Heater confusion Sprint

[bloodknock]

Thanks Phil.
Itle have to wait now, moving house, god theyre heavy! Will be hors de combat till about Sept, everything in boxes......but which boxes, here we go again!
Bob

[holywood3645]

I just looked a Brian Bucklands Book, it shows the Heater flaps and ducts in the same configuration as my pic earilier. And just to confuse matters more, I have what is 'supposed' to be an unrestored heater box in near perfect condition. I pulled it out f storage and it has the opposite configuration....

Gaud knows..

[pharriso]

Here's a picture from the parts book:

Notice the water connections at the front & the side duct connections at the rear of the sides.

Maybe they were not all assembled in the same way, it is Lotus after all!

[jfornarola]

Hi Everyone,

I am confused about this as well. I've referenced Rdent.com as well as Brian's book. I had reassembled the heater and dash and there was very little room for wiring and the like sandwiched between the dash and heater box. But it fit, even with the eyeball vent outlets nearest to the wooden dash.

But It still didn't seem correct. So, I've been watching this thread with interest. Last weekend I removed my heater box and reoriented it as discussed with the eyeball vents on the transmission tunnel (low) end. The unfortunate consequence was that now the heater core outlets were positioned under and interfered with the plenum.

So, we might then say the heater box was assembled incorrectly. Attached is a photo of my heater box. Notice that the holes for the heater core are on the same end as the eyeball vent holes. Those three panels are spot welded together. I'm thinking this is how they wanted it. Not really knowing that, I drilled new eyeball vent holes in the opposite end from the existing holes and re-assembled. Guess what. It doesn't seem to fit. There seems to be a lot of pressure on the wooden dash due to a lack of clearance between the ash tray and the heater box. Now my thought is to put it back the way it was. And just to add to the mystery, I have two heater boxes in the same configuration. They are spot welded, which puts them in conflict with what the parts manual shows.

Thoughts? This is a great discussion by the way. I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and experience.

jf

[bloodknock]

It's a mystery!

[TroonSprint]

Yes, Bob, t'is indeed a mystery. What I've learned from all this chat is that:

The parts book and the workshop manual show both methods of assembly.
The face-level vent pipes should almost certainly come out of the front (closest to bulkhead) of the case. There isn't clearance dehind the dashboard for them to be on that face.
The orientation of the footwell flaps and demister pipes is a matter of personal choice. There doesn't seem to be a "right" or "wrong" way of doing it.

I wonder if the cars leaving the factory were all the same, and if so, which way was used? I think I might try mine with the side plates reversed so that the foot vent is nearer to my feet and the demister pipes come out nearer to the dashboard. Seems logical if I can get it all to fit together.

Mike

[bloodknock]

Hello again brothers in suffering
I wish i'd had a digital camerawhen i stripped this beast in the seventies and eighties......i continue to wrangle with the heater and its associated tubes!
Having finally got the heater unit pretty solidly and accurately installed, this time its the demister vents that are causing me angst.
See the photos, the vent diffusers that allow air through the dash crash pad can be installed a variety of ways. Having browsed various photos, I'm not sure whether the hose coupling end should be biased forewards or backwards. Its just as easy to install either way around. (and I have!) Currently theyre biased towards the interior, and this appears to give reasonable access to the water feed couplings, and make fitting the air feed pipes easier.
However, when did Lotus ever consider ease of installation?! and im worried that they may have been biased the other way towards the engine bay (?dash clearance considerations?)
Again I ask for anyone who may have access to an original unmolested sprint and can get access to or remember this feature to please advise.
Thanks
Bob

[bloodknock]

Heres a better shot showing how they sit

[pharriso]

Bob, probably too late to help you, but at least it might help someone else in the future... Here's my demister vents before I dis-assembled everything:

The base of your vents seem to far back toward the cabin?