side draught air on my rhd driver feet

[Pistacchio sprint 72]

Hello,

I drove my elan for nearly the first time this week end. At least it was my first time with her on the highway. Once warmed up, I floored the throttle to see how it went

It went well . But After a certain speed I felt vibrations in the steering wheel... may be wheels need to be balanced again? so I slowed to a cruising speed

But the 2 problems I encounterd were:

- a side draught air on my rhd driver feet froze my poor feet. Don't know if it came through the door loud speaker or a bad air tight door or via the pedal box but I am sick this week! is it a well known symptom? I am more used to burn my feet in my Seven...

- I pulled the heater knob and tried to activate the fan (which work) but did not fell any heat... May be I should check a precise area in the engine bay and assess if the hot water is really unlocked and flowing?

Your advices welcome on all these grey areas for me...
Thanks guys

[richardcox_lotus]

It could be that the draught of cold air is not from the door but is in fact from the under dash heater outlet that was blowing cold. Mine directs air in a very powerful burst onto my right calf / shin.

However, mine was more of an issue when I had the heater on at Le Mans to keep the engine cool. Ambient temp was over 32C and there I was with the heater on !

Other areas of air ingres are usually the steering column / brake / clutch grommets and handbrake cable hole.

Regards
Richard

[gjz30075]

Hello,

but I am sick this week! is it a well known symptom?

I'm sure it is. I know several people who are sick this week

What kind of shape is the door seal in? If suspect, maybe you can 'build it up' with some duct tape to see if it makes a difference. Could you hold a piece of tissue paper down there to check the direction of the breeze?

Greg Z

[cliveyboy]

My Sprint freezes my legs.
Its the gap caused by the original poor fitting doors.
I also found there were lots of holes in the bulkhead which needed blanking off.
Clive

[RogerFrench]

Cedric,
You will find the draught in time, from somewhere!

As for the question about your heater, you will see the heater valve on the left (passenger) side of the engine. To check that hot water is circulating through the heater, open the valve and, with the engine hot, feel the two rubber heater feed and return tubes. One is (of course) connected to the valve, and the other can be found underneath your carburetters, connecting to the front casting just above the radiator hose. If both heater pipes are hot, the water is circulating. If one is much cooler than the other, it isn't. This can be because the valve doesn't work, a blockage in the heater, or even an air-lock.

New valves are easy to come by - check eBay. Removing the heater hoses and connecting to a garden hose you can flush the heater and hopefully remove blockages. If you disconnect the heater hose from the valve, with the valve shut, hold the end as high as you can get it, then open the valve, you may clear an airlock. You may know if you have succeeded if your eyes are full of coolant. This is messy so stand by with your garden hose to flush coolant away form your paintwork etc.