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Here is how I ventilate the bellhousings. I also dust the convertors with flat black paint to increase their emissivity. The vast majority of heat is generated in the convertor during accel, so I like to get rid of as much as I can at the source.

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Ross, thanks for the picture. Makes sense to me. What do kind of hole saw blade do you use on the cast iron?

Interesting idea, I can see how that would work great. But, do you worry about dirt etc getting in there - either gumming up the works or just coating everything and sort of defeating the purpose?

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I'm not a physicist so please excuse a dumb question but what would flat back paint have to do with it? Wouldn't any painted coating regardless of color or gloss (or lack of it) hold heat in? I do not see the physics here. As I understand it, emissivity relates to reflectiveness of light, particularly infrared, which means the color or glossiness/flatness makes a difference only in light, not for something hidden under a car.

I'm not a physicist either, but I am a "rocket scientist". Here's the wikipedia description of "black body radiation", which explains the phenomenon from a physics point of view:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body_radiation

This article is kind of "techie", but the color one paints something does affect the thermal absorption/radiation. A vehicle is a geometrically complex object so the thermal emissivity of said vehicle would be hard to calculate. As to what actual effect it would have on the performance of said vehicle is probably minimal compared to thermal effects of the radiator, etc.

Craig

Well Craig taking a little liberty to stray off point and also being a "rocket scientist" (fuels and propellants for rocket engines with Rocketdyne 40+ years), what was your area of endeavor in the field?

Marston Quote:

Well, you asked.

USAF Academy B.S. in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science (double major)

Purdue University M.S. in Astronautics

NASA Apollo program 7 thru 12 in Landing & Recovery Division which included during Apollo 7 & 8 training the US Navy how to recover Apollo Command modules from the ocean and then Apollo 9 thru 12 in the Mission Control Center in Houston during those missions and particularly the landing phase in the ocean (usually Pacific).

USAF Defense Support Program (DSP) which was a geosynchronous detection satellite which provided real-time sensing of ICBM, IRBM or SLBM missile launches against the entire North American continent. This system was so good that it still exists today. My job as a Captain (O-3) was as Orbital Operations Officer which meant anytime we had to maneuver the DSP satellite somewhere for whatever reason, I had to supervise and coordinate that.

BTW, my opinion of rocket fuel and propellant guys is of the highest order!

After the "rocket science" stuff, I got into cars. LOL!

Craig

P.S. BigKev: sorry for hijacking your thread.

Just shy of 40K on my 56 with that mod and peering through the holes the convertor looks exactly the same--being dry, there is nothing to attract dust. The benefit is that the car shifts always the same whether I just pulled it out of the garage or have been driving in stop and go. I have never measured the temp but hot Ultras usually begin to flub their shifts.

Craig thank you for your service. I graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry minor in Physics. Worked as an Analytical Chemist developing analytical methods for fuels and later managing several labs for Rocketdyne. In my early life a lot of time was committed to the Apollo Program supporting main engine programs for all stages and the lunar ascent engine.

Retired in 2005 after 39 years. I still provide some support to the test site where I worked as a contract labor person in the cleanup of a 2800 acre facility located 40 NW of Los Angeles.

The wife and I attended a Shuttle launch as A NASA honoree in 2003. We had breakfast under a Saturn 5 Rocket (all 360 feet)following the launch.

Marston Quote:

No rocket as impressive as the Saturn V, ever. But after 1972, the brainiacs in WashDC decided that we should THROW AWAY all that proven tech and design a space shuttle. How'd that work out? 14 dead astronauts is how. I'll get off my soap box now.

Craig