Splash Shields?
 

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

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.

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

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.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...shields004.jpg

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

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! :thumbs: :cheers:

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.

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

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..:thumbs:

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

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

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!

Thanks for the welcome back Paul.. You have a PM
:thumbs: :cheers:

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.

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

Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh..!!!!:eek :

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

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

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.

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.

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

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ngine06006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...verflow004.jpg

Blkblt

Here are pics from under my 65. Hope this is of use.

DZ

DZ,
Nice pics. I am sure the poster will appreciate. For some reason I do not recall that large ground cable on the passenger side. I'll have to check that in the spring.

Hi Paul67.
Thought that might raise an eyebrow or two! Probably unique to my car. I also had one one from the left side of the block to the top of the steering box of all places. I guess the PO was into grounding! I'll pull the other one somewhere down the road. Doubt I need it. All new LL Harnesses throughout the car last year.

Best regards!

DZ

PS: I really like that green car of yours!

....News Flash.... VNV has Brain Fart..!!!!

I went into the garage to look for my splash shileds so that I could install them. After a 20 min search I found them installed on the Vette.
Forgot that I did put them on....:eek:

Now that's funny! VNV, maybe we can meet some time. My sister lives up in North Jersey. We're about due for a trip up that way.
Sure do miss the trips to "the shore".

DZ

Sounds like a plan DZ.. let me know when your gonna be in the hood:thumbs:

Many thanks, DZ.....:cheers:

Pics say it all in these cases!!

Jeff

Good to see you around again VNV!!! :thumbs: :cheers:

Jeff
"The CCC STILL lives!"

If that's the battery ground cable, it goes under the head of the outboard starter attaching bolt (on a non-A/C car). :thumbs:

That's where mine is. These cars have so many grounds I thought I had missed out on one. In fact I did have one missing until last summer when someone here mentioned that there was a ground cable on the accelerator rod.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../ground002.jpg

I need a replacment set of these sheilds. I cant find them in the LICS catalog or the AIM.

What are they called and who sells them?

You have been playing around with that Hummer too long !!!!

They're underbody splash shields - all the vendors have them; I'm in Florida and don't have my A.I.M., but as I recall, they're in UPC 1 Bolt/Weld somewhere. :thumbs:

splash shields
 

I'm glad someone asked this question . I bought my car 4yrs ago and the shields are still setting in a box under my work bench . Ive looked around a little bit to see how they might install but have never tried to attach them. I figured they were removed to cut down on the heat build up in the engine compartment . I have had fuse box corrosion problems before but I cleaned up the box and no problems since , but I very rarely drive the car in the rain .
If anyone can post pics of them installed it would be great

Hi John! Mine is an AC car and I have the battery ground to the bell housing (Powerglide housing) on the driver side. This one was installed by a PO. I'll yank it one of these days. Until then I guess my car is well grounded. Wish I could say that about the rest of me.

Dave Z

I've often thought what these might be for and water splash shields seams a pretty good bet. Do you think that the GM boys may also have had under body stream-lining in mind also, or is this a bit of a stretch and giving them too much credit? Just a thought. Best Regards, Gary (Perth, Australia)

that's too much of a stretch....
Bill

Dave, that setup is correct for an A/C car, as I posted above. :thumbs:

Hi John! Glad you had a safe return from FL. Believe it or not, my car also had an additional ground from the top of the steering box to the block when I got it. That one I removed when I reconfigured with a new cable from the battery to the correct location. Always an education!

Dave Z

I have a 65, removed them when I put headers on, found one so far I think the other is lost. Any chance to get a set like the ones shown in your pictures ? They look qiute functional. Anything to cool my feet on a hot day in a 65 Coupe without AC. You could PM me if you know where I could get some like those. Thanks Tim

It sure seems that these would also serve that purpose as well.

I really like those louvered ones too.:thumbs:

The louvers were added by a machine shop. I am not aware of any company selling them as a catalogue item.

Dave,
A previous owner may have had horn trouble on your car and was trying to get a good ground to the steering column. When I had horn problems in my 66 Coupe we ran a jumper wire from one side of the rag joint to the other side of the rag joint. This made my horn sound again. I have since fixed that properly. Just a thought.


Dennis


Sorry I see now that this is your negative battery cable. Duh!:o

These will allow headers, allow more air flow than louvres, and heat shield your feet:
http://www.corvetteforum.net/classic...shieldrhsm.jpg
more pics here: http://www.corvetteforum.net/classic...e/index7.shtml