Five Window

I have seen many pictures of the underbodies of midyears with what appear to be shields screwed to the frame and floor pan in front of the lower firewall on both sides. My '66 has no holes in the frame for the mounting of these shields. What are they called, and did all cars have them?
Also, did '66 coupes have side seat belt cables or just a central one? My side belts appear to bolt to the frame directly (though I have to admit I haven't looked too closely).

Thanks

wombvette

Yes, It should have the splash shields. There should be a bracket at the front lower part of the tunnel and bolt holes down the inside edge of the frame.

66jack

did you look on the BOTTOM of the frame...?

there are 2 locations for sheilds innner and outer....

the outer bolts to the frame along with a bracket that is riveted to the body at the lower portion of the fier wall in the floorpan transition.

the inner sheild bolts to the inner fender and along the edge of the side fender if i remember.


jack

Paul L

These are the inner splash shields. They mount to the frame in front of the firewall. The louvers are a mod and non-GM-issue designed to carry engine heat away from the firewall and under the car.

w1ctc

I think the main purpose for these shields is to catch dropped tools, screws, bolts and other small parts and hide them

Blkblt

If anyone can post pics of these shields in place, it would be appreciated by those of us with '66s without them.

Thanks in advance!

macdarren

I am with w1ctc, I never found these to prevent any meaningful splashing and I have certainly driven in rain. They do catch tools and parts you drop but small things can be a pain to fish out. since my 65 is totally non-stock I just took these out the last time the car was apart. I like the louver idea, but just removing them seems like a better way to get maximum air flow. Does anyone actually these things useful, maybe I will consider reinstalling them if I can find a good reason.

Paul L

OK, directs water up to the main firewall connections at the fusebox. Hence corrosion. Then those "sudden no power" threads.

Viet Nam Vett

Well I left mine out also.. When I dropped the 502 in and had the side pipes welded up to the headers I just left them off. Seems to be ok in the rain....And I mean Heavy Heavy rain..!! Did a few trips on the interstate in the pouring rain..Everything seems ok..

Paul L

Corrosion takes time to develop. Nice to see you over here from CAC, VNV!

tl-vette

i believe i read somewhere that a lot of people took them out for a number of reasons including being able to reach up from under and pop the hood if the cable broke or came unhooked. i had one still in mine when i got it.
TL

Paul L

Yes, that is the way to pop the hood cable. I have done it. But I suggest that GM designed them for a reason. Anyone who has had a fuse box connector failure (me) will know. Even with them in place as in my case. Without, watch out!

Viet Nam Vett

Thanks for the welcome back Paul.. You have a PM

macdarren

good point about the fuse box connectors...I will be sure to seal mine up, and if I can get the shields to fit with the headers maybe I will even reinstall them.

Viet Nam Vett

Ok..Now I'm worried... Didn't think about that Firewall connector......

Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh..!!!!:eek :

ricks327

Besides the water to the fuse block, I thought it was also a stone shield to cut down on the possibility of a large one being kicked up and penetrating the fiberglass footwell.


Rick

Viet Nam Vett

Yeah..wouldn't want to lose my man hood to a 10" Bolder or kill off any sperm production...

macdarren

As I actually have an A/C equiped 65 so I have a big battery try and battery right above the spash shield on the driver side I doubt any significant water will get around that obstacle to the fuse connector. Small rocks probably not a problem either....and in truth I suspect the 3/8 inch of fiberglass has better stoping power than a think piece of sheet metal....Although I conceed GM must have figured it was worth it to include the shields or the would have saved the money, but I know too sometimes things just get included as a good idea and no actual testing was to done to confirm if it really made any difference.

Critter1

If you've ever driven a 63 through standing water at 30 MPH or more, you would immediately understand exactly why the shields were installed on all 64-67 cars. The sound of the water hitting the toe pan is enough to scare the socks off of anyone. Sounds like it's coming right through the floor.

Paul L

I do not have A/C and my battery is on the passenger side.