Shielding from the Heat

My employer provides a way for me to work 9 hour days, and take every other Friday off. Every other weekend is a 3-day weekend, so long as I don't have some pressing assignment to take care of. I've tried to make full use of those 3-day weekends working on the t-bird, especially taking care of things that can only be done on weekdays. This weekend was NOT one of those long weekends. In addition, I had a commitment on Saturday afternoon, and needed to spend time with my wife on Mother's day. Over all, I had about 6 hours to work on the car. This is a recipe for disappointment...
Saturday, I did manage to get the differential housing and springs painted. I was able to finish painting them with a brush in about an hour. It took me longer than that to prime them last weekend. I left the "pumpkin" in red lead primer. I don't know if that is stock, but I did find some pink paint under the grime I washed off, so I think it is likely. I know that the '57 t-bird differential (a "9 inch Ford", as opposed to the "Dana 44" on the '55-'56) deliberately left the gear carrier in red lead, while the rest of the housing and cover were painted black. I kind of like the look.





I also primed and painted the brake backing plates and the diff cover in gloss black enamel. I'm looking forward to putting the rear end and brakes back together.
My main achievement this weekend, however, was installing the tunnel heat shields. This was also a new adventure for me, but something I had determined was the right thing to do. This is not a stock item, but a significant yet subtle upgrade.
2-seater t-birds have a significant issue with heat. The engine compartment is just barely large enough for the large, heavy y-block V-8, and there really isn't much of anywhere for the hot air from the radiator and exhaust manifolds to go. There are no vents at the top of the engine compartment, so the hot air just builds up like smog in Los Angeles. The automatic transmission, at least on the '55 and early '56, is air cooled. This means even more heat under the car, right next to the driver and passenger's feet. The cabin floor had no insulation to speak of, other than a thin jute pad and some carpet. Early birds had a reputation for toasting tootsies, which led to the installation of cowl vents on the '56 and '57 models. My car has no such vents. What to do?
Well, for $100 I was able to procure a large sheet of formable tunnel heat shield material. This is very neat stuff, with a heavy textured aluminum sheet backed by about 1/8 inch of dense fiberglass insulation, and a very strong self-stick adhesive. The plan is to cut panels to fit various areas under the car, shape them to fit the countours, peel of the backing, and stick them in place. Oh, by the way, you better get it right the first time. Did I mention that the adhesive is very strong?
Somewhat daunted by this one-shot requirement, I wanted to make sure that the panels I cut would be close to fitting. I made paper templates for each section (4 total), and carefully laid them out on the heat shield material.






























I then stripped and cleaned the areas where these heat shields would go... left and right sides above the mufflers, and two sections in the tunnel. Once again, this is grimy, smelly, dirty work, and requires squeezing oneself under the lowest part of the car, holding a scraper or rag with lacquer thinner at an awkward angle and scrubbing as hard as you can, while chunks of debris fall on your arms, hair, face and in your eyes. Unpleasant. But, it had to be done. After 20 minutes or so, the tunnel looked good.





I installed the heat shields over the muffler locations first. Fit, cut, shape, fit, cut shape, fit, fit again, then finally, man up, take a deep breath, pull off the backing and paste it on. Straight. The first time.















Both sides done, no problem! Feeling good about this, I tackled the tunnel. Back section first, then the front section on the lower firewall.










No, it's not perfect. Some areas aren't straight. There are a few wrinkles that I'm not proud of. I got some dirt from my gloves on the edge of the white fiberglass, in a conspicuous location. But most people won't even know the heat shields are there, once the engine is in. I am very satisfied.
I'm sure there is some spiritual significance to my heat shield experience, but I really don't think a forced allegory is appropriate. I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but I'm still satisfied. I had fun today working on Grandma's car. I feel blessed. That is enough.
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