V8-250 saloon: Car Heater Upgrades ??

[classiclife]

Hello,

Have any V8-250 saloon owners upgraded their car heater system in any way, in essence a dedicated upgrade kit ??

I'm looking at all possible options prior to examining my current unit.

Regards.

Richard.

[Warsash 2]

Hi Richard
There is I believe a simple modifaction which transforms the heater. I have not done it yet, too many cars too many jobs. As i recall it involves putting a restrictor disc in the water lines to the manifold. I can not remember the size of the hole, it was about 3/16" I think but hopefully someone will remember so we can both do it. It may be on the old forum.
Regards

Colin

[classiclife]

Hello Colin,

Many thanks for your reply, that's an interesting option - something I was unaware of and would not have crossed my mind. I agree, it will be of interest if another forum member can update this.

I think at the moment you can also add too cold to your list of jobs / cars !!!

Had the heater on in the garage all day yesterday and that's almost unheard for me !!

Regards.

Richard.

[timmartin]

If I remember correctly (which is not one of my talents) Russ suggested to me as recently this morning (when he took my engine away) the figure of 1/4”.
Rather close to 3/16”, and I doubt that it is critical.
Strange how you can hear about the same useful tip for the first time twice in one day.

[tjt77]

I believe there are 'upgraded' heater cores available too.. the are same part as used on jaguar Mk2 .. Vicarage would be the company to ask about all things to upgrade these cars to be more user friendly..

[armstrong whitworth]

Or you could try Clayton Classics in Coventry:

http://claytonclassics.co.uk/parts-upgr ... ler-v8-250

Can't vouch for it, but looks interesting.

[lioneleast]

With regard to Colin's note I think I am the guilty party. In 2002 I fitted a standard tap washer (OD ¾”, ID 3/16") into the inlet to the manifold, though I can't find any record that I made this public and I don't know how to access the old forum. I would not claim that it transformed the heater, but my notes state that the heater was probably more effective (how do you measure it?). I did this as part of a long series of tests and replacements aimed at reducing the water temperature following having the car off the road for 19 years. My reason was that I felt that the manifold short circuited the radiator during hot weather and the heater during cold weather. There is a learned article entitled 'Manifold Heating' by Ian Clarke in Driving Member April 2003 which sets out the case for having the manifold heater to refute earlier claims (DM , vol 39,No 1) that it is not necessary and noting a report (DM. vol 39, No 5) by Clayton Spear about his unsuccessful experiment with deleting manifold heating.

Going off subject the following had no effect on water temperature: New radiator, engine de-scaling or reducing anti-freeze concentration. Fitting an electric fan was effective at low speed, but not at 50 -70 mph. However removing the radiator grill reduced the temperature by at least 13 degrees (thermostat removed.). My calculations of intake area are: no grill=180 sq. inches: grill area with no slats =160: with 14 slats (as Jaguar)=107: with 22 slats (as Daimler)=80: radiator area =240 and fan cowling =154. This suggests that the radiator grill, which only has the area of a 9 inch square, severely limits the intake air flow and has a major effect on the performance of the radiator.

Lionel

[johnwager]

The most effective way to improve the heater is to replace the heater matrix. No amount of flushing will clear 50 years of built up sludge within the very fine core of the old matrix.
Not the easiest job, as the entire heater box needs to come out, but it also helps if you rejuvenate the whole assembly along with the new matrix, replacing insulation and ensuring all flaps move correctly.
John

[simonp]

I am wondering why the heater in the SP 250 is so good whilst not in the saloon. Does the saloon have a smaller heater matrix? All rather strange.

SimonP