And Still Cooler in Florida

[RDKeysor]

After selling my beautiful Jag MK2 18 months ago and purchasing a '60 BN7--yes, I had a BT7 right out of college back in Ohio in 1963, and yes, wife and child soon prompted its sale after a brief ownership. Living in northern Ohio, I wasn't too concerned with cockpit heat, as long as I had some in the winter, but now I'm near Jacksonville, and it's about 92 degrees outside as I write this. So, I soon learned from my fellow club members that they valve off their heaters, and many of them don't run thermostats, etc. I do run a 160 degree thermostat with the Moss blocker tube below it, had the radiator recored, reinstalled all of the missing insulation shields above the muffler, in the engine bay, etc., insulated the floors inside. wrapped the pipes from manifold to the muffler, installed a radiator recovery tank, etc., etc. Oh yes, the car came with a Texas cooler fan. So, the car is still pretty toasty inside. Since I never intend to run my heater here, and the 4" hose from the heater fan to the heater in the cockpit was detached at the fan box, I decided to convert the 4" air intake hose for the heater into a fresh air duct. I simply removed the front hose from the heater fan box---I actually toyed with taking the heater fan out, as well. I then detached the heater air hose from the heater box in the passenger foot well and introduced the end inside the engine bay into the intake hose from the front of the car, thus bypassing both the heater box and the heater fan. For good measure, I fitted a rubber ring against the joint where the two hoses overlap. The front hose is larger than the rear, which allows the rear to telescope inside the front hose. I was then able to torque the footwell end of the hose downward, where I think the considerable unimpeded air flowing into the car when it is underway will benefit my passenger. Mind you, this trick eliminates the air-blocking valves in the air intake system. For good measure, I've also removed the grate in the footwell that covers the cool air intake on the driver side of the car. Yes, I identify and mark anything I take off the car for a future owner's benefit, but as I have a wonderful Toyota 5 speed tranny (the original box and overdrive are on a shelf alongside the car in the garage), I don't expect to be offering my car as original at Healey shows.

 

[60TR3A]

I wish I could do that but since my car goes back and forth between Miami and Woodstock, Vermont, it gets too cool up here to go w/o a thermostat, even in summer. I had an upholsterer make a nice pad that sticks to the transmission tunnel by Velcro which gives my right leg some relief on very hot days.

 

[healeyblue]

Same ideas here. No heater and straight ducting. plenty of heat shielding and padding. We are running a hardtop on the car now and still have zero issues with heat in the cabin.

 

[RDKeysor]

Very nicely done, Healeyblue. I see that in addition to using a single continuous 4" hose for your fresh air and bypassing the heater fan, you have also fitted a cable-controlled valve similar to the one on the driver's side air intake at the front cowling. Very neat. Mine just blows straight through. Truly amazed that you aren't experiencing heat issue with a hardtop. One of my Healey books depicts a couple of close cars that Donald Healey had built and drove, and heat was apparently an issue on those cars. I have yet to flush the block and replace the water pump on my car, but I have those ideas in mind.