The long awaited is almost here. Just a few more finishing touches on the chassis and we will be ready to apply the sealer and finish paint. But before the undercarriage can be painted, a critical issue must be addressed.
Healey 3000s have a major heat problem that adversely affects the driver's side of the interior. It is most uncomfortable. There are stories of the passengers on the right hand drive Healeys that actually put their feet out the window in an attempt to cool them off. The heat issue is due to the location of the exhaust header, header pipes and muffler.
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When this car was manufactured, little was done to prevent the heat from the header pipes and muffler from reaching the driver's compartment. The photo to the right shows the underside of the car on the driver's side. If you look closely you will see two notches in the frame. These notches allow the exhaust pipes and muffler to mount more closely to the floor of the car increasing the road clearance. Looking closer, you will notice three holes in the floor pan. These holes are for the driver's seat mounting bracket. So, the driver is sitting on the muffler and his feet are just inches away from the exhaust header. These temperatures reach several hundred degrees...and in traffic...in the summer.
But we have a solution. Pictured in the photo to the left is another driver's side floor pan the we purchased. We have cut it to fit inside the car's framework under the driver's seat. We will apply two layers of a "high tech" heat shield to the bottom side of the existing floor pan and attach the new pan to the frame, "sandwiching" the shield between the identical floor pans. No one will ever know the floor is insulated.
Next, after the interior is sealed and painted, we will apply another layer of the heat shield to the other side of the floor. These shields will greatly reduce the temperature in the cockpit...just don't tell anyone what we did.
Stay tuned,
Tom McCurry
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