[blueray72]

Has anyone come up with a way to shield the alternator and MC from heat? I'm going to wrap my headers, but I'd like to difuse more heat. It's damn hot in that tight compartment.

 

[DeeVeeEight]

I wouldn't worry about the headers heating up the alternator and master cylinder. I might be more concerned about the starter being affected by heat from the exhaust.

 

[bojvette]

I think that the starter would need more help the anything else !! I am not to sure about wrapping the headers old school was to do that !! but you really dont see it done anymore >> dont know the reason maybe some one else does ??

 

[worship79]

I think that the starter would need more help the anything else !! I am not to sure about wrapping the headers old school was to do that !! but you really dont see it done anymore >> dont know the reason maybe some one else does ??

Looks and wrapping seems to cause more/earlier rust.

For the starter you can get metal shields or an insulating bag which you wrap around it. However, since the starter is attached to your engine, it will get hot from heat coming through the block anyway. Seemingly best solution is to move the solenoid to a cooler place. Haven't done this myself, when my starter (stock one, so not bad: 27 year life) died I replaced it with a high-torque mini starter. No (starter) problems so far :thumbsup:

 

[Red]

Has anyone come up with a way to shield the alternator and MC from heat? I'm going to wrap my headers, but I'd like to difuse more heat. It's damn hot in that tight compartment.

As already stated, no need to worry about the MC and alternator, as heat will first cause starter and vapor lock issues. After that the heat becomes more personal as your interior comfort will be at risk. After breaking out in a sweat and having my engine quit in traffic due to vapor lock, I decided to do something productive. I wrapped my exhaust from the headers back with exhaust wrap. My relatively new exhaust was first painted with a high heat silicone paint while out of the car, and then installed. Then, I had the vapor lock problem and decided to wrap it all up while the headers and pipes were installed. There was a heat shield on my GM started, so there was no problem with heat soak.

Wrapping the headers was the most difficult, but I had learned a trick that came in handy. When you make a wrap around a bend, you need to twist the wrap back over itself. This may need to be repeated a few times as you work your way around a tubing bend. The folding over of the wrap keeps it tight as you go around the bend. The wrap must be done tightly.

You can buy s/s tie wraps from Harbor Freight for $4.98 a pack of 25. I haven't found s/s tie wraps that lock well every time, so I came up with a way to fold the wrap back to lock itself.

With this addition the interior temps have dropped significantly and no-more vapor lock, and my composite rear spring is well protected from damaging high heat. The paint must be helping prevent rust because I haven't seen any, and the car has been driven through several heavy rain storms. My system used five rolls of wrap going back to the mufflers. I did need to make a skid shield to protect the pipes from shredding where they go under the rear spring.

The shield consisted of a 1 1/4 inch aluminum strap from a building supply store and a few hose clamps to hold them on. These are needed if you are using the stock under car exhaust system.

 

[682XLR8]

Wouldn't having the headers aluminized help keep the heat down?

 

[Ttype83]

Jetcoating will help with the heat.

 

[TimAT]

The headers on my Vette are wrapped. Not really pretty, but it does work. It did make the underhood temp a bit lower, but the BB throws so much heat anyway it's crazy. And the wrap made spark plug access even worse than it was to start. But remember, this is a BB with 2-1/4 primary tubes too.My car hasn't seen rain in 25 years, so rust is not a factor. I do have a set of JetHot sterling coated headers waiting for the next time I either pull the heads or pull the engine. My thinking is that, aside from the coated headers looking better, there should be a little better plug access. (I hope!!) And past that, I also think the thermal efficency may be a bit better since the headers are coated inside too.

:cheers:

 

[blueray72]

My headers are ceramic coated and it's still throwing off way too much heat. I'm not worried about the finish on the headers. Since they get so hot the finish has become dull. I don't believe I'm running too lean.

Thanks for the wrapping tips Red. I've seen a few pictures of headers that were wrapped and I think that's my best bet for now. For some reason the heat is only right above the headers, not on top of the manifold or in front of the engine. I think that's the only reason I haven't had vapor lock.

 

[TwinTurbo]

I have this on my log manifolds (the gold colored shields). Maybe an idea???
BTW all 81 and up cars w/ tubular exhaust manifolds came w/ shields.