Cold-weather Jeeping Tips: Part 1

In all seriousness - please beware of possible exhaust fumes in the cabin with any of these ideas. Carbon monoxide can be undetectable - and fatal.

 

QUITE RIGHT! If you have a top on your Jeep (I don't), different rules apply.

 

Yes on the top. I had to fab the RH door pillar in order to hang the door.

Here is when i picked up the jeep 2 weeks before the WUHAN hit.


On my 73 CJ I have a windjammer. Between that half doors and a a bikini top it stays pretty warm. They fit flat fenders also. No wind whipping around and hitting you on the back of your head.

 

I know I posted this before, but somewhat similar to 52M38-73CJ5, I built an underseat auxiliary heater for my 3B too but it resides under the driver's seat because the fuel tank is in the rear. That one sends all its air directly towards the driver's feet. For decades, there was a Datsun 310 heater under the dash and that only worked slightly better than the Harrison placebo version but it did have defrost which I routed up the center of the dash and into the boxed-in windshield frame similar to the CJ5 layout. The Datsun heater was replaced by a Vintage Air Gen II on my last rebuild. You can feel a pretty decent breeze out of the defrost ducts now.

The auxiliary heater uses a J truck heater core, Honda Accord blower, and Toyoda resistor bridge. It is suspended from the bottom of the driver's seat support. The last iteration received VA's Gen II servo controls.




The VA heater in the dash is ducted to both foot wells with individual adjustable "nozzles". The defrost dusting worked much better with the front outlets on the Gen II.


The heater controls are now readily accessible as opposed to being on the bottom of the "stack" as previously.


This was the arrangement with the Datsun heater. The defrost ducting up the middle has not changed since it was originally fabricated about 1975.


Obviously none of this would be acceptable to anyone sticking to anything remotely stock but it all functions really well, as in tee shirt at -30 with a Tigertop.

 

For the summer on the f head is it ok to put in a valve to completely shut off the water flow to the heater?

 

drill a 1/8" hole in the thermostat flange to allow coolant of engine temp to flow past the wax of the thermostat.

 

Does your f-head have the 90º bypass hose between the head and the water pump? That might be a factor.

In the past I have used a short piece of copper water pipe connecting the the two heater hoses - in the place of the heater.

 

I'll have to check for the bypass. Yes iv done the piece of pipe bypass on my v6 and it works fine and really not difficult or messy. I was just planning if I end up putting a heater in my fc how to go about it. I do have a 1/8" hole in the t-stat.

 

This is how every air cooled VW heater worked. Stock exhaust manifolds were shrouded. Air pipes came down from the fan to blow the hot air into molded channels along the base of the cab and up into the defrosters. Everything was controlled by flaps.

 

My 911 is like that too. and i only have one side hooked up. Normally there is a seperate blower in the engine compartment that blows it through but i have it backdated so the engine fan does it. It heats great

 

Especially when climbing hills?

 

That is how the normal heater valve worked. That circuit is completely blocked when off. Are you going to use the stock FC 150 heater unit? Those worked ok. IMO, better than the CJ versions. I suspect one could do the blower motor update on those too.

 

Well I wondered about that original valve because i put one on my cj5 and im not sure if its completely blocked off because it still puts off some heat in the summer. I saved the one from the fc just incase but i sold the heater core. There was nothing left of the sheetmetal. I do have a little firestone heater i would probably use but it will definately need bypassing because its so open on the back

 

I've gotta be an A$$ here. ....... I just took Rosie out & put her thru the Paces. Coulpla Hole shots & a Coupla 0 to 60 timers. The 231 turbo heats up real good

 

This

Stock 70's Ford in line cable operated heater valve. You can put the push/pull knob on the dash.
It's usually a good idea to open it a couple of times during the summer to let the fluid flow........

 

Everco has all sorts of heater control valve configurations. What I used for decades.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2651280225...MI-pLE2oLm-wIVDwWtBh3S7g1XEAQYBSABEgKQ_PD_BwE

 

Love this idea since I have a m38a1. What heater core and blower did you use??

 

Since you have an M38A1, you should get the GI in-cabin gasoline-fired arctic furnace. What could possibly go wrong?

 

I think I'd be safe since I converted to 12V years ago!

 

Here you go.
Part number in photo. Purchased through Rock Auto