orvette engines—small-blocks
and big-blocks, alike—put out
a lot of heat. A highly desirable
mission is arresting the migra-
tion of heat from the engine
compartment to the passenger compartment.
Preventing heat from entering the cockpit is
good for any Corvette, but is critically impor-
tant on non air-conditioned ones. In this article
we’ll look at repairing and/or improving a
number of things to make your Corvette’s
interior more enjoyable when cruising on
warm days.
One often-overlooked problem area is
the shifter boot. The culprit is not the pretty
leather boot that you see; it’s the rubber boot
that hides underneath. This rubber part fre-
quently tears with age and then it’s like having
a hair dryer on high blowing into your interior.
Out of view under the shifter console, this vir-
tual heat pump can go undetected for years.
The rubber grommets and seals on the
firewall are usual suspects, too. The rubber
shrinks and cracks with age allowing hot
air to pass by. Fortunately, these and many
other hard-to-find items for C1s through
C4s are available from Paragon Corvette
Reproductions.
Compared to other jobs, most of these
repairs and improvements are easy, inexpen-
sive and quick. Plus, reducing the heat seeping
into your interior is not a massive project that
once started sidelines your car until finished.
You can do each item separately whenever
a little time is available. Regardless of what
generation Corvette you own, these tips show
ways to keep your cockpit cooler. VETTE
BY JOHN PFANSTIEHL (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
Beat the Heat
Easy repairs for a cooler cockpit
[ TECH]
01
This inexpen-
sive weather-
strip greatly reduces
the amount of very
hot air escaping from
under the hood.
Without this hood
weatherstrip, hot
engine air enters the
passenger compart-
ment via the cowl
vents or windows.
Source
Paragon Corvette Reproductions
(800) 882-4688
http://www.paragoncorvette.com