Sorry, but this is not a question, nor is it really a suggestion (though you
may be able to glean a few tech tips). I just feel a need to share my elation.
After years of trying to patch a leaky radiator, and putting up with a
less-than-warming heater in my 77 B, I've left those worries behind. The
radiator was so beat up, that replacement was the only real option, and the
heater core tanks were re-soldered (or more accurately, supersoldered).
As long as I had the heater out, I cleaned, sanded, and repainted the box in
semi-flat black Krylon. It looks really quite nice now.
After not finding a replacement for that silly piece of foam that sandwiches
between the heater outlet box and the body, I had to fabricate one from some
stuff I had laying around (don't ask what it used to be); it would have been
the perfect chance to re-use my old seat foams, but I threw those away. I
really had no idea just how hard it is to cut that stuff, especially cutting
out circular holes for the defrost lines. Similarly, I replaced the piece
of foam (different sort of foam than before) that surrounds the heater core.
$2 at the local fabric shop got me a huge piece to play with, still lots to
spare.
The felt seals on the outlet door/vent thing were disintegrated. John Wise
suggested an air compressor filter element from Sears. No kidding, this is
practically the exact same stuff that the old seals were made of, only not
as long, and much thicker. It was difficult to cut, but it's working very
well. (I hope my roommate doesn't figure out what happened to his steak
knife. He flipped when I threw the pieces of the heater box into the
dishwasher.)
The defrost hose used to be just jammed into a hole in the bulkhead, but it
was a poor fit, and you couldn't really get your fingers in there to fix it.
A couple of PVC tubes from Vicky Brit changed all that. The idea was that
the tubes would slide all the way into the heater outlet, and the defrost
hose would slip onto the tube, thereby eliminating every possible air leak.
Fitting the tubes was a pain. I could slide them into the holes, but then
the accordion-type hose couldn't be pushed onto the tube. With the tube
removed, the hose could be pulled on, but then I couldn't get the tube to
line up correctly with the hole in the heater outlet. After much cursing,
sweating, and contorting (glad I'm still young) they finally went. Were
these tubes ever original on MGB's? If they were, I can see why they were
eliminated, but I can also see why they should have been retained. I can
now get a pleasant blast of HOT air (not just a slight breeze but real
wind!) from the defrost ducts. If your defroster isn't up to snuff, look
into installing these tubes, but be warned about possible difficulty in
installation.
Is there a correct way to refit the heater inlet screen and seal--the one
that goes between the heater and the fresh air duct under the cowl? It had
me puzzled for a while, but my solution was remarkably simple. I threaded a
couple pieces of wire through the screen, pressed the screen and seal
against the firewall, pulled the wires up through the air intake grille, and
tied them to it. After the heater was back in place, I just untied the wires
and pulled them out. Yay!
So, in the past few months I've replaced virtually every engine-external
cooling system piece. Water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing (another
nightmare story by itself), water pump, and all hoses. The only problem now
is that the new radiator and the refurbished heater (it really looks nice
now) are too clean. They make everything else under the hood look like crap.
--
Jay Tilton | Hoo hoo has & a hoka hoka hey!
jtilton@vt.edu |
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