Fumes in cabin

[A900ss]

Took the wife out in the car last night and it was getting late when we came back so the roof went on.

She then complained of fumes (exhausty) in the car. I didn't notice myself. It appeared to be coming from the heater vents and she said it was worse when the air was heated rather than on the cold setting.

Can the fresh air pipes bringing air into the cabin perish and mix with exhaust fumes? If so, where should I start looking?

Thanks in advance.

[clive f]

did you have a window open?

with windows closed you don't normally experience this, but as soon as you lower a window just a small amount the air in the cabin is sucked out and exhaust fumes are normally sucked in through the boot via the rear speaker cut outs.

[A900ss]

clive f said:

did you have a window open?

with windows closed you don't normally experience this, but as soon as you lower a window just a small amount the air in the cabin is sucked out and exhaust fumes are normally sucked in through the boot via the rear speaker cut outs.

Weirdly it was the exact opposite!

Windows closed, fumey. Window open an inch, all good.

[Pink_Floyd]

A900ss said:

It appeared to be coming from the heater vents and she said it was worse when the air was heated rather than on the cold setting.Thanks in advance.

The air takes the same path wether heater is set to hot or cold. Difference is when set to col no water is passed through the cabin heater matrix, so air is at ambiant temp, when set to hot the water from the engine passes through the cabin heater marix and now warms the air up.

[simonej]

I had a leak in the exhaust manifold that was causing this in mine. Could be a possibility for you as well?

[ToneyCaroney]

Knackered boot seals will contribute to this so they are worth checking.

There was also a mod ( for both griff and Chim) that used to be published on thegriffithpages.com which was apparently very successful. Can't remember the details unfortunately but someone else probably will.

[A900ss]

ToneyCaroney said:

Knackered boot seals will contribute to this so they are worth checking.

There was also a mod ( for both griff and Chim) that used to be published on thegriffithpages.com which was apparently very successful. Can't remember the details unfortunately but someone else probably will.

New boot seals fitted last month as part of retrim.

Interested in the old mod though but can't find it anywhere.

[ToneyCaroney]

A900ss said:

Interested in the old mod though but can't find it anywhere.

I've got a feeling that Clive f knows about. Hopefully he'll revisit the thread.

[clive f]

Yes twas me, there used to be a set of templates available to download on the Griffith pages so you could make your own,but haven't been able to find the website, however if you are going to burghley this Sunday I can let you have a pair as there are some still Sat in my garage.

[A900ss]

clive f said:

Yes twas me, there used to be a set of templates available to download on the Griffith pages so you could make your own,but haven't been able to find the website, however if you are going to burghley this Sunday I can let you have a pair as there are some still Sat in my garage.

Clive,

What are they? What do they do? I feel like I'm on the edge of a secret

[Doc Toad]

....nothing on the internet is gone forever...

http://web.archive.org/web/20101110040718/http://w...

...except the link to the actual templates

[clive f]

I found the info last night still in my computer, here is the basic write up, I`m not sure if the early cars all had the holes under the car in the boot so have a look and check first.
if anyone knows who runs the chimaera pages I`ll ask to see if they will post the templates and info up on the website, could be useful to some people.

Boot Scoops for TVR Griffith & Chimaera.

This is a very simple solution to help stop the cockpit on your car filling with exhaust fumes.
I have always found it annoying when out in my car when I open the window slightly to let in some fresh air, but instead end up breathing in a lot of smelly exhaust fumes, and even at times getting sore eyes.
I found that when you open the window it is the air already inside the cockpit that gets sucked out, rather than the air outside being drawn into the cockpit.
As the air is being sucked out of the cockpit, it has to be replaced by air from elsewhere inside the car, so it draws air in from inside the boot of the car via the vents behind the rear stereo speakers, and along the inner rear wings into the cockpit via the carpet flaps just behind each seat that gives access to the door locks.
Because air is drawn through from the boot, the boot then sucks air from outside, normally from around the boot lid seal, and this is when the exhaust fumes are sucked through, and end up inside the cockpit, not a good situation.
Underneath the car just behind the wheels are 3 holes about an inch round, in each side in the fibreglass body, if you get under the car and look up into the holes you will see that this is a compartment in the fibreglass between the front face of the fuel tank and the rear face of the rear bulkhead, by fitting the scoops over the holes facing forward, air is drawn into this compartment when driving, thus charging the boot with fresh air, so when the air is drawn out of the cockpit when the windows are opened, it is replaced by the fresh air being drawn into the boot from the underside of the car, rather than sucking the smelly exhaust gases in from the back of the car.
These scoops are simple to make yourself using the 2 templates that you can open and print off.
These are free to anyone who wishes to have a go and make their own scoops and fit them to your car.
If you are happy that they have made an improvement then it would be appreciated if you would click on the attatched link and make a donation to my fundraising page for the Rally for Heroes
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CliveFord

I can email the pdf file templates if you want to make your own.

[Pink_Floyd]

I had wondered if it would be better to fit the scoops the other way round, ie facing backwards. This would mean that the boot would be in a state of vacumn so that air would travel from the cabin into the boot and the exhaust fumes that get past the seal would also get sucked out of the bottom of the boot as well.
I also wondered if with the forward facing scoops that when there are puddles or standing water that water could get forced up into the boot or not.

[clive f]

try it, if it works great.