1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

[Joel K.]

Is the aluminum foil backed insulation for the battery box and jack storage compartment in a '68 installed with the foil facing down or up?

[Terry M.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Aluminum side facing in. So if you are doing the bottom (Does it cover the bottom? I have never looked that deep into one) the aluminum faces up.

[Joel K.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Thanks, Terry. The car I'm doing came to me with most of the insulation gone, but the aluminum was facing out, and that just didn't look right to me, but I couldn't find any references regarding it anywhere. The repro pieces I have will cover the bottom of both compartments.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

I think I have a photo at home, so don't rush out to the garage just yet. Maybe my memory is defective. I'll post the photo, and we will all know of at least one example.

Given a little time others with more experience looking at 1968s may chime in also.

[Jack C.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

On my original early 68, the fiberglass faces in towards the battery and the aluminum faces out. I would think that this protects from the exhaust heat this way. Same with the jack stowage compartment.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Is the aluminum foil backed insulation for the battery box and jack storage compartment in a '68 installed with the foil facing down or up?

My apologias. These photos make it look like I was wrong, but remember our sample size is now two.

THe January 9 car did not have the insulation, and the March 29 car did.

[Reba W.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

All that I have seen have the foil as in Terry's pictures.

[Bryan M.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Do the repros look as bad as the originals?

[Joel K.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Thanks to all for your replies. Terry, the pictures certainly clear things up. Still think it looks strange with the bare fiberglass insulation facing inward, but it makes sense that way in terms of insulating the compartment. Bryan, there wasn't much left of the originals in my car, but the repros don't look great with their bright yellow fiberglass batting. I wonder if the ones in Terry's photos are originals...

[Terry M.]

Re: 1968 Battery Box/Storage Compartment Insulation

Yes, I believe those are the original heat insulators. The pictures are more than a couple of years old.

A friend (not an NCRS member, but his father was before he passed) owned two 1968s. A coupe built Jan 9 and a convertible built March 29. He was impressed with the many differences between the two cars. He called me before he sold the earlier coupe. Both cars were fairly original, but one, and I forget which now, had an obvious repaint. For the most part both cars had only the parts that failed replaced. Neither had been owned by a "restorer."

On examination, I agreed with him and I took a lot of pictures. I even made a power point presentation that John Woods used in a couple of Judging Schools. It was exclusively 1968, and the interest in it was limited so it proved not to be real useful for Regional or National meets. John then worked up a more general presentation ... and the story goes on.