Floorboard sealing and heat insulating for race car

Hey GRM,

This is my first post to the forum, but I have been a longtime subscriber and lurker :)

I need some ideas on the best (cheapest) and effective (easiest) way to seal the floorboards on a mid 70's camaro. We are prepping the car for Lemon's and Chump.

The floorboards are pretty much gone from a long life an asphalt bomber. What is left of the boards is covered with riveted aluminum and has numerous large holes. The floorboards are so bad the that PO suspended the seat from the roll cage rather than bolting to the floor.

Now, we are left with the task of "repairing" the floorboards of the car. The plan is to get some sheet steel and weld in a sold piece into the car, but we need some way of sealing the seam and also insulating the driver compartment.

All I have come up with at this point is Fiberglass or Rhino liner of some kind. Anyone have a good solution? Thank you for the input.

Nordic

Hey, Nordic.

Welcome to the board... Kind of...

I say, berkeley the heat reduction, thats weight reduction, but if I were in your sneakers, I'd call some salesmen and let them battle it out with facts. A spray on or roll on lining sounds like a great option. In fact, I'll be lining a firewall with bedliner... Possibly...

Let us know where this goes.

We run exactly no heat/noise barrier in our Chump car. When its hot enough that you want to be cooler, a little bit of insulation on the floor isn't going to help much. When its cold enough that you want to be warmer, a little bit of insulation on the floor isn't going to help much. Such are the joys of no heat or AC and no side or back glass.

Get the floors solid enough to keep gravel and tire chunks from finding the driver, use some silicone caulk on the seams if you really feel the need. Extra material is extra weight.

First priority = get the floors solid enough for safety.

We don't have any insulation either in our LeMons cars. Wanna keep from overheating? Three words for you:

Homemade cool shirt.

Pure awesomeness.

I agree with John - but - when it literally has many holes, you may find it's dusty and annoying to have things blowing about. If you're worried, and it has to be cheap, look here and read.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/alternative-lizard-skin-103610-20.html

While we all agree that weight reduction in a race-car is a good thing, you should not underestimate the value of comfort in your work environment and the ability to concentrate on the job as an asset to winning a race.

If your mind wanders off due to a second of lamenting the working conditions, you might end up in a bad place. Or, if the heat gets to you, you cross a mental line where you just want out of the car and in effect stop racing.

Heat control is a science. There are three types of heat transfer. One is direct contact of components, The second is Infrared, and the third is convection.

first one is easy, don't let hot parts touch cold parts directly. Second involves a shiny surface between the heat and the floor The third involves an air gap between the heat source and the reflective shield.

A polished piece of 22 awg stainless is not going to add much weight for what it returns in driver comfort.

Lexan side and rear windows are the easiest, cheapest, highest-return investment (comfort/performance) that we haven't made to our Chumpcar yet. Solid up the floor and hit it with Rustoleum. Then get busy on windows.

If it's cold, you wont notice. If it's hot, you'll wish you had a cool shirt...best thing ever. I've never been too cold in a race car, but I've definitely been too hot.

I use polyurethane roof flashing sealer for seam sealer, works great, its basically the same stuff with a longer dry time and a much lower price.

The floor board in my car would get so hot it kept melting my shoe. I moved the exhaust a couple inches and put a heat shield where it was closest to my leg. Made a big difference, but hey its a racecar. On a hot August night I am a puddle for most of the night.

Why not just use seam sealer?