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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Is you heater flap working optimal?

Sick of the heater switch not working I fitted a normal toggle switch and removed the combined cableswitch.
I then I switched on the heater and started playing with the flap regulating airflow (no longer connected to the cable)

I was amazed about the amount of added flow I got from finding the exact open position!
It must have been slightly off for years.

So top tip to get those demisters working better check if the flap is fully open.
Onno K

I have found that the pull/push control doesn't allow enough movement to open mine beyond about 45 degrees. If I adjust it to allow full opening, it won't get anywhere near closing. Still, it's warm enough with a half open flap.
Mike Howlett

MKII or MKIII?

The older cars have the flap after the fan making it more restrictive
Onno K

No flap in mine, it's open all the time.
frogeye Gary

It's a 1966 with the square heater, but the flap is before the remote fan.
Mike Howlett

1966 sprite, flap in the front valance, controlled by combined rotary/pull switch on dash.

I definitely get more air flow when the flap is wide open, so I fitted a gentle spring to it, to keep it wide open. I often close it though when sitting behind cars in traffic, so I don't suck in so much of the exhuast in front.
Lawrence Slater

Here's my 1966 midget. The fan is in the snail shell thing and the flap is immediately in front of it. You can just about see the cable attachment to the left of the assembly in the photo.


Mike Howlett

My "66 (originaly a 1098) has the flap between the fan and square heater.
So it is in a rather smal diameter pipe.

Might remove the flap by replacing the pipe with flap for a normal piece of pipe.
Onno K

good tip

I'd add make sure your heater matrix is clean inside and out and the seals to it and the heater box are in place and good condition to get the best out of the matrix
Nigel Atkins

Oh no.... Onno is now modifiy his midget from orginal factory spec....could there be a new ford corina rear axle in the near future for onno's midget ?

Hahaha....sorry onno, im just teasing, i think your still safe, though pretty close ...just dont fiddle with the rear view mirror, thats over the line.....hahaha

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop
A "66 with a 1380, telescopic shocks al round, rollbar and bumper less is already modified.
So I think it will survive one more mod ;)
Onno K

Onno

Roflmao.... Thats golden

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

hang about . . .

why isn't David Smith here asking 'what is the question?' and the others taking the micky

and Lawrence saying it's intuitive

is Onno that frightening(?)





;)
Nigel Atkins

Was I?
Lawrence Slater

Nop I must have chosen the only non issue that really does not bother them ;)
Onno K

no Lawrence you didn't, that was the point :)

Onno,
next unsolicited information thread I try to sneek in I'll use your name to test out which explanation it is :D
Nigel Atkins

See. I knew Nigel was a trouble maker all along. :)

Just when everyone is feeling friendly and agreeable, along comes Nigel to stir the pot. LOL.
Lawrence Slater

This BBS forum is brilliant - it keeps on answering my questions before I've got round to asking them! You've already helped me sort several brake and suspension problems and now you've solved a new one that had only just cropped up!

You have just explained the mystery cable that I found tucked in the O/S wing. It was obviously meant to control something under the bonnet but disappeared through the bulkhead to I knew not where. Having just fumbled behind the dash, I now know that my heater knob's on the other end and it should pull as well as turn, though it's does need a course of WD40 to free it up.

If my '67 Sprite had come with a heater duct when I got it in the Autumn, I would have known there should be a flap valve somewhere in the system. I've been planning to get round to this one eventually but brakes and suspension seemed to be more important. I just might push it up the order a bit now that winter has arrived and the hard top is on - feeding the cabin with air from the engine bay doesn't seem like such a good idea!

I wonder if the forum will maintain its ability to anticipate my queries and come up with an answer to my tyre question before I get round to posting it!

Before signing off - my thanks to Dave O'Neill - inverting and swapping the lower shock absorber brackets solved the bottoming out that I was getting with the telescopics.

