The Heat Shield (Jaguar C.6700) of my 1954 XK 120 OTS SE is missing the insulation material, so I will have to make something myself.
Question 1: is this (basically) the same (originally asbestos) material as Jaguar used for the floors to deal with the heat of the exhausts? If so, I will use a mineral replacement for the asbestos (like I already did for my XK 140).
Question 2: I see 4 little holes in the steel heat shield. Does the original construction use the special “bifurgated” rivets (Jaguar BD.524/7) for holding the insulation to the steel heat shield (like with the XK 140 floors)?
Question 3: I read that some members still have (heat generated) brake cylinder problems. Has anybody tried an additional sheet of anodized aluminium on top of the “asbestos”, acting as an extra IR refelective shield to reduce the heat transmission?
Yes, the original was the same as under the floor.
Yes, bifurcated rivets.
No, I have not had any heat related problems, and mine is the single system where the down pipe is at the same level, even closer to the master cylinder.
I have the tandem master cylinder on my '53 with the asbestos shield. Because of the liberal amounts of road salt used in my area and before I got something else to replace the XK as my regular driver, the outer part of the shield had corroded in places. I recently replaced the outer layer (closest to the downpipes) with a piece of aluminum, however, I don’t ever recall experiencing any heat issues prior to doing it, but it does look shiny and nice if you are laying on the floor looking up!
As I have to make a new piece of “asbestos” insulation anyway, I will add a thin sheet of anodized aluminium (aluminum) as used for reflectors in the lighting industry, at the outside. This will protect the “asbestos” insulation at the same time against mud and water. This shield should normally (or better initially) reflect about 90% of the IR radiation from the exhaust down pipes.