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More fiddling over the weekend...

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Nunyas

Nunyas

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Fiddled around with the B this weekend. Changed out my heater valve, and flushed the cooling system. The water looked clean, but I'm going to flush it again next weekend just to be thorough.

Put some of those Moss 'fitted cloth seat covers' on my seats. I gotta say, those things fit like gloves, and could pass for regular upholstery. The pouches in the backs may come in handy too. The only thing I can complain about is how the headrest covers looked. From 5ft they look ok, but if you really look at them they seem a bit ugly. Better than cracked vinyl mind you, but something about the way they fit on the D shaped headrests leaves a little something to be desired.

Also fitted a scavenged smog pump air filter housing to my pump. It sounds much more acceptable now. Before, I had to stuff about 1/4 of a red shop rag into the wonky snorkle I had to keep it from making a racket. I swear the old wonky snorkle I had made sounds that would make you think the engine's bottom end was about the blow out (from the driver's seat).

Finally, I crawled around on my back in the passenger's floor pan with a flash light to see what I could see in the floor heater vent. I discovered that my heater/defroster knob IS connected to the lever that moves the 'flapper'. So, that was good, but left me wondering why I was still getting copious amounts of floor air with the dial set to defrost. It was then that I noticed one of the DPOs had attempted to remove the heater box cover without removing the heater box first. The part of the box cover that sticks through the fire wall was (still is) bent away from the box and leaks large amounts of air when the fan is on. While this impairs the defroster, it doesn't keep it from working.

I think I may let the heater box thing slide for a while. With summer fast approaching, I don't anticipate using it too much over the next few months, but I would like to get it squared away before next winter.

This week, I have a bunch of sound deadening stuff from SecondSkinAudio.com and a bunch of Moss stuff that I ordered through Tony arriving. I hope to rebuild my seats, get the sound deadening, and new carpet laid this coming weekend. Somewhere in there, I'm supposed to find time to go to a friend's birthday party too.
 
You can always yank the heater altogether and make a summer project out of restoring it. Just blank off the hole and you get no hot air coming in. And you will be 30 pounds lighter, too! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Just had a thought: If the 'flapper' contol is working, it's *possible* the DPO went part-way into the process and bailed. The defroster tubes pass from the elbows thru the bulkhead to the box interior with nylon tubes. They can easily be mis-aligned and therefore be ineffectual. An easy fix if that's the case. Just the plate at the bulkhead behind the radio console; 4 or 6 screws and some head scratchin'. Worth a look.
 
30 lbs extra and it ain't a supercharger or a case of beer?

Yank it out by the roots!!

Oh....Here's one for you.....Heater I mean.

hansint.jpg


The round thing in front of the shifter is the heater....

You just open the little doors and the air comes out /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

(If you get too warm....You close the little doors....Gloriously simple)

The whole thing weighs as much as a box of Kleenex.
(But it was optional and didn't come w/ my car)
 
I for one would love to see photos of those covers installed - I've always wondered what they look like!

It is possible to remove the cover of the heater box without removing the box itself - that was the dealer method for replacing the heater core - its just tricky.....you might try taking it out again to see if you can correct his 'uh-oh'

Also, while up under the car, did you notice a short rubber hose with a bulbous end? Clean it out with a piece of wire (get ready for lots of dirt to land on your face)....its the fresh air vent drain & may be clogged! If it is, water from the fresh air vent will end up on the floor.
 
I've already cleaned out that little bulb on a couple of occasions. I'll take before and after photos this weekend when I put in the carpet.

I also made another discovery this past weekend; why I am having such a difficult time turning the heater temperature knob. Apparently, it has nothing to do with the knob being 'stiff', the valve being 'stiff', or the wire lacking lube. What I figure is the control wire is just old and needs replacing. The covering end that attaches to the valve is all frayed. So, when you clamp the wire housing to the valve it's clamping the inner wire too; thus adding huge amounts of friction to turning the knob.

And yet another little discovery, or maybe more like a little insight into my car's engine heat problem (it rides on the hot side of 'Normal' on warm/hot days). I think the 'anti-freeze' mixture that's been in my car has been too much anti-freeze; first from when I got the car, and after I had the clutch changed, and then after I had a garage flush the system for me. Since I'm planning on flushing the system again this coming weekend, (on Saturday) I only put pure water into the cooling system. The temp gauge ran ~much~ cooler than what I'm use to seeing this morning. The gauge never went past the first leg of N (my gauge reads C/N/H) during this morning's drive. Granted, the weather was a little cool this morning (mid to upper 60s), but on similar days in the past the temp would ride up to middle N, or slide a little past it if I got stuck at a lot of lights.

The only real benefit to 'anti-freeze' where I live is the 'anti-corrosion' additives they put into the solution. I'm tempted to continue running only distilled water in my car, or at most a 25% anti-freeze mix. Does anyone see any problems with running only distilled water? And what's the coolant capacity of a '76 MGB, in case I want to run a mix?

Tony - more parts orders coming your way! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
I run 75/25 water to anti-freeze with some water wetter in the mix. I'd run pure water with water wetter but I like the idea of extra lubrication for water pump components so I use anti-freeze. Anti-freeze has little cooling capability.
 
what's the coolant capacity... 1.5 Gallons?
 
The 75/25 mix is what I'm using as well. Runs cooler than a 50/50 mix. WIth the 75/25 I run just a hair south of the N and with the 50/50 just a hair to the North or N with a 180 t-stat with both mixes. The only issue I've had with switching coolant types was the temp sender died at the same time I switched back from pure distilled water to a 50/50 mix. Don't know what caused it but lucas is involved.
 
I think the last place I let mess with my cooling system loaded up the system with 75% anti-freeze. I was running past N with a 165deg t-stat.
 
I use distilled water and Water Wetter.

*reading bottle*

It says use 15% antifreeze in street vehicles.
And that it provides "excellent protection from corrosion for cast iron brass and aluminum"

Maybe it doesn't have a lubricant for seals and that's why the antifreeze?
(I don't but hey....Oil is in & on everything else)
 
hmmm... 15 to 25% it is!
 
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