Has anyone used or made any carb heat sheilds and you run them on the street?
Did they help? If so, could you post a picture?

Thanks

Yup, to isolate the carb from manifold heat; seemed to help, but that was years ago, and gasoline is formulated differently now. If you're having a vapor-lock problem it's worth doing.
GM probably still sells them for Holley and Quadrajet (spread-bore) applications.

They may help to keep hot air from entering the carb intake - if your suckin from under the hood. Otherwise, they make great heat sinks, especially during shut down ( heat soak conditions).

You have to have some big-time severe HEAT from the crossover to need one of those !

And I am a firm believer in crossover-heat ...and on my motorhome .. In fact - I have that crossover section INSULATED so I do not lose any heat. A nice toasty intake insures the best atomization of air and fuel and even H20 .. if you partake in that.

I just have a minor issue after shutdown so I am thinking outloud about making my own after looking at the ones from Holley.
I would like to make one out of a wood laminate similar to the wood carb spacers but much thinner. I can also make one out of sheet metal but I am considering this to be a heat sink. I already have my cardboard template made and now I just need to pick my material.

Thanks for the replies.

I was having a small problem in real hot weather that if I touched my gas pedal while starting it would flood real easy. I installed one of the plastic style 4 hole 1" spacers. Night and day as it cured the problem and I mean it really did the trick. If I forget and hit the gas pedal now when hot it still starts fine. The heat shield is also a good idea but you might try one of the plastic style spacers also. Ron

What Wild said .

I already have a 3/4" plastic spacer and it works very well. But if I can make my own deflector that would help even more.

EDIT:
I am currently planning on using a meterial called "Tuffak" polycarbonate.
I have a 1/4" thick sheet of it and it's "Service Temperature" is 250-270 degrees F which should work well under the hood. It is clear and should blend in well without sticking out like a sore-thumb.
Any comments on using this material under the hood?

Thanks

Thanks for the replies.

I have seen them in the JY on slant powered trucks from the 80's.

Cardboard coated with a silvery aluminum?

Are you planning on placing the deflector on top of your current spacer (keeping the 3/4" spacer in place)? Or are you thinking of removing the 3/4" spacer and just using the deflector?

I can only use 3/4" total spacing, so I am going to have to pull the current 3/4" unit out and then I will add in two of my Cometic gasket/insulators which are thinner.
So I will have a Cometic spacer/insulator above and another Cometic spacer/insulator below the heat sheild when I am done. This way the sheild has a spacer/insulator on both sides and then my total height stays below the 3/4" total.

hmm...I have some 1/4" lexan...I wonder how that would work as a heat deflector for my occasional vapor lock problem, with a thin gasket on either side (I can't go much more than 1/4" with spacers)

Patrick,
The Tuffak polycarbonate and the Lexan are VERY similar in properties.
With the temperature ratings well into the mid 200's, I would think that this material would work well for a deflector. Plus with it being clear in color, it may not look too bad on a stock appearing street motor.

So, the polycarbonite and/or the lexan stuff would probably control heat better than aluminum wouldn't it? Not just for the deflection, but also for absorbing less heat also also???

EDIT: I guess what I'm saying is that the heat from the intake manifold is still gonna spread to the front and rear lengths of the shield, because the shield is still mounted directly to the intake, however, will the poly or lexan hold less heat than the aluminum???

I honestly don't know if the polycarbonate is better or worse than the aluminum for heat dissapation. I am mainly looking at the ease of fabrication of the poly versus the aluminum. I can use a jigsaw and a drill to do all of the cutting and since I already have the material, it will be cheaper than to buy one new. I can also fab mine to fit around my carb and I can make it as big/little as I want. With the aluminum or wood or the phenolic, they would be more difficult for me to modify at home. This way I can cut and cut until I get what I want with simple tools and I know that the service temperature is 240 degrees plus.

Use a wood spacer between the carb and intake, worked wonders for me.

I did not want to use the wood material because the one in my stash still has stains around the inside square from the fuel that used to pass thru to the intake. I don't like that they absorb the fuel. I know that they definately would help with the heat transfer though.
I got mine cutout this morning but I did not get a chance to put it on. When I was measuring for the final size, I noticed that my top radiator hose was very close to my front bowl which could have been a heat issue. I ended up cutting about 2 inches off the length of that hose and rotating it around towards the front of the motor to get it away from the bowl.

How long is that stuff going to stay clear on a hot engine? Will it yellow over time from the heat?

Aluminum must work fairly well as a heat shield, chrysler used it around mufflers, cats and turbos over the years. I'm just wondering how much heat will soak right through your shield and into the carb...

Daytona,
Good questions. I am not sure but I will find out. If this material does change in form, I still have my cardboard template to make another one out of another material.

Note:
The company that I work for uses this material in industrial electrical cabinets for our machines that we design. The cabinets get to 120 degrees inside and these sheilds are used over the hottest units (transformers, etc.) I know that the engine compartment gets hotter than that but I want to give it a shot and see. I like the idea of a clear guard but I am not sure if it will hold up or not. If it stays straight but loses its color, I will paint it with the wrinkle finish so it matches my air cleaner assembly.

EDIT:
I found this in the spec for this material:
""Service Temperature
The allowable continuous service temperature for TUFFAK A polycarbonate is 250-270°F.in dry air: and 140°F. in water or
100 RH air.""

""Tuffak polycarbonate sheet offers an unmatched combination and balance of properties which includes: outstanding strength, transparency, light weight, flexibility, heat resistance, flame retar- dancy, durability and safety.""