boxes including the top area. EZ-Cool is principally for temperature protection and not primarily a dampening product. It's also very light so using as much as you need isn't going to add by a couple pounds to the car.

My car isn't on the road yet so I don't know the final results but anyway - another suggestion and 2 cents worth.

[Don]

While I have not no personal experience, past Threads on the subject has also mentioned Duct insulation that can be purchased at Lowe's, Home Depot etc

[Roush #1]

Tag,
To answer your original question, the answer would be to initially buy a Lone Star. I am not aware of anyone ever having excessive foot box heat problems with them.