How hot was it compared to the firewall?

If high engine compartment temperatures is an issue, try this - for parades, I remove the large flex hose from the heater and add a 12 volt muffin fan (Radio Shack) and face it to move air from the passenger compartment toward the engine compartment, then turn the heater on.

With the hood cracked, this adds the heater core to your cooling system, and can even make the passenger compartment a bit cooler.