Excessive Heat in EngineBay

[RobertSuren]

Driving home from a cruise the other nite,I noticed my steering column felt hot.I opened the hood & the heat coming from the compartment almost floored me.The engine temperature was only 170.It was not boiling over.I checked engine temp with a laser heat gun & they all seemed very normal.....so far I have added a reflectant heat blanket to the underside of the hood,purchased from Summit.I also have wrapped the stock cast iron headers with Titanium tape.....I was wondering if any other members have experienced this issue & if they were able to resolve it.I know the Avanti nose design is not conducive to abundant airflow,but ironically I have never experienced engine overheating problems with this car....Thanks in advance.

Bob

1971 Avanti stock factory 350 engine

[Gunslinger]

I believe most header manufacturers will tell you wrapping headers with heat tape will void the warranty. Whether that adds to the heat issue I can't say.

The biggest problem is venting heat out of the engine bay...if it simply stays in there swirling around and not venting out it can cause that problem. It also gets sucked into the air filter and air too hot affects the fuel charge and combustion. You need to find a way to vent the hot air out or keep it from getting there to begin with.

Avanti Motors started drilling holes in the inner panels of the engine bay to assist in giving hot air a way out. I think that probably began with the introduction of the 400 cid engine but even then I don't believe it was done to all cars.

Another thing you can try is to add the Saturn air deflector under the front end. That does two things...it directs air up into the radiator and what doesn't go up goes around the sides of the engine decreasing turbulence under the car. Many performance car designs today employ air dams under the front end to direct air around the car rather than under it. On my '70 Avanti I found simply adding the Saturn air deflector reduced engine temps (on a hot day) by 10-15 degrees. Of course it has no effect when idling or very slow speeds.

[boogieman]

In lieu of drilling holes in the inner splash aprons I'm thinking of

fabricating a set of louvered panels to give the hot air an escape route.

Problem is there isn't a lot or real estate to attach the louvered panel to be effective.

Since heat rises I'm thinking they would need to be relatively high in the splash apron.

to actually draw hot air out. Plus the cooling fan should force the air out if it had an escape route.

Just saying.

[RobertSuren]

Hi,

Thanks for the replys.What year(s) Saturn air deflector would work?Also is it visable or fairly hidden.If I was to go the holes/louver route,any suggestions as to where to put them.Anybody else experience this & how did you slve it.

Thanks

Bob

[Avanti83]

Hi,

Thanks for the replys.What year(s) Saturn air deflector would work?Also is it visable or fairly hidden.If I was to go the holes/louver route,any suggestions as to where to put them.Anybody else experience this & how did you slve it.

Thanks

Bob

This should cover the Saturn air deflector questions. http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?42115-Avanti-Saturn-Deflector-21031161-Installation

About the only place to vent hot air is the wheel wells unless you take it out the hood. I just don't know enough about the high and low pressure areas under the hood to comment on the efficiency of cutting holes in the inner fenders. Most folks don't want to vent their hood but I'm doing just that.

Here's a post from SDC forum of hood mods.Even if you don't want to go that way, and most won't, here it is.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?84046-Avanti-hood-damaged-by-an-errant-scroll-saw

Bob

Edited April 12, 2015 by Avanti83

[boogieman]

Several different cars now have fender and hood lover assemblies that could be mounted in the hood.

Some might look great. I'm not up to cutting into my hood.

There is a local guy who has a louver punching machine. He can punch 2" and 2-1/2" lovers.

I was going to have a piece of 14 to 16 gauge aluminum , cut to size, then attach to the inner splash aprons.

Still thinking about it.

[PackardV8]

In my experience, the engine compartment of the Avanti is not worse than any other, just that there's insufficient insulation between there and the passenger compartment.

If you want to know how bad it can get, spend a hot day in a Cobra or Sunbeam Tiger.

jack vines

[Devildog]

Bob, you said you wrapped the stock cast iron headers (ram's horn). On my 75 with a 400 SBC, I wrapped the exhaust all the way back past the firewall. That successfully reduced the cockpit heat.

My A/C could not cool the car while cruising in our Houston heat, it would cool OK when stopped or slow driving, but over 2000 RPM it generated too much heat straight into the cockpit. By wrapping past the firewall to get the radiant heat past the cockpit, it is now quite comfortable.

I had bought insulation to put under my new carpet, before I wrapped the exhaust. If I would have wrapped before buying the insulation, I would not have used the insulation, but since I had it I did install under my carpet 3-4 months after the wrap. Now even in 100 days the Avanti is cool and I have to set the A/C back a bit.

