Heater Control Valve

[mr55s]

I appreciate your last sentence and very much go along with your thoughts. I did buy a new heater valve for my mk 1 from England trusting that it would not fail. I won’t be driving in cool weather here in Arizona so a heater would not be needed. I will run all the hoses and locate the heater valve properly but will block off coolant flow
I will also make up a copper bypass tube and not have a heater core which would be a pain to replace if it failed. I am happy that there are others who question the need for a heater.

In colder climates still a bit chilly in the morning on a long run until the 289 furnace starts to bleed through and soak the floor. The heater is nice until you just don’t want it anymore. Dynamat comes in handy for this. I don’t think I have ever heard of a heater delete in these cars, anybody?

 

[65beam]

I appreciate your last sentence and very much go along with your thoughts. I did buy a new heater valve for my mk 1 from England trusting that it would not fail. I won’t be driving in cool weather here in Arizona so a heater would not be needed. I will run all the hoses and locate the heater valve properly but will block off coolant flow
I will also make up a copper bypass tube and not have a heater core which would be a pain to replace if it failed. I am happy that there are others who question the need for a heater.

The heater was listed in the parts manuals as one of the "Special Accessories" of both Alpines and Tigers. It was not standard according to the parts books. On the Alpines the heater was standard on home market GT models starting with the series 3. Other than that the heater was an option but I haven't seen any cars that came to the states without a heater installed. We have two cars that the wife bought in California and they both had heaters. I drove an Alpine as a teenager back in the 60's and I can tell you that the heater was useless in the winter. I still have that car, It has a 180 thermostat and the heater is still the same as it was back in the 60's. The original heater cores will expand if the pressure cap is too high on the PSI. Then it's very difficult to remove without destroying the core. The replacement cores have been redesigned with ribs to strengthen the outer cover and prevent expansion.

 

[IvaTiger]

The heater was listed in the parts manuals as one of the "Special Accessories" of both Alpines and Tigers. It was not standard according to the parts books. On the Alpines the heater was standard on home market GT models starting with the series 3. Other than that the heater was an option but I haven't seen any cars that came to the states without a heater installed. We have two cars that the wife bought in California and they both had heaters. I drove an Alpine as a teenager back in the 60's and I can tell you that the heater was useless in the winter. I still have that car, It has a 180 thermostat and the heater is still the same as it was back in the 60's. The original heater cores will expand if the pressure cap is too high on the PSI. Then it's very difficult to remove without destroying the core. The replacement cores have been redesigned with ribs to strengthen the outer cover and prevent expansion.

Was the labeling of the heater control knobs inside the car different if you did not want the optional heater ? Just curious

 

[Hoghead]

It's inmaterial who makes them as long as they work and don't leak. I bought two of the late style valves from them and have one on our blue car. I always try to keep spares if an issue happens. It's been on the car for a few years now and no leaks. Back in 2018 I bought the blower motor, squirrel cage and the housing when we were restoring our white Harrington. The housing has the lettering, etc. The quality is great and in one of my conversations with them I was told that they have the tooling once owned by Smith. They do make the Tiger specific bracket for installing the late style valve on the bulkhead brace. I have a couple of them in stock if anyone wants a new bracket.

That is my understanding as well, and I bought 2 of the early MKI valves

 

[michael-king]

That is my understanding as well, and I bought 2 of the early MKI valves

Robert the MKI valves are Generally ok and are widely available.. also several mfg and quality.

The MKIa/ii alpine SV repro valves were for. A very long time time NLA.. and when they became available there was a very high fail rate.

Wonder if your suppliers in thld can do something like that?

 

[65beam]

Robert the MKI valves are Generally ok and are widely available.. also several mfg and quality.

The MKIa/ii alpine SV repro valves were for. A very long time time NLA.. and when they became available there was a very high fail rate.

Wonder if your suppliers in thld can do something like that?

FYI, My neighbor about 1/2 mile up the road owns 7 MG-C's. He says the heater valves have been known to leak when left in the open position, not when closed.

 

[DD (CA)]

I appreciate your last sentence and very much go along with your thoughts. I did buy a new heater valve for my mk 1 from England trusting that it would not fail. I won’t be driving in cool weather here in Arizona so a heater would not be needed. I will run all the hoses and locate the heater valve properly but will block off coolant flow
I will also make up a copper bypass tube and not have a heater core which would be a pain to replace if it failed. I am happy that there are others who question the need for a heater.

there are a few times here in SF Bay Area that the heater can come in handy... but the real need for me is for using the heater to COOL the engine bay. I'd prefer to have on/off capability of a valve. I believe the modified valve has a larger metal flange to help prevent the diaphragm from over twerking ;-) But... I figure the rubber will simply wear down regardless over a number of years.

 

[65beam]

there are a few times here in SF Bay Area that the heater can come in handy... but the real need for me is for using the heater to COOL the engine bay. I'd prefer to have on/off capability of a valve. I believe the modified valve has a larger metal flange to help prevent the diaphragm from over twerking ;-) But... I figure the rubber will simply wear down regardless over a number of years.

The previous style valve worked fine. Why did Chrysler switch styles? How much money per valve did they save by making the switch? Chrysler made a lot of cost saving moves that weren't all good.

 

[1966 TGR]

I completely gave up on the stock style heater valve. If absolute correctness isn't critical, there is an inexpensive universal valve with similar configuration to the hopelessly leaky stock valve. How-to is in TIger Tales article from March April 2021, which is attached.