1960 and hot center console

[sunnybob]

Hello Folks,
summer is coming here in Italy and I would like to solve a problem of my '60 convertible. When driving the center console and the area around become very WARM . Driver side more than passenger. Sunday I had a trip with friend of mine '58 and had the same "heating" problem.
Any suggestion to keep the floor and console area cooler, please?

[YellowRose]

1960 and hot center console

Hi Roberto, some of us use an insulating material that can cover the center console, left and right footwells, and the firewall. It will require you to take up the carpeting, take off the center console and put down this insulating material. Some of our members can tell you what they have used in the past that works well. One of them that comes to mind is Dynamat. http://www.dynamat.com/

[DKheld]

That will be a tough one.

Both exhaust pipes run in the center of the car and of course since heat rises it makes it's way up into the tunnel under the console.

We have that same problem on another type car I work on often (MG) where the heat from the exhaust gets trapped in the console tunnel.

In the case of the MG - most have found that installing heat shields under the car work best. Might take some very creative engineering but if you could put a removable plate across the length of the tunnel under the car I think this would help greatly. You would need to keep it out of the way of the driveshaft but above the exhaust.

Possibly you could wrap the exhaust pipes with heat tape to keep the heat in while it's transferred to the back - otherwise I believe you are stuck with trying to keep the heat from radiating off the hot tunnel with pads and such under the carpet as Ray mentions.

Good luck and let us know how it goes - we may learn from what you find.

Eric

[Yadkin]

It's the exhaust running underneath. Remove the console. Dynamat Extreme over the sheet metal, then insulation over that. Mine used to get hot- no longer.

[simplyconnected]

The tunnel encircles the transmission and driveshaft. Exhaust pipes run below and to the sides of the trans if you have dual exhaust. Many exhaust systems use an "H" pipe that crosses directly below the trans.

In any event, heat is heat. Automatic transmissions are connected to the radiator so they run about the same temp as the engine.

Console or not, muscle cars use a rubber bellows-type boot with a good seal around the shifter stick to hold down noise and stop any air transfer. Smaller, more luxurious cars use a leather boot that fits snuggly around the shifter stick. Either way, heat will migrate through the steel floor without insulation.

Before carpeting, cars simply came with thin rubber mats. On a long trip, the floor got very hot and the drive train and tire noise was a deafening drone. - Dave

[sunnybob]

Thank you very much for your answers. I see it is a project fault problem and I'm quite amazed Ford did not realize it at the time (Although Tbird was a luxury car).
Anyway I will follow your suggestion and I will try with some insulation pads first...

[sidewalkman]

Thank you very much for your answers. I see it is a project fault problem and I'm quite amazed Ford did not realize it at the time (Although Tbird was a luxury car).
Anyway I will follow your suggestion and I will try with some insulation pads first...

They're not pads you'll notice after you pull the seats, console and carpet that Ford did insulate with a thin rubber membrane over the floor and tunnel hump. It just wasn't enough for the heat generated, we are suggesting using sheets of Dynamat under the carpet over the existing factory sound and heat proofing.
Do NOT skimp on this step, it's an easy one day job, the dynamat is under 200.00 and is super easy to apply. Makes a ton of difference, when
I did mine it made the interior not only cooler but quieter by half!

[sunnybob]

I already changed my moquette carpet last year. Car was previously restored in Louisiana in the 90s and there was not the original insulating material under it. They put some kind of insulation mats but probably are not enough. We do not have dynamat for sale here in Italy so I was thinking to try some rockwool carpet before shipping it from the USA... Is it a good idea?

[Yadkin]

I already changed my moquette carpet last year. Car was previously restored in Louisiana in the 90s and there was not the original insulating material under it. They put some kind of insulation mats but probably are not enough. We do not have dynamat for sale here in Italy so I was thinking to try some rockwool carpet before shipping it from the USA... Is it a good idea?

Over the Dynamat I used a foam insulating tape- about 1/8" thick and 6" wide, aluminum backed, over the tunnel where there wasn't room for a thick carpet pad. Purchased from a building supply store in the heating section.

[sidewalkman]

I already changed my moquette carpet last year. Car was previously restored in Louisiana in the 90s and there was not the original insulating material under it. They put some kind of insulation mats but probably are not enough. We do not have dynamat for sale here in Italy so I was thinking to try some rockwool carpet before shipping it from the USA... Is it a good idea?

You need something that sticks and is not floating over the hump