made an emergency heater...

Actually it probably won't heat things up like you think, but, if you go a step further and put a heater core on the hoses and ty-rap a fan to it, then you'll have a real heater.

That sounds like a good idea...

If you have > > I'm facing a 1,900 mile trip to Tennessee for Christmas so my

If your car doesn't have A/C then you just replace the core by removing the glovebox and two bolts. StuK

go buy a heater core and let it sit on the floor of the car... and then pus a small 12 volt fan behind the heater core and now you have a new heater..... plug up the holes in the firewall with some clay like putty and you all set to go... and your mech. is right its a two day job(it you have factory installed air????, if not fact. air then the heater core comes out real easy (remove the body of the glove box and then just two screws to remove the plastic plate over the heater core and out it comes once you remove the heater hoses, why it cant be that easy with a car with factory air???? i took me two days to replace a heater core in my 83 mustang V-6, 3.8 engine years ago... i did not remove the a/c, just kept forcing the plastic heater box until it stayed open with a short piece of 2 X 4 wood in it to hold the box apart..... knowing what i know now, i would have used the dremel cut off tool to make a NEW door in the heater box by the heater core and then taped it back up with duct tape... the car was about 10 yrs. old at the time.....

Sounds like a hack job to me....... what happens when something comes adrift and starts spraying boiling coolant around the cab? You might feel like rolling the dice, but I think you should ask your GF if she is up to chancing 2nd degree burns to her pretty parts.

Driving and modding should be all about safety.... hoping you have a safe holiday season....

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

J.C. Whitney, use to offer complete aux. heating units that used water from the radiator. Since he already has the hoses thorough the firewall it should just be a matter of connecting the hoses and wiring it up.

Better than a guy at work. Rather than spend the money to have a heater core done right, he bought an inverter unit, then bought another hair dryer, so he could defrost his windshield. This is in Pittsburgh, not somewhere that it only gets cold occasionally. I can just see him driving to work when it's about 8*F outside, hair dryer in hand, making sure he can still see. I guess he had a core replaced 9 months ago and won't pay to do it again if that's all the longer it'll last. I told him to get a factory core and a flow restrictor, and then have someone do it right.

This is the same guy who wanted to go to the parts store and buy one spark plug and one spark plug wire because Auto Zone read his computer and it said there was a spark problem in one cylinder. I told him to change them all. He wouldn't. I guess someone else diagnosed a coil pack, but he refused to change it. Circa '96 Grand Prix that won't do more then 30 uphill... and he refuses to take it to a dealership because it might cost money. Eventually he had a coil pack put on it.

What a maroon...

JS

Well, I made the 1,900 mile trip with luckily no snow, and we were comfortable in 30 degree weather. This old car yet needs new rubber around the windows and doors, so the drafts were pretty chilly at times. I did get the idea to complete the improvised job, and got a heater core and stuck it on there, and it now rests just below the floor fan, which makes it work beautifully. I just didn't have the $250, or the two days for the job to be done perfectly. The hose did not give as much heat as I thought it would, but did a pretty nice job on the way.

For the fog, I will keep using RainEx for fog, since it works so well. I found that RainEx on the outside creates a lot of prismatic reflections from oncoming car lights, so I'm just going to rely on the wipers in front, and use it on the rest of the windows, and of course, use the defrosting window on the hatch window in back, in case of snow.

I bought some Michelin all-weather Agility tires that will really grip the ice, and have a very smooth cushiony ride. Got an 80,000 mile warranty at Sears.

We'll do alright: Memphis to Los Angeles next weekend.

Driving this car is such a comfort and a thrill when you need the ferocious power to pass and get up the hills. It's a pleasure.

voice from the past

I'd also wonder if the 1000 watt inverter was truly rated for 100% duty-cycle at 1000 watts.

Dana

One that I've seen does. Here's a nice example of a Coleman on ebay that does 1200 continuous and 2400 peak.

Wow. 1200W continuous requires over 125A continuous current at 12V, perhaps more (I don't know how efficient the inverter really is; I generously assumed 80% in this estimate). In any case, that's a very serious low-voltage load.

Dana

Well, you can try to hack at it all you want: I'll make you sit in the back seat.

voice from the past