The exhaust wrap (past the fire wall) is the best $40 that I have spent in many years

Joe

Edited April 13, 2015 by Devildog

[RobertSuren]

Thank -you all.....Now I know I am not alone.I will go with the heat wrap past the fire wall & perhaps cut out parts of the fender wells near the headers.I use the car as a daily driver & am less interested in originality,than comfort & safety.I may also consider the Saturn air dam if these other moves don't solve the problem to my satisfaction.....Thanks again for the great response.

Bob

[grobb284]

I inquired a while back about the Avanti II inner fender holes for cooling. Isn't the wheel well a high pressure area at speed, and the air would blow in, rather than out of the engine compartment?

[Devildog]

I inquired a while back about the Avanti II inner fender holes for cooling. Isn't the wheel well a high pressure area at speed, and the air would blow in, rather than out of the engine compartment?

That is what I thought to be the flow; however, the holes allowing incoming air would tend to dilute heat from the exhaust system.

Joe

[Charlie Kile]

Originally my intake was ducted through a hole in the right fender inner panel.

When I installed the EFI I ducted it to the same place.

Charlie RQB3921

[Canuck E]

Has anyone switched to an electric cooling fan assembly? Another trick I've seen on my old Turbo 280 ZX was an auxiliary fan that was used to cool off the turbo that vented out a louver in the hood. It only ran when really hot and would stay on after car was shut down until a certain temp was reached.

[wildfelr]

RQB3263....H ere is a very quick and easy mod to help move hot air from Avanti engine bay.......In the summer...remove the 4 bolts securing the hood latches to the fender well...procure new 3/8 dia bolts 1/2 inch longer than originals....place a 1/2 inch long by 3/8 inch inside dia. spacer under each hood latch (4 total) and secure with the new bolts ....untill fall then reverse the pro and store the spacers on top of the latch mechinism till next spring.....this will raise the rear of your hood up about 5/8 inch and allow engine heat to escape....this is the second summer for this on 3263 and it has to help....I just returned from a 3300 mile road trip with no problems of any kind cooling or otherwise...A shoutout of thanks must be given to John, Betty, Linda, and Micheal Myer and crew in Duncan Falls, Ohio for the wonderful hospitality and fine work they did on my car...Thanks again gang....BILL RQB3263

[wildfelr]

RQB3263....No need to cut holes, install vents, louvers, scoops of any kind....this takes 5 min and is fully reversible,,and it works ...,,and cost 2 bucks...

[Devildog]

RQB3263....H ere is a very quick and easy mod to help move hot air from Avanti engine bay.......In the summer...remove the 4 bolts securing the hood latches to the fender well...procure new 3/8 dia bolts 1/2 inch longer than originals....place a 1/2 inch long by 3/8 inch inside dia. spacer under each hood latch (4 total) and secure with the new bolts ....untill fall then reverse the pro and store the spacers on top of the latch mechinism till next spring.....this will raise the rear of your hood up about 5/8 inch and allow engine heat to escape....this is the second summer for this on 3263 and it has to help....I just returned from a 3300 mile road trip with no problems of any kind cooling or otherwise...A shoutout of thanks must be given to John, Betty, Linda, and Micheal Myer and crew in Duncan Falls, Ohio for the wonderful hospitality and fine work they did on my car...Thanks again gang....BILL RQB3263

Bill,

My Corvette drag racing buddies and I have been doing your airflow fix for over 40 years. The geometry is a little different and not as easy to raise the latches so we just made a 'cone extension' tip that does the same thing raising the hood about 2 inches for the track.

Your 1/2" latch raise is much easier on the Avanti.

Joe

Edited June 21, 2015 by Devildog

[wildfelr]

rqb3263 HAS ELECTRIC COOLING FANS ....2 @ at 12 " dia each fully aluminum shrouded.....and a third on the front 3000 cfm on the ac condenser (very necessary) wired thru a relay from the a/c compressor power wire.....the orig. fan and shroud are removed....160 degree thermostat with holes drilled in it ...trand cooler removed from radiator and installed in free air under radiator behind spoiler....(Pics avail) ...all pollution control removed...180 on ..165 off thermostat fan control on thermostat housing...Stewart high flow water pump...on my recent 3300 mile road trip never saw higher than 190 stuck in traffic...I have also switched permanently to Shell Rotella T 15w40 oil....it has the necessary zinc additive removed from auto oil.....BILL

[wildfelr]

Fortunately the Avanti hinges in the front or it wouldnt be possible ....RQB3263