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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Foot well cool air vent....No more HOT foot!!!

Well after 180 mile drive last week, my lower right leg was cooked to someware around medium to wel-done...and hurt like a bad two day old sunburn...how many of us have been there....I had an Idea for over a year on how to fix this....but wasnt sure as to how effective....but as they say desprate moments means despreate measures.....and by gollie it worked!!!


what I did.....

1st....seal up all the holes in the firewall/bulkhead, add screws, use silicone chaulking, weatherstripping foam ...park in a dark garage put your head into the footwell(yeah vary simialr to sticking it up you know where...only much tighter...lol)and having an assitant shine a light over the firewall aera to find any light beams.

2nd ....parts list

1---4 foot long x 4 inch diameter aluminum heat reflective, dryer vent tube
1---11" x 9" x 3" cheap metal cake baking pan
1---moble home exterior wall dryer vent...(round cly. on both ends with a flap in the middle....take flap out.
5 ft. double sided stick foam tape
2---5" hose clamps
6--self-taping screws
3. assembly
....Cut round hole in cake pan for dryer vent ...make sure the bigger end hole of dryer vent goes into baking pan, hose clamp bottom of hole on vent inside of pan...use 4 screws to attach vent to pan, add foam tape to top edge of pan, remove heater box,,,and connect the 2 heater hoses togather, place pan on heater shelf and secure with last 2 screws ....place aluminum heat reflective tubinig, into round hole in valance for heater tube, route it to baking pan/dryer vent and secure with hose clamp....open up the little door way in foot well....and WHOLA!!! works like a dream...LOTS OF COOL AIR at your feet, and completely wipes out the heat at your feet

4th...Notes

it MUST be aluminum heat reflective tubing....anything else will just absorb heat and pass it along
might try using the flapper vent from the heater box so as to control the amount of air coming in
might try adding the blower motor, for extra air....but definatly NOT needed,,,,this thing moves alot of air while driving even at low speed
Another idea is to get a small plastic insulated ice chest and hook up in the 4' vent hose system and fill with ice for a poor mans air conditioner on those hot days...just fill the chest with ice have the tube run just inside the chest...then cut off...then have the tube attatched to the other side of chest going to the vent.

yeah ...its really simple....and cheap under 50 bucks...BUT IT completely works and dosnt look half bad


prop

I cant find my 5 dollar digital cam, (That may be a good thing) But Ill see if I cant get some photos in the the next day or so
Prop

Prop, have you tested it driving in the rain, or thru a ford?
Ddraig G

AFAICT he has replaced the heater and fan with a cold air box - this isn't ever going to let significant water into the cockpit as the water would have to be 1/2 way up the doors before it got high enough!
Will Munns

So If we just take the heating rad out of the air box and use heat reflective ducting -- thats it???!!
Mick - I have started painting!!!

Better yet, have a spare heater box and fan without a matrix in it... Except that we have this lovely habit of having hot muggy days followed by frost. That and the joys of taking out those screws...
David "gotta get around to installing my 3-way valve" Lieb
David Lieb

Yes, with a couple of diffrences:

The airbox may suck more heat from the bay cos it is black

Prop did a lot of work to make sure the only way air could get in was thru the air vent.

Will Munns

Prop,
Did you ever check to verify that both bungs are in place on the side of the transmission tunnel? I had one of those missing in my first midget. The DPO had put duck tape over the hole, and when it did the inevitable time-out and got out of the way, my leg roasted! Took a while to realize where it was coming from as the carpeting diffused it.
David "insulate the floor, too" Lieb
David Lieb

Took the words out of my mouth David

Prop have you closed the heater vents on the saides of the gearbox tunnel.

By the way the gearbox is that box thing with gears in it situated behind the engine!
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

I guess I am unclear as how this improves much
over the original heater hose, and the heater has
a fan as well. Just reroute the coolant hoses around
the heater and how is this different?? Guess you
might replace the black plastic heater hose with
something shiny and insulated??

