LBCs and cold weather

[BlownMGB-V8]

Unusual I know, but it sure is nice to get out of the MGB in weather like this where it's barely hitting 20 and realize that my feet are warm and toasty comfortable. Meanwhile up on the freeway other than an occasional wisp of cold coming in around the soft top it was quite pleasantly warm.

I find there are distinct advantages to fitting a larger heater core and a bigger blower fan. I expect the larger engine doesn't hurt either but I suspect the stock engine would be fine for heat. Makes the drive a lot more pleasant though, I'm a little surprised we aren't seeing more mods of this type.

Jim

[88v8]

Over on a Land Rover forum I inhabit, there's a thread where there's talk about fitting fired heaters.
Could be a challenge finding space in a B.

V8

[MGBV8]

I don't need a better heater. My tires do not go out in the cold.   

[BlownMGB-V8]

Those occasionally show up on bus conversion forums and seem like a fair deal but most are diesel fired which doesn't really help. Gas fired heaters were fairly common at one time and I almost bought one at a swapmeet one time. But in the MGB? Maybe you could put it behind the seats and direct the discharge under the driver's seat? If you could get past the carpet.

I often drive my MG when it is cold. Until this year I kept a lap blanket behind the seats for long-ish drives, and I had fitted the early flap doors to the footwell vents so I could hog all the heat. But not any more. I now have more heat and airflow than I can handle and it also warms up within a mile or two. No need for an auxiliary heater.

The first photo below shows the fitting of an RC airplane motor to a larger squirrel cage blower off a 1975 I-H Travelall grafted to the stock airbox. I ran this with the IH motor for decades and fitting the RC motor was the 2nd phase and dramatically increased the airflow in preparation for the HVAC system.

The 2nd and 3rd photos show the 3rd phase where I built a new airbox and enclosed the core from an early Chevy C10 pickup truck. The heater is now good enough to run in the coldest weather with the soft top, about half scale on the fan speed, and half to three quarters on the water flow. That's after everything has stabilized on a long trip of course, and I've closed off the footwell vent flaps and have the dash vents directed towards the back window to counter drafts. Depending on the blower speed I can create a small positive pressure in the cabin to help keep the cold air out as well.

The only thing I think I might like to change has to do with the fan control as it was meant to drive a propeller, so it has to have the knob turned all the way down before it is switched on. One of those old timey on-off volume knobs would work but I have a separate lighted rocker switch. Other than that which is just a minor inconvenience it's great and as long as the sky is clear I'll drive the MG thank you very much.

Jim

[88v8]

Superb.
Heating is one thing often overlooked in builds, the heater space eaten up by engine or just not a priority. That and the ability to drive in the rain is one of the features that distinguishes a car from a shiny toy.

Diesel ... I am reminded by the example live on BaT that the Tatra 603 had a petrol powered heater under the seat, complete with its own spark plug.

[Scott Costanzo]

I don't need a better heater. My tires do not go out in the cold. 

I have the same constraint as Carl and my stock heater works great down to the low 30s F. It has kept the wife happy in the past so there is that too.