Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) HOT LEGS!

Driving though France ion the current heatwave has been interesting - pleased to say that the engine temperature stayed BELOW 100*C throughout - but we did suffer from the heat in the footwells...…..

This is probably a really old question, but how do people manage to keep their feet cool(er) when it's hot outside?

Yes Arthur , this is a perennial problem.

Modern engines are designed to run hot to keep emissions down, so the heat flows back towards the passenger compartment. Great for keeping you warm on winter drives, but not so good in this scorching weather.

There are various methods that folks have tried . One is to use an insulation material under the covers of the transmission tunnel and bulkhead. Another is to make sure that there is nowhere for the hot air to enter the passenger space from the gearbox or handbrake by fully sealing these. Yet another is to use extension clips for the rear mountings, so that the hot air bleeds out from the back of the bonnet.

Finally there is now the option of air conditioning, perhaps a bit more tricky as a retrofit to an older car , but should be possible. The Rover engine in your +4 would almost certainly have driven an a/c compressor in its saloon environment, it may be tricky to site all the components , but where there is a will there may be a way.

You could of course just sit back and relish the fact that we are at last getting a summer worth having. Long may it continue, brown grass is getting very "on trend" don't you know

Well said Reg, just lie back and think of England and be thankful we have had a summer this time around .

Excess heat in the cab enters via the intake where there is a foam filter and cowl beneath the bonnet. Placing a piece of folded up paper or rag immediately under the bonnet hinge and heightening the rubber seal against the bonnet goes a long way to block it out from the engine bay. A folded newspaper to block the whole intake also helps (easily removed once back in cooler climes).

I wouldn't have thought stuffing rolled up news paper in the engine bay very safe? What would happen if it it became dislodged and fell onto the exhaust manifold?

Drive a bit faster.

I know it sounds daft but if you are driving with the side screens on with the roof down (in my case because is on board) then opening the windows help.
I also built a foam piece to fill the gap where the hear intake is open due to the bonnet hinge.

Thanks for all the replies - most useful!

Back in England, with the change in the weather, I'm forgetting why I posted my question in the first place, but I do need to do something to reduce the amount of heat in the footwells, so thanks again.


Back in the day, I bought an ex-military Land Rover Series 2A at a sale up in Lancashire, which, to say the least, was BASIC (Bare metal everywhere), so I will probably try a mix of suggestions, including fixing insulating wadding/material against the 'accessible' sections of the engine compartment bulkhead and trying to minimise the amount of 'leakage around the air-intakes for the fan unit under the bonnet.


I will probably check whether or not the temperature adjuster valve is fully closed when I push the lever in.....you never know!

Morgie is safely tucked up in the garage right now, so, when the right time presents itself, I'll get down & dirty.

Watch this space!

Quick update:

I did my yoga to get under the driver’s side footwell, &, guess what - the heater control cable DID NOT shut the heat off.......... a bit of adjustment on the outer cable & now, when I push the lever in, the heater shuts off!

NEXT - rip out the carpets and check the bulkhead & gearbox casing for insulation (Probably none!)