Hot socks, no more palm branding.

[Barry Wolk]

Have you ever driven through a tank of gas at 75 mph? That was 5 hours for me. I literally branded my palm once after pulling into a gas station. The exhaust system is specifically designed to contain the heat of the engine through the use of thick cast iron exhaust manifolds that lead into stainless steel heat wrap. They wanted the heat out of the engine compartment. Shortly after the heat wrap ends the door sill begins and all that heat wants to radiate, but the pipe is pretty well confined to the space between the rocker and the frame. Heat rises+over time+common mistake=burned palm.

I never got around to doing mine, but when I did the mechanical on the aqua car I suggested these. They are woven socks made of a heat containing weave of glass fiber. They don't feel like fiberglass at all. The maker sold most of his stuff to hotrodders and drag car fans. came with stainless steel ties. The owner of the aqua car said they worked great. Unfotunately, I don't recall the maker.

I read in Elmer's notes that the newly created pathway for cool air to the trunk ran down the center of the rocker, with only a piece of sheet metal between them. I've not had one apart, but it sounds like they ran a fiberglass tube between ends and stuffed the remains of the rocker cavity with more insulation material. It would seem these would help an a/c car achieve lowered temps if radiant heat was reduced.

23369

I used two layers. It made the car quieter, yet.

[Milsteads Garage]

Where exactly in the exhaust system are these to be placed? Just along where the exhaust runs under the cab or the whole thing running into the engine compartment?

[Barry Wolk]

Where exactly in the exhaust system are these to be placed? Just along where the exhaust runs under the cab or the whole thing running into the engine compartment?

Just under the sill, where they can't be seen. They slide over the tube in two layers.

[Mark Norris]

I notice you did this and so I did similar when I replaced the exhaust system on 3186. I used normal (black) exhaust wrap in a butted spiral (ie . not overlapped) and secured it with metal tie wraps (1 perf foot) from the end of the stainless flex pipe to the inlet of the resonator. The rockers still get warm but I guess it keeps the damp out. I read somewhere that the rockers were made of a more corrosion resistant harder steel?

[Barry Wolk]

I notice you did this and so I did similar when I replaced the exhaust system on 3186. I used normal (black) exhaust wrap in a butted spiral (ie . not overlapped) and secured it with metal tie wraps (1 perf foot) from the end of the stainless flex pipe to the inlet of the resonator. The rockers still get warm but I guess it keeps the damp out. I read somewhere that the rockers were made of a more corrosion resistant harder steel?

I happen to have a set of cross-section drawings. The body panels are .036 and the metal of the pan and surrounding area of the exhaust is .048, maybe that's what they meant. Other than stainless I know of no other corrosion resistant steel in that era.

23372

[Mark Norris]

Hunting around I managed to find the reference to a special steel used for the rockers. In the very interesting technical paper on the Mark II presented by H. F. Copp (of Ford) to the SAE Annual Meeting in January 1956 he states;

"Both the inner and outer rocker panels are made of corrosion-resistant, copper bearing steel and the inner surfaces of the box section are bonderized and painted as extra insurance against corrosion"

Apparently its an established property among materials engineers;

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13369-020-05083-4

[Barry Wolk]

Hunting around I managed to find the reference to a special steel used for the rockers. In the very interesting technical paper on the Mark II presented by H. F. Copp (of Ford) to the SAE Annual Meeting in January 1956 he states;

"Both the inner and outer rocker panels are made of corrosion-resistant, copper bearing steel and the inner surfaces of the box section are bonderized and painted as extra insurance against corrosion"

Apparently its an established property among materials engineers;

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13369-020-05083-4


Great info.