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MG TD TF 1500 - A Heater for Nothing

I was at a car show recently and was speaking to the owner of a TD. He had made up a heater for the car by cutting holes in the metal gear box cover, slitting the carpet and using small strips of Velcro to hold the carpet flaps open or closed. He claimed exhaust heat was more efficient than a water fed heater.


Jan T

J Targosz

Until the exhaust system starts to leak.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

True, Tim, true. Maybe he was already breathing fumes when he thought of that "improvement."

BobbyG
Bobby Galvez

The VW bug had the same type of heater, a little more siphisticated with a heat exchanger. But the same held true-when the exhaust leaked within the heat exchanger, the air got bad.

I am thinking along the same lines - the amount of heat that is produced in the engine bay is enormous, feels sufficient for heating the car in any case. The "normal" heat generated through the floor is already substantial, however, takes a while to heat up

Rgds Mike
Mike Fritsch

Just wait until the grommets in the firewall get old and fall apart. At that point you'll see just how hot the engine heat is! But yeah, the fumes from the engine bay are not exactly healthy.
Steve Simmons

TD/TF owners always had to decide what was more important: fixing leaks so the car was just bearable during the summer months or leaving the air leaks so you had at least a smidgeon of warm air during the winter. Since I never drive my car in the winter any longer, I am glad to pad and seal everywhere. :-)
Christopher Couper

Had a super bug, it was the only car I've ever owned that I needed an ice scraper on the inside for the windshield/windscreen! LOL! Even so, I loved that car, it never left me stranded anywhere. PJ
PJ Jennings

Last year I made 3 holes dia. 50 mm in the torpedo just behind the engine and fitted a hinged lid, to get some heat from the engine. There has never been any smell of exhaust or oil, but it does not produce as much heat as I hoped for. However, I made the new cover for the T9 gear box with a little wall at the rear end. When removing that a lot of heat comes out there, so I think what you saw will help, but I think a Mojave Heater would be better. But if you intend to draw hot air from the engine, I think the best place to draw it is from the rear part of the gear box cover, but donīt ask me for the logic behind it.
Y Strom

Some of us older folks remember a gadget called a 'Manifold Heater' that we attached to our Model A Fords. As the name implies, it was some duct work that went around the exhaust manifold and funneled heat (and exhaust fumes) into the interior. Bud
Bud Krueger

See https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/search?q=Heater Bud
Bud Krueger

PJ Jennings, Oklahoma, USA - "Had a super bug, it was the only car I've ever owned that I needed an ice scraper on the inside for the windshield/windscreen! LOL! Even so, I loved that car, it never left me stranded anywhere. PJ"
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My first car was a 10-year old German, air-cooled sports car with convertible top and poorly fitting side curtains. Living in northern Ohio, I would drive in the winter with an ice scraper in one hand; constantly scraping both the inside and outside windshield. Those were the days.

Regards, Bill
WHTroyer

I had a 69 Porsche 911 with a gasoline heater mounted in the "trunk" against the firewall. When it worked it worked extremely well. The problem was keeping it working. It seemed like the glow plug/igniter would quit working after a week of use. The ice scraper in hand was absolutely necessary in my Bug Eye Sprite in the winter in Central Ohio.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

This thread was discussed between 30/07/2018 and 03/08/2018

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