Heater Box

[carrierdave]

Good afternoon,
I am in the process of replacing my dash board and after removing it I am considering what options are available to increase the space behind the dash to relieve the wiring.

Has anyone rebuilt the heater box to reduce the overall depth of the unit? If not are there any other options worth considering?

One of the main snagging area?s is around the pop up head light tubing ? Being very stiff there is next to no give in this area. When removing the dash I would say that it has been at least an inch further forward than it should have been.

Thanks

Dave

[rdssdi]

I replaced my dash and found that the rocker switch spade terminals contacted the heater fiberglass diffuser. The new harness had spade (QC) terminals with longer plastic insulators. With so little room every millimeter counts.

I am surprised that your headlamp dash vacuum switch works. I replaced mine with an electrical switch and an electrical solenoid valave at the front of the car.

The secret to the dash lack of space is careful wiring and the proper position of the diffuser.

I do not think the dash can be moved outward as the shift lever is quite close.

Bob

[fatboyoz]

Dave,
How about using some right angle, plastic elbows and flexible tubing to run parallel with the back of the dash' before turning forward to join up with the semi rigid nylon vacuum tubes. I have also used plastic "P" clamps to hold the wiring harness, snugly, against the back of the dash' and away from the heater box.
Colin.
P.S. Will try to upload a picture in the picture or file section of the clamped wiring harness.

[1964 S1]

Hi Dave,
Is it the metal heater box or fiberglass diffuser/vent that's your concern? Modifying either from stock is probably your answer.
My +2 with original wiring looks like an Italian nightmare around the metal heater box, maybe we should all install smoke detectors above our mirrors.

Keep the wires away from the metal, Eric

[JJDraper]

Worth a look at this site, interesting mod of a +2 heater box.

http://www.lotuselan.info/october.htm

In fact an interesting site altogether!

Jeremy

[rdssdi]

Interesting solution for fitting a new and longer depth radio. I used a Secret Audio head (around 3/4" depth) with a separate electronics box. I mounted the box behind the right rear interior panel.

I found the wiring is most cramped at the bottom of the box where the diffuser mounts.

A new and compact heater box with a better fan and motor would be nice.

All I need is some metal working equipment and a lobotomy.

Bob

[mikealdren]

Bob,
I've seen reference to the Secret Radio before and it sounds great.

Does anyone know of a European equivalent?

Mike

[rdssdi]

Mike

I have no idea if a european version of the Secret Audio radio is available. You might try e-mailing the company. I believe they are Custom Auto Sounds.

A high performance compact heater replacement would be a great project. Any suggestions for a starting point? Fan and motor donor? Heater?

Bob

[mikealdren]

Bob,
I've heard of a heater few mods. Gerry Moorhouse used a motor from the FWD elan, an expensive solution but he had a spare. He said it took a bit of work but gave a much improved output.

Several UK users have used later Ford heater cores, I suspect that Ford must use a common size. Fiesta aluminium cores have been mentioned. However, unless the cores are damaged, corroded or silted up, I think the original copper core is probably ok.

I've got my heater apart for reconditioning and the starting point is to reassemble with as few air leaks as possible, the outlets to the dash trunking are particularly bad on my car.

Unfortunately I think the the US radio frequencies are different from Europe so I would need a European equivalent of the Secret Radio and not just a UK distributor.

regards
Mike

[rdssdi]

I will take some measurements. Vintage air has a compact heater / defroster unit that may fit.

It would be an improvements over original but nothing just fits right in.

It's never simple.

Bob

[mikealdren]

Bob,
the heater is from a Ford Cortina (mk 1 in mine although Mk 2 is very similar). Heaters were an extra in those days and I'm not sure whether it was made specifically for Ford or was a standard Smiths heater.

The Cortina was renowned in its time for the excellence of its heater and the eyeball vents were considered groundbreaking!

Does anyone know of an upgraded heater motor that fits directly? I'd like to think that Smiths improved it over the years.

Mike

[rdssdi]

It is my understanding that the heater is from a Ford Consul and is slightly modified. My heater indicated it was made by Smiths for Ford.

Try WWW.THHS.Co.UK ( Transport heater and hose Ltd. in the UK.) They may have an upgrade. I bought a motor from them. My assumption is a different fan blade could offer more airflow. It may be that for the size and type (axial) of fan, the puny output is all you can get.

Bob

[Frank Howard]

I really don't understand why besides the space issue, there is a need to "upgrade" the heater. It's my understanding that throughout the years, for the most part, (I'm sure there are exceptions) neither Smiths nor any other heater manufacturer has bothered to manufacture a heater made specifically for low volume cars such as sports cars. Instead, the manufactures selected heaters from a catalogue and no matter which heater they selected, you could be reasonably certain that it was originally designed for something larger, like a sedan or an estate. As a result, I have always found myself turning down the heater, even on the coldest days. I've been living here since 1975 and have driven an X1/9, a 124 Spider, and a Sunbeam Alpine, through the winter. Last year, I drove my DHC Elan through the winter. It was toasty and it wasn't even on fire!

In my experience, the heaters for the cars listed above were larger than they needed to be in order to heat the small interior volume of sports cars. The manufacturers simply chose the smallest one available and then they shoehorned it in behind the dash. That explains why there is a space problem there.

[carrierdave]

Hi all ? Happy New Year,
What I would like to do is move the casing of the heater box backwards either parallel or at a slant (top to bottom). This should give far more room for the main cables.
Not having taken the unit out yet or knowing the internal layout - My concern is what is directly behind it ? Is the coil in the way? Where are the dampers?

Does anyone have a cut away drawing or picture of the unit that may shed sone light on this?

Modifying the fibre glass discharge hood doesn?t appear to be too problematical, its what I can realistically do with the heater.

Another thought is too upgrade the heater fan to increase air flow ? I would only do this if the heater modifications reduced air flow.

Thanks
Dave

[mikealdren]

Frank,
I think you're right about the heater, it was fine in its time and still works ok if it's set up right. We need to be careful on this thread, we're covering Elans and +2s and the heaters are different. I don't know anything about the baby Elan.

The +2 heater performance can be greatly degraded by failure of the core (internally and externally) and the foam sealer. Although the heater was designed for the (Consul) Cortina and the +2 is smaller, I'm not convinced that the +2 airflow through the cabin is very good, I suspect that the extractors behind the door may not be a very low pressure area. I've no evidence and I haven't tested it but the airflow without the fan isn't great.

Also, standards have risen enormously in the last 40 years. The +2 heater will heat the car but it won't give a very fast demist, a particular problem with cars that leak! The axial fan doesn't compare with modern multi-speed radial ones but there isn't space to change. A more powerful axial fan may help and I for one would like to experiment while I have it all apart.

Mike