Gaoler

New Member
Hello All,

Can anyone recommend a decent secondary cab heater for my Petrol Series 3, 109.

Mine is OK, but want something to help heat the rear part of the old girl?

Thanks

John...
 
A mate had an ex military light weight FFR [fitted for radio] that was arctic spec.All sorts of extra covers for the rad and windows with a dirty great heater between the seats!
 
A mate had an ex military light weight FFR [fitted for radio] that was arctic spec.All sorts of extra covers for the rad and windows with a dirty great heater between the seats!
And a ton of insulated pipe work all around the interior, diminishing the interior space significantly.

Col
 
insulate before you generate !

admittedly i only have an 88 station wagon, but can get it to t-shirt weather in there. overhauled the heater box when i got the landy, new multicolumn matrix in there, fixed all the holes in the box, new foam seals between the matrix and box, new trunking between the blower motor and heater box. its ok now, not modern car good, but ok !

i think half the issue is that the entire lower half of the dashboard is just a big empty heater duct, so much air space and metal to warm up before it gets to the actual distribution. i've thought about direct ducting inside (as in actual plastic pipes) but probably too much effort for our climate (southern uk)
 
Imo the issue is more lack of blower than heat.

My Ambulatter has standard S111 set up in the cab (bit crap) and a 2nd matrix plumbed in series in the rear with a good blower that gets it toastie even though the water has already been through a matrix and an extra metre or so of pipework along the chassis.

Having a separate cab means the standard set up is ok for warmth but demisting is still painfully slow.

I tried a 300w ceramic blower in my 109 2a and it made hardly any difference, the blowers in them are rubbish.

Insulate, stop all the draughts you can and upgrade the blower is my advice
 
Eberspacher under the passenger seat.
You can even turn it on from inside the house. Defrosted and toasty before you mop the egg off your t shirt. :D
 
I went through last winter without a heater. The worst mornings were in the dark with freezing fog. On a 14 mile run at the end of the journey I had a wee hole that was clear. I got a new heater snail, fitted the old motor and upgraded the ducting. I have a SWB S3 safari. It now gets quite cosy once the engine has warmed up. Sealing draughty gaps and insulation is the starting point.
 
When replacing the footwells I found my heater snail was rusty, to the extent that it was only still there cos the rust molecules were holding hands. I cut half of it off and refabricated it (too mean to buy new, I tell you what). It works a lot better now. Also insulated all the gaps between the airbox and bulkhead...a rooftop seal is ideal for that, a defender one with one sticky side. Just cut to size to fit the mating faces, and bolt it to the bulkhead.
 
Should maybe ask if your 109 has a rear tub, or if its a safari? I'm assuming not a safari...

I had a flat smiths heater I was going to plumb in the rear tub, keep the kids warm...but they grew up/I never got round to it/I sold the heater.....!
 
On a 14 mile run at the end of the journey I had a wee hole that was clear.

Hahaha...yes, like a Mexicans sombrero! Freezing fog is awful, I've had exactly the same result in the past. I was tempted by heated glass...but then I saw the price.
 
I have put a tea light candle holdery tin bit in the passenger side pipe for the demister. It's just the right size and allows more of the air to clear the driver side window. It now only takes about 25 miles for the window to clear. I have been toying with the idea of fitting a heater out of something else, even if its just the blower.

The inner wing fell out at some point on the drivers side... no idea when! but there is loads of space there now. I reckon I could fit something in and make up a new inner wing to protect it.

There is also a really really annoying rattle from somewhere arond the passenger side. I dont know what it is but its loud and annoying and I am starting to suspect its inside the dash plenum. I'm going to take it apart and have a look and while i'm in there I might do some ducting to replace the leaky plenum.
 
Eberspacher if your pockets are deep enough. I use a big version as a workshop heater. On my series three 88 I got big improvements making the standard heater better by removing the matrix and flushing through from both directions with a hose pipe. Could not believe how much muck was in there.
Also consider heated front screen, you can put up with the chill if you can see. Avoid the electric ceramic things, tried one and sent it back as useless.
 
According to the James Taylor book there was an optional rear seat round heater for the series 2 / 2a station wagons - these are as common as rocking horse **** though...
 

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