C Mee

The real skill is deciphering what is going on when the forum answers the question previous to the one currently being asked. As in 2 Ronnies do Mastermind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0C59pI_ypQ
Guy W

I remember that Guy. Very funny.

And C Mee, the answer is 3/8". When you think of the question, consider me thanked in advance. :)

PS Nigel. Actually it was intuition that made me use a spring on my flap to keep it open. But I have no doubt it's in the drivers guide somewhere. lol.
Lawrence Slater

using a spring to keep your flap open sounds vaguely obscene to me, though I wouldn't know why - or even think too much about that!
Guy W

CMee - interesting point! Sounds much more efective than actually asking a question. Although you do miss out on adapted 1970 rock lyrics and "spot the motorbike".

According to THE HANDBOOK, the ram effect of air entering the heater is ineffective below 25 mph. I suggest therefore that the tests should be carried only in excess of that speed, presumably with a reliable assistant driving while the "adjuster" clings onto the bonnet.
Graeme W

C Mee if you'd have bought/read the Driver's Handbook you'd have learnt about the valve :)

a can of a good releasing/penetrating fluid such as PlusGas is better than WD40 at penetrating and releasing

most times I've seen the big black venting hose isn't located fully to the inlet on the front panel but just pushed nearby so perhaps connecting it up would help with the 25 mph and above - and stop the leaves getting in

ETA: if I was a troublemaker I'd suggest we flood this thread with photos of the valve in the open position just to wind some up - but I'm not like that :)
Nigel Atkins

My thinking is to install an electric heater...i havent really figured it out yet....but id think not impossiable

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

My Aussie heater. Very consistent temperature flow and never had a problem with the control switch or valve. Only problem is I have a hole in the dash that I need to plug. Never ever felt I needed a heater either. ;)

Heater was an option in aus. I think mine originaly had the empty airbox with the control flap. My control knob has the 'A' instead of the 'H'.


Greg H

Flaps up, down, or open then? :)

Prop, please use a little more thought.

It's obvious, don't use an delectric fire, it will require too much power, use a coal burning stove in the passenger side footwell. :)

Flaps anyone?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/slink/advice/am-i-a-freak/funny-flaps


Lawrence Slater


C Mee.

Bet you got ribbed a few times by your Headmaster!

Not unlike myself anyware near a zoo

Growles
Gavin Rowles

Could be worse, he might have been C U, and he might have come from Glasgow. :)
Lawrence Slater

Lawrence. loved the flaps clip.

Mike H. Don't forget that the flap is pivotted on a vertical rod in the centre of the pipe. The cable should be fixed with the knob pushed fully in and the flap in the open position, ie, like a throttle butterfly when it's wide open. That way it needs less than 45 degrees to open and close it, as one edge moves one way and the other edge the other way when the knob is pulled to close it. The flap should have a rubber seal all round the edge.

Bernie.
b higginson

Lawerance....

You obviously havent heard of my idea to install air condioning in a midget

My plan is to use a very small home window AC that cools a 15x15 x 8 foot room

My thinking is to use a 2nd large gel cell battry and split the alt with a Rv camper spliter so to power both batterys and run the AC side thur a power converter ... The biggest i can find

The trick to this is cubic feet the car has something like 75 cubic feet but the AC can easily cool 2000 cubic feet of air, so the AC only needs to be turned on about 8-15 min per hour and not all 8 min at the sametime...probably, 2-3 min every 15 minutes in a hard top...more then that, and its a meat locker...

Ive tested the AC i want to use with a carbboard box of 30 cubic feet (3x3x3) and a thernometer... And it cools to 70 from 95 in under 1 min. At full blast



So adding an electric heater ...aka the liw power draws of a ceramic, is what im thinking is the way.to go...good thing is all the parts of the AC should fit into to smith heater box


But i still have to get the car running agian, and do the front end rebuild and convert my mazda rx 7 rear axle to thhe car before my electric heater / AC idea comes into play.

