Has anyone used the Cool Carb heat sheilds? I am considering one and I was curious if there is any feedback on them.

http://www.coolcarb.com/photos.html

Thanks

I used that kind of thing 30 years ago, except mine was a 4 hole version. Mine used something like 6 gaskets.

I only used it for a couple of years. I eventually felt that there was too much of a chance for vacuum leaks since I was learning about carbs and was always removing/reinstalling while trying ideas that were new to me.

Kind of looks like a cool idea, but I learned that I really didn't need it.

I made three different heat shield versions last year and my last version was long like the one shown in the picture. It did help keep the heat off of the bowls while at idle speeds and after the engine was shut off. I know the idea works and now I want to buy one for a permanent setup. I like the idea of having the layers of aluminum with the other material in between them. The aluminum would make the piece stiff enough and not crack while the other material will help with heat transfer.

Thanks for your response.

They work, especially with Holleys, which seem to get more heat-soak than Carters. You can find them on Ebay, at Summit or Jeg's, or in the Holley catalog. They don't need more than one paper gasket on each side, which I lightly grease for easy removal and to prevent any tiny air/vacuum leaks.

I would be interested in seeing what the difference in temp at the carb main body with and without this type of gasket. It would be measured with an IR temp probe to some degree of accuracy. I would imagine that something like would be beneficial, especially with the quality of gasoline these days.

The three home-made-units that I tested last year (during Spring/Summer/Fall) were long and wide, similar to the one in the picture. I do not have an actual temperature for your reference, but I did drive my car around and then raise the hood to find the carb cool to touch while it was idling. Keep in mind that my Challenger dual snorkle hood has the two vents open so the outside air is coming into the hood while driving (50 deg minimum outside temp) which could have had some affect on the temp of the carb. But I was surprised to find such a temperature difference between the carb and the motor though. Even after a while of driving, the carb was warm but definately not close to being hot. Then after the engine had been shut off and it started to heat soak, my fuel bowls (glass sights) only raised about 1/8". This was enough proof for me to try and have a permanent shield in place by this coming Spring.

Note: I just checked Summit and the three that they show are not as wide or as wide/long as the one that Cool Carb is showing. I found that when the shield is stretched beyond the front/rear of the bowls is when they seemed worked the best. This makes the hot air from the intake go out and then up around the carb when rising instead if going straight up under the bowls.

I attached a picture showing my second revision. It may be a little hard to see because it is clear.

Just be careful, I had the heat sink material in one melt. I'll try and post pics later. In all fairness, I guess my engine did get hot, but hot enough to melt the heat sink? I don't know......

I put a 1/4" thick one on my 69 GTX & it fit and worked well for me.

I think your best bet is to use a material that is not heat conductive. Aluminum is very temperature sensitive, and ATTRACTS heat just as fast as it draws heat away. When you park hot, the plate will draw heat towards the carb if the carb is cooler than the engine when you stop. Not what you want. There is some "heat sink" effect with the large surface area, but I'd bet your plexiglass shield is better than aluminum.

The plexiglass worked well but it kept cracking. All three cracked between the mounting holes and the inside thoat cutout. I used radii in all corners but it still cracked.
The Cool Carb design in multi layered. I assume that that the middle layer is a heat sink. I have stayed away from aluminum in the past due to the heat conductivity, and this is why the CC got my attention. I would love to use a phenolic piece but I have not found one made of phenolic that is the shape of the CC unit which I know works.

Okay, I didn't look at the link in your first post. With the insulation in between the aluminum layers, it should block heat transfer pretty good.

I called and talked to the guy at Cool Carb today. He has a thicker heat shield that is not shown on his websight. I bought it plus a spacer to go under my QF carb. I will show pictures once I have it installed.
He had a cool history behind the material that he uses. In a short version, he is a machinist and a buddy needed him to make him a heat sheild and he did not have any aluminum sitting around so he used some of the material that his company created for heat sink material. He machined one out of this material (aluminum/heat sink/aluminum) and it worked to keep the heat off of the carb for his buddy's race car. So he started making the sheilds and spacers for other racing buddies then then after he retired, he started making spacers for all kinds of carbs and now he sells them on his websight. He was very nice and explained to me about the above and about the parts that were not on his site.
I will give an update and pictures next week after they are installed. This picture shows the set that I bought but this one shows the thinner shield. The thicker ones are bronze colored. My goal is to just keep this crapty gas cooler for my street car.

Here's a pic of mine.

another

Dixie,
How hot did that thing get? That material is supposed to be good to 300 degrees.
How long ago did this happen?

Thanks

I installed it in Aug of 2011, and removed it in November of 2011.

Don't know how hot it got, but the gauge never pegged. Could the gauge be off? Maybe, I bought a restored set and put it in, but I guess it could be wrong. The car did get hot, I found this because I tore it down to rebuild it for other reasons. I just happened to find this while taking it apart.

I spoke to the guy at cool carb and he said he had this happen only once before, and it was also with a BB Mopar. My reason for posting about it is to recommend you keep an eye on it. If you don't overheat, you'll probably be fine.

Dixie,
Thanks for the heads up. I will keep an eye on it.

I installed my set today. I opted for the extra thick shield and the standard spacer.

I had been tuning my carb and ignition right after I installed the set and after I was done tuning (apx 20 minutes) the carb was "cool" to the touch while the engine was to temp with a 195 thermostat. It was weird when the bowls were cold and the engine had been idling for that long.
After I shut it down, I kept watching the fuel levels in the bowls to see how high they would go while the engine was heating up. Both bowls only raised about 1/16". After about 15 minutes of heat soak when I knew the carb was getting warmer (1/16" of fuel rise), I touched both of the bowls and the shield and they were finally warm but definately not hot. I restarted the car about an hour later with no issues.

I bought one for $25 at Carlisle. An hour into my drive home here's what it looked like (my friend bought one too...his melted so bad it stuck his carb open and we had to stop and his looked like mine too)