Heater blower poor - is this normal on mk1 fhc 2.8

[french dave]

Hi,might be a daft question but is the heater blower demist poor on the fhc?drivers side -windscreen outlet poorer than footwell outlet.Passenger side windscreen/footwell slightly better .there's 2 motors - 2 outlets each ? 1 flap?Is there anything to check that doesn't involve taking 1/2 the car apart or any known possible improvements as I will be running this all winter! I hope!

[mrzigazaga]

Its a feature to all Wedges...

You would ideally need to get to the heater blower unit which is under the dash behind the centre console...The housing is not the best design...re-constructing and sealing up the joins is a good idea or may a new housing..Replacing the motor is the best bet...

For now you could stuff a cloth into the two small hose's that are directed into the footwells...this may have an effect although I wouldn't bank on it...

I believe TVR parts may sell the motors...

If it was a case of just being cold then I would suggest a beanie and a good warm coat..


Ziga

[MJG280]

A long time ago when I used to enjoy a Series 1 FHC I encountered this problem which resulted in me removing the heater and both fans. The passenger side fan was ineffective so the driver side one was doing all the work and blowing a fair chunk of air back out through the passenger blower.
Witth the engine warm, turn on the fan and open both fresh air vents. If one fan is defective then warm air will blow out of that vent and cold out of the good one.
The fresh air vents are usually not sealing so leak cold air. I glued timber round the heater hole and used foam to enable the plastic dashboard vent to seal properly.
I threw away the duff fan and sealed the hole and also used mastic wherever possible to seal any gaps (there were plenty) After that it all worked very well with the one fan, though I also had the heater matrix renewed.
I was always glad that the finished article was well hidden under the dashboard.



I removed a vent to relocate the radio, but found in practice that the fresh air vents were pointless anyway

[french dave]

Hi,thanks zigs.is there anyway to re-route water system so heater gets hot water sooner after start up -so better chance of de misting sooner.i do have a slipping fan belt occasionally which won't be helping -see other post.The other night at work I sat for 15 mins + waiting for the drivers side to demist (after it rained all day)and it still wasn't clear whilst driving!

[mrzigazaga]

You can open the driver side window a tad..like 1/2" when moving and it should help to clear the screen..

[jon haines]

A topic close to my heart. I had to use my wedge for two weeks as my daily commute due to modern car being ste. The heaters are crap be hond believe and i sat there scrapping ice of the inside of the screen wishing the bloody heater was any good. So it has forced my hand now and i intend to do something about it. Been threatning to do for years but at end of my tether with it now.

[Hayduke]

jon haines said:

A topic close to my heart. I had to use my wedge for two weeks as my daily commute due to modern car being ste. The heaters are crap be hond believe and i sat there scrapping ice of the inside of the screen wishing the bloody heater was any good. So it has forced my hand now and i intend to do something about it. Been threatning to do for years but at end of my tether with it now.

Ha! "Heater" - If I were to attempt using a wedge for a daily driver in January in New Hampshire it would be a death sentence for me and the car. We'd both be long gone before the windscreen iced up. If it were different I'd start a thread asking which tire and wheel combination to use with snow chains. It's hard enough to fit my foot over an individual pedal anyhow. Not uncommon to get 2 of 3 at any one attempt. With winter boots it might become 3 of 3. Not that you could feel your feet after a while driving. It was -15 F here last week then it warmed to zero and snowed again. I never considered the wedge heater to be more than regulatory ornamentation. The primary driver and passenger heater is the hole for the gear selector. US 280is heat the engine with a catalytic converter under the oil pan. The blower housing is for small rodents to make nests until you learn to make suitable winter storage arrangements.

Still, if anyone suitably re-engineers the thing, please post the how-I-did-it info !

[Grady]

It has been on my list for years. Based on some prior measuring, it looks like a small, universal vintage Air units would fit. That would solve the need for A/C in Texas in the summer and a little heat in the winter.

[v8s4me]

Would a small modern unit, maybe an MX5 one, fit?

[MJG280]

This was the company that I looked at

https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/compact-hea...

[mrzigazaga]

MJG280 said:

This was the company that I looked at

https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/compact-hea...

Not a bad price...

[njhucker]

Heaters have improved over the years. The heater on my 1959 Healey is so poor that you only know it is working because you can hear it. The one on my 1979 Taimar is a bit better. The one on my old 1986 350 was marginally better. The one on my 1991 400se is not bad. It has a more powerful fan, but the main difference is that it has more than double the number of vents blowing air on to the screen. I use my 400se as my daily driver.

[SebringGlenn]

Glad to know if this while the car is apart... add one more thing to the list. But I'd much rather do it now that find out after i get everything back together again.