Robert, the only heater vents in my '72 are up in
the footwell. Close those and no air is gonna
get in.

Just wondering??

chuck
c c

You mean the thingy that transmits the power to the driveshaft? ;-)

Actually, Bob, he is using the heater flaps, just implementing a dryer vent in place of the heater box.

David "contemplating possibilities" Lieb
David Lieb

Quite right CC if no air comes in then no heat from the heater comes in either. By the way that is where your cold air would come in if you rerouted the water pipes.
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

Interesting David but the one in my car has GEARS in it to be able to Transmit power in different ratios. (double jeapody)
Bob (robert) Midget Turbo

Robert, I agree completely! As I said, I reroute
the coolant hoses every spring and then the
"heater" with it's fan, blows cool air thru
those vents into the foot well.

Which is why I don't see the benefit of Prop's
invention.

chuck
c c

Ahh, but the matrix restricts the flow of air, so Prop's approach would allow greater volume.
David "sumer is y-cumin in" Lieb
David Lieb

Why doesn't one just put the adjustable heater valve tap on from a Mini, with an extra pull cable on the dash so it can be opened/closed from inside? Voila, force fed cold air.
Tarquin

Bob,
No comment on "driveshaft"?
David "needing remedial baiting training" Lieb
David Lieb

Tarquin,
Classic Minis are virtually non-existent over here, so it is difficult to find such valves. I have contemplated mounting a spare choke cable near the bonnet release to control such a valve, but all the ones I have seen have had little caveats attached about not fitting inline engines, so I didn't want to risk the cash. Do they fit without fouling anything? which particular model of Mini would they be from?
David "full of questions and excuses" Lieb
David Lieb

I just pulled the heater core out and remove the fan as more air gets in without it and sealed the firewall. If it gets cold I'll change the shorts for jeans!
Col
c pearce

Wow,

Lots of great responses, I havnt tryed it in the rain yet, But I dont see it being an issue cause the dryer hose is aluminum so no rust there, plus the water has to travel about about 4-5 feet before exiting thur the vent.

Agian the real trick is the dryer hose MUST be heat reflective aluminum not the plastic or it will transfer heat.

DAVid you are correct about that tranny mounting hole...just a brutal stream of hells breath coming out of there, took a bit to find it but bolting it up really helped along with chaulking and bolting up all the holes in the bulkhead

For winter time driving, Im planning on mounting a tube to the exterior back side of the exhauste header and hooking it up the cold air vent....that will make it toasty warm.....Im thinking about hooking the heater core matrix someware to get air flow to it and hooking the heater hoses to it in order to provide extra cooling during those super hot days in july and aug.


Im planning on getting some photos posted of it on friday.

prop
Prop

David -

Mini heater valves are available from Mini City, Seven Enterprises, Mini Mania, and others. You can use any valve that bolts to the head - Minis eventually went to a bulkhead mounted valve.

I think the caveat about not suiting the inline engine refers to the lack of a control cable, since none of the A-series Spridgets had provision for a remote cable, and a different heater hose would be required due to the different shape of the Mini valve.

I'm pretty sure there are no interference issues, but I can look into it a bit more if you want.

Bill "Former Mini Racer" Gavin
Bill Gavin

ok prop heres one for you take a cooler some copper line a heater core a 12 volt water pump and a small fan like some mount on the dash now make the copper line in a coil like it comes out of the boxs like a spring put the water pump inline then run both ends of the line through the side of the cooler now fill the lines with water then hook the heater core with the fan behind the core then fill the cooler with dry ice cut on the pump so the water passes through the heater core and lets the fan blow cross the cold heater core you want plenty of copper line so more water stays in the ice and the water pump of small flow so it will make sure the water stays cold
c bullock

Late to this but does anyone have a heater valve like this, as opposed to the ones which Moss & co sell?
I took it to bits during the restoration, cleaned up and refitted it and it works. No idea where/what it's from.


Jeremy 3

This thread was discussed between 11/06/2008 and 15/06/2008

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