Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero 8 MK I - Heat / driver cabine

Hi - I have an AERO 8 MK I Year 2002 - I m wondering if someone has a solution for the extreme heat in the passenger room even if the A/C is working.- Thank you for your advise.

Welcome to the madhouse Muelhth1, great choice of car.

Let's assume that your car runs at it's normal operating temperature and that you have the heater turned off!

With the two exhausts running down each side of the cabin and the engine/gearbox through the middle, it is a bit like sitting in an oven isn't it?

Adding additional heat insulation would be a great help on the bulkhead and the transmission tunnel both inside and outside if possible. There are some great self adhesive products available. I have also wondered about adding bonnet extensions to the rear bonnet catches on an Aero. If you haven't seen these, they hold the rear lower corner of the bonnet open. This allows for a better flow of hot air out of the bonnet, but I have no personal experience of these on my car.

I am sure someone better qualified than me will be along soon to offer some more help.

I had a Roadster, the heat in the footwells was excessive, the gear lever was, sometimes, too hot to touch!
So I lined the cockpit completely with Dynamat
https://dynamateurope.com/
The difference was remarkable, both in heat and noise reduction.

We changed to a 2014 Plus 8: the chassis and mechanical side is similar to the Mk 1 Aero 8: there is no noticeable heat soak through the bulkhead or the footwell. BUT there is heat from the hot air under the bonnet that comes in through the heater, especially at low speed in traffic.
It is important that the foam seal strip round the top of the heater box presses tightly on to the under side of the bonnet. I've replaced the foam strip with something more robust (Neoprene foam based). There is no real cure, it is a design flaw of all Morgans, but the amount of heat dumped out by the big BMW V8 makes it more noticeable.

I've considered re-insulating the heater box: the material used by Morgan is effective, but not long lasting.

As Peter outlines heat soak comes through a series of places. I have a Series 2 and the platform/age is mostly the same.

Where the air intake around the top of the heater is open to the engine bay and not sealed hot air gets into the system and so the cabin, it can also smell a little oil/greasy as an indicator. I put some soft foam around the edge of it which pushes very gently against the underside of the bonnet which did improve the air quality.
I assume you are aware that there are two air vents on the bulkhead hidden way in front of the gear lever. I mention it as they are not obvious and you are a new poster. These are closed in general unless I have the A/Con on. They just vent through warm air and often blow directly onto your knees.
The bigger problem is general heating of the alloy chassis which then heats the frame around you in the tub. All if needs is a sealed roof (who am I kidding) and you have a little pressure cooker when pressing on!
The matting Peter points out along with some around the exhaust can improve things. Some people did add vents into the bonnet to vent the heat away quicker. If you get the factory to fit them then do ask them to check the bloke doing it can count (sorry forum joke as one came out with different number of louvres!)
The gearstick can become hot. You can replace it (original was a plastic BMW) with many designs, I used a metal ball, perhaps a mistake as it also gets hot. Just as well it pulls in every gear.

In general the engine temp sits around 90-95C on the S2 with the fans coming in around 95/98 or if the air/con is switched on.

Where are you based ?

- like many others, the foam seal on my Aero had become a little 'crumbly' with age/heat.

I cut a new seal from some neoprene foam rubber, built up in layers.


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In addition, I also replicated the seal on the underside of the bonnet so that the two mate together when closed.

There is a gap in the middle of the bonnet which also needs a little neoprene seal (see the square, end patches on the bonnet seal).

It is all a bit 'trial and error' but certainly seems to have improved things ( a little !) .....

James

Looking at James photos I've realised, for the first time, that the louvres on the Plus 8 are external, in that they are the mirror image of the ones on James S1, so they actively grab air from the outside, bouncing off the windscreen, this photo makes it clear.

No, the M3W isn't mine, (sob, sob)

James, that's a neat bit of neoprene engineering

- thanks Jon; I was hoping for a 'Blue Peter' style 'neoprene user' badge from Dave.......

James

In my experience the air con works well and the cabin stays nice and cool with it blowing on full.
The only issue I find is that the transmission tunnel and chassis seems to heat up after driving for a certain length of time, this isn't much of a problem with the AC on but when you park up for a bit the cabin gets excessively hot very quickly, and it takes a lot longer to cool back down one this has happened.

Thats some nice neoprene James!

Anyone tried piping cool air from outside via an in-line fan into the footwell? If so how was it done and with what equipment?
Cheers!