55 virgin drive.! Floor hot, heats up when parked

[Max888]

My first road trip after motor refresh

Motor heats up when parked and running.

Floor is HOT, really hot. Are these supposed to have heat shields over the exhaust

It's smoking a little but this is really first drive , I'm hoping it's just breaking in.

Mixed emotions half happy have concerned

:( :)

[MarkR]

Baby bird floors are known for getting hot. Even the shifters can get uncomfortable. Muffler shields were not original but are available and can help. You can also add insulation under the jute pad. I’ve not seen much difference in my cars with or without shields and insulation but Vegas is not a good testing ground.

[Rusty57]

Congratulations on getting your car on the road again! There are too many times when what starts as a minor project ends with the car still in pieces.

If the smoke coming out the tailpipes or from under the hood and car? If it is from underneath then I expect it is just stuff burning off the exhaust and engine from handling parts with oily or dirty hands. Not unusual at all when an engine is removed and put back into a car.

If it is out the tail pipe keep an eye on it. Try to determine if it is oil or water or maybe running too rich. Let us know.

As far as heat, that can be subjective. One of the best tool purchases I made was a $30 infrared temperature gun at Harbor Freight. It takes a lot of guess work out of how hot things are.

If you search this forum I am sure you will find lots of posts about trying to control the heat radiating into the car. People install heat barriers under the carpet. There are aftermarket shields that fit over the mufflers.

Not knowing the work you had done to the engine, I would recommend that you not let it sit and idle for long periods of time. A rebuilt or reworked engine needs to experience varying speeds and loads to make new parts wear together and properly circulate the oil and coolant. Drive it! And not just around the block.

[Max888]

I wrote another post hopefully it will not go through.

It's smoking out the pipes, but hardly noticeable my buddy followed me to the apholstry shop and said when I excellerated he could see a little smoke. I'll consult with a mechanic.

When I refreshed motor I did not check the thermostat. I just bought a new 160 degree and will put that rascal in tomorrow maybe that will help the heat issue.

Refreshed : took heads to machine shop, honed cylinders, rings and rod bearings. You could tell the motor had been done before and if I knew what it looked like probably would have not done it but I had it apart sooo.

[ICON 1956]

Last Sunday I was waiting in the parade line to get the Carl Benz award. The car was in neutral for long periods of time. These cars do not like to stay in one spot for long. the temp goes up quickly, I can feel the shifter stem get hot. So when it was my turn to accept the award once I was going everything seemed to cool down but not much as long I had air going through the motor....

[willcarter]

The floor and shifter of my 57 do get rather warm, but even on days when it’s hot outside I wouldn’t say they get “hot” as you describe yours doing. It’s all subjective, but when you say yours is “HOT, really hot,” to me that sounds like “too hot to touch for any length of time” (for the shifter) and “I can feel significant heat through the bottom of my shoes” (for the floor). Neither is true for my 57: as to the floor, my feet definitely feel warm when driving on hot days, but nothing I can feel through the bottom of my shoes. As yo the shifter: I happened to be wearing shorts the last time I drove it, which was the first time I ever drove it on a hot day wearing shorts. It was definitely warm against my bare leg, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable at all.

Anyway, just wanted to offer this as a frame of reference (of course, the 57 and the 55 might be sufficiently different in design that the comparison isn’t apt; I’m not sure).

My first road trip after motor refresh

Motor heats up when parked and running.

Floor is HOT, really hot. Are these supposed to have heat shields over the exhaust

It's smoking a little but this is really first drive , I'm hoping it's just breaking in.

Mixed emotions half happy have concerned

:( :)

[Rusty57]

Thanks for the additional details about the work done to refresh the motor.

You need to really drive that car to seat the rings! That is why you are seeing some oil smoke out the pipes.

[55blacktie]

There's very little difference from the interior, forward, from 55-57. Other than engine options, 6V to 12V, and Fordomatic transmission being water-cooled, beginning in late 56, the biggest differences are the Continental kit for 56 and the larger trunk for 57. People complained that the 55 trunk was too small/w spare tire taking up too much space. So, the spare was moved to the back of the car in 56. Then people complained that the 56 spare was too difficult to access, which led to the larger trunk for 57. All three years have mufflers directly under the passenger compartment.

[JimCunn]

"hen I excellerated he could see a little smoke"

What color?
White, blue/gray, or black?

[Max888]

He said hardly visible light color white or gray

[Joe Johnston]

When I had my 56 and 57 rebuilt (different shops) BOTH said after the initial camshaft break in, to drive it like you stole it. Drive it at least 50 miles. Different speeds. Accelerate hard as it will go and then at 70 downshift and let the engine compression work to slow it down. Then repeat several times. Its the compression and temps that help seat the cast iron rings. Just putting around will not do it. I let the 57 sit for a week after the cam break in and had 2 lifters stick. The shop had me drive it hard and it's been fine ever since. We tend to be easy on these engines, and while we don't have to beat them to death, a bit of aggressive driving is good. Just my opinion and yours may vary.

[Max888]

Thunder road.

I'll haul moonshine

Thanks, I'll let you know how it turns out

[Rusty57]

I agree with Joe. You need to drive it aggressively to get those rings and valves seated.

[paul2748]

Make sure that the initial timing is right. Should be 6 to 10 degrees advanced. If retarded, it can cause the engine to overheat. Check timing with the distributor vacuum advance disconnected and the hose from the carb plugged.

[Daddio]

Regarding radiated exhaust heat thru the floor. Someone on the TBird forum mentioned an exhaust supplier who puts the mufflers nearer the rear of the car, not directly under the seats. Perhaps where the resonators are normally located?