Morris Minor Owners Club

Posted: **Sun Feb 08, 2004 9:11 pm**

Having done everything possible to my 1957 'round type'
heater and still not getting enough heat I have just fitted the
later type (1964 onwards)...fiddley job and you have to throw
away the early type parcel shelf too which was unexpected.
The point is that this heater is a vast improvement whereas
lots of you with this type say that it is not very good. I am
certain that this is because there is no provision for cutting
off the incoming cold air and switching to recirculatory feed.
my car has no fresh air intake and the heat output is fine now.
Have any of you tried allowing your late type heater to pick
up air from inside the car i.e. remove the air trunking? and
did it improve matters?

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 3:05 pm**

put a sock in it. the trunking i mean, and leave it disconected. been doing it for years.
have to even open the windows somtimes, like being in a sauna

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 3:05 pm**

also stops suckin' in other peoples exhaust.

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:54 pm**

Be nice to have an adapter that would close or open the freshair feed at will with a lever under the dash... Guess I'll have to get my inventors head on for that one...

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:06 pm**

a sock that you can put in or pull out.......

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:14 pm**

Metros use air-blending heaters plumbed permanently into the water pipes, no valves &c. However, these are built into the dashboard. How do the Mini heaters work - are the latest-type the same as the Minor, in principle?

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:43 pm**

put a sock in it. the trunking i mean, and leave it disconected. been doing it for years

just tried that - but only disconnected the outer end - result = no air flow (but it was warmer)

Am off out to Stratford to see Salty Dan, and have disconnected the interior end of the air pipe as well now...
Here's hoping for some warmth!

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:50 pm**

GARETH.. the latest Mini heater, like all modern cars have
the facility to switch from 'fresh air' to 'recirculate'. I know
the ability to switch off the fresh air supply makes a hell of
a difference from my air conditioning which is five times more
effective if the fresh air intake is closed. the Late Mini heater
also has more water flow due to larger bore pipes.Someone needs
to perfect a flap valve for the late Minor heaters it is asking too
much for it to warm up the freezing fresh air. RAYO's sock valve
should be quite effective, he's got large feet, I've seen them!

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:53 pm**

it can't be that hard!!!

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 8:02 pm**

It just requires a large bore T port valve....
Find a friendly ventilation engineer - they'l probably laugh and say what you want is 50 times smaller than what they use. Contact an industial valve supplier and they want hundreds for a 3" T-port valve that weighs 10kg.
Hmm

so does something exist?

Posted: **Mon Feb 09, 2004 8:57 pm**

Just make up a butterfly damper (as used in the carb - but bigger obviously!) out of a piece of circular sheet steel mounted at the front on the fixed metal flange (that the pipe secures to) and move it with a small arm connected to a choke cable type affair then get another late heater cable bracket to mount it and hey presto! you have a damper!

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:12 am**

ray youve got to disconect from the heater end. got to give the heater a chance to get air flow

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:13 am**

dont worrie summer will be here sooooooon

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:18 am**

have disconnected the interior end of the air pipe as well now...

Yes! I worked that out very quickly.
It was a huge improvement - I'd almost given up hope of getting hot air from the heater but low and behold - WARMTH!

It only takes minutes to remove the ends of the air pipe (once a year at winter?), so I doubt it is worth the hours to make the valve arrangement. However if there is an existing lightweight 3" T port valve.......

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:37 am**

i dont know why its not a well known fact. "great upgrades for your minor". never mind series 3, tele shocks and laser beam head lights,

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:39 am**

suppose it only comes with years of experince

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 9:43 am**

I've often wondered about it, but us Minor owners can usually put up with stuff like being cold, and having uncomfortable seats!
I was giving a friend a lift yesterday so that gave some incentive for having a heater. He was impressed with the car. Quote "I hadn't realised how nippy they are.."

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 1:03 pm**

You might be able to use a carb air supply valve from a 80's VW Polo or Golf. It covsisted of a flap operated pnumatically (although I'm sure you could convert to cable operation quite easily) housed within a plastic unit about 7x10x4cm and fed by a 40mm-ish trunking. You could fit the thing to the side of the existing heater (for example) then drill a hole in the top of the diaphragm, fit it with a cable outer and run a rigid choke type wire and knob to the dashboard.

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 7:52 pm**

I don't see how Cams idea of a carb type butterfly valve would
accomplish what is needed, it would merely shut off the incoming
fresh air. The problem is that shutting off the fresh air vent must
also uncover another vent to allow recirculatory air in at the same
time. This unit could be made up as say a tubular insert which
fits between the air inlet hose and the heater itself. What baffles
me, now that I have experienced the improvement on my car, is
why, when the second type of Minor hearter had a selection lever
for fresh air or recirculatory, the later heater did not have this
facility, very strange.

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2004 8:40 pm**

whats going on, what second type of heater? i thought there was only a round type, a square type, and no heater like in my side valve.