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Bernie, you seem to be the only other one that likes the BBC humour then. :). It had me in stictches.

Nope haven't seen that Prop.
Never really considered owning a convertible with AC. Least not in the UK. And if you had one in a climate that was too hot to take the roof off, what would be the point? I guess you'd have to have a hard top on all the time, and then AC would be useful I suppose. :)
Lawrence Slater

Yeah...i think the hard top would be good for that 6 week period when its just udder hell...but the soft top would be good, if you can make it effeciant some how to reflect the sun and hold the cold air inside

Last year was just unreal... 45 days straight of 115 degrees f., i dont ever want to live thur that agian...what just floored me was for 15 days in the middle of that the nigh time lowes where upper 90s....

But the year before was ungodly...high humidity and 110 during the day.... I dont know how out friends made wisconsin for midget 50...that was the worst i can a recall.

So yeah... I think of the best way to add AC to tge midget all the time....so i think ive got a few good ideas

Im not sure what 115 degrees F. Is in celcius, but im.sure its freaken hot

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

46C prop. Quite hot. :)
Lawrence Slater

Yes it is lawerance....luckly it only last 4 to 6 weeks, but its at a time when all the fun takes place

So my thinking is to make it a temp. Fit and once the heat breaks then i can pull it all back out til the next year...i dont know, maybe i just need to learn to suck it up and live with the heat

Im just a daisy i guess

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Prop. WTF are you smoking???

Bernie.
b higginson

Guy - I think I had the 2Rs in mind when I wrote that!

Lawrence - are you sure about the 3/8" - I'm going to need a new breather hose - looks more like 1/2"!

Graeme, Nigel - suitably humbled - I've managed to find a Mkiii Sprite handbook and workshop manual online and it's all there in black and white - will remember to check there before posting in future!

Growles - I'll bet you've received a similar level of ribbing to that generated by CMee. You'll be thrilled to hear I used to be a teacher - an acting Headmaster even for a while! See Mee Later and all that!!

Lawrence - Too right, glad my parents didn't give me a middle name starting with U! The C is for Colin, by the way!

Prop - Aircon? Given the rain we've had here lately it's flotation we need - what's the maximum flood depth a Spridget with standard ride height can cope with?

As for heater ducts and flap valves - any suggestions on where I might find them for a reasonable sum? Discovered the Welsh MG centre last w/end but would be keen to learn of other similar outfits.
C Mee

Colin, you're right about the heater hose, but I was answering the other question you will ask one day. ;)

Yup lucky escape with the potential middle names of Uri or Uriah. lol.

Lawrence Slater

Colin,
for the fresh-air-to-heater ducting I'd have thought the usual suspects - MGOC Spares, Sussex Classic MG Car Parts, perhaps MGB Hive, Rimmers

for the valve flap I'd guess s/h (might be wrong not checked)

the few things I've noticed the Welsh MG Centre selling s/h on eBay (and I might be wrong about this) have seemed to me to be very s/h and quite expensive

if you wanted to you could customize your name shown to include your first name and again if you want to you could add your car details and if you wanted photos to display your vehicle profile
Nigel Atkins

Colin

I think I've probably got some spare heater flaps. I *might* have heater ducts, assuming that you mean the ones to the screen vents?

daveo138 at yahoo dot co dot uk
Dave O'Neill2

Nigel - Thanks for the suggestions - They all list the trunking but not the control flap valve. I don't mind 2nd hand - this is no concours project - I'll probably take a run up to Wrexham, it's only 30 mins away and there's a big yard full of all manner of MGs at the back so I'm sure there's a valve for me there somewhere. On your suggestion, I've also 'switched on' my details and uploaded a pic of the Sprite on the day I got it.

Dave - thanks for the offer of parts - I have everything from the fan onwards - it's between the front panel and the heater fan that I need.
Colin Mee

Colin, well done on getting your name and photos up
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 12/12/2012 and 17/12/2